mwyatt1955

I am reworking my forge and converting to a 9 invh ribbon Burner. I have always started with 2 inch think Kaowool and had planned to do the same this time. After reading these threads I am concerned thatr with the Kaowool base layer I will not be able to properly compact the Kastolite 30 and wind up with a weak refractory. Is this true or do I just wet the Kaowool and pack the devil out of the Kastolite. I will be covering the Kastolite with a ceramic mix I found to better replect heat back into my forge. Any pointers or assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Latticino, Thanks for your reply. I am planning to use 1 1/2 in pipe from the blower to the manifold, with the forced air coming from a squirril cage blower, somewhere between 200 and 300 CFM's. I will reduce down to 1 inch after or at the manifold with each burner having a dedicated flow control ball type valve. I am hoping to take it down to 2 burners with the forced air. The inside of my forge winds up being 20 x 5 x 4 inches after all the refractory and other insulation. I am planning to round off the top corners to allow for a circular effect on the flames once they come in from the side. I do not know, but am hoping to be able to get the needed 75,000 BTU from each burner once blown. I have a temporary door on the rear of the forge with fire brick and am considering adding a hinged metal door with Kaowool, refractory and ceramic to help hold and reflect more heat, On the front I have a fire brick that serves as a door I can slide open and closed as necessary. Today I took my compressor and the blow gun, placed the tip of the blow gun in the air opening at the burner input of one burner and for the first time I was able to get a very small dragon's breath that was light blue with only yellow tips. This told me that forced air was very important for my situation. I have a 250 gallon dedicated propane tank that has a regulator that the propane company and I have turned to to about 20 lbs pressure. I have that piped into my forge through 3/4 inch black iron pipe, although now I wish I had gone with 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch pipe instead. However, I am able to get greater than 10 lbs pressure at the regulator for the forge with the burners turned off. Do you think I am going to be able to get the needed BTU's with this setup as I have described? Thank you for your input. Miltonj Lattico, I missed responding to one of your questions. Yes I have a tire hammer with a 40 lb hammer and 1 1/2 hp motor. I also have a Coal Ironworks 16 ton hydraulic press that comes om very handy as well. I am not sure how regulate the air, I presume it will be with a reostat to slow or speed up the fan as needed. Inside the forge I have the second regulator 0 to 30 lb to control the main gas input at the wall. The reducer will be at the manifold going from 1 1/2 down to 1 inch. WIth only 2 burners I think this will work, but not positive. You thoughts on the matter would be appreciated. I am not familiar with the radial fin blower. Can you enlighten me on those. If that is what I need, I will certainly try to put it in my budget. Things and problems you have mentioned is exactly why I posted on here. I do not know how to calculate the anticipated BTU value nor the necessary BTU's to obtain the level of heat I need. Currently my forge is woefully inadequate for what I now need, which is why I am upgrading. I just do want to find I screwed up and did not accomplish my goal of rapid preheat, timely material heating to forging temperature and forge welding temperature as needed. Once again, thank you for your input. Milton

Brian, Thnk you for your suggestion, I had not considered this being a world wide forum. I will attempt to put my location in the header while on here tonight. Thanks again. Milton Thank You Neil, I use my for primarily for knife making. Some of them are kind of large like machettes for choping brush, small limbs, and other similar purposes. I will eventually get into making swords or some type, but my skill level is not there yet. Soon I hope. I am hoping to build a second forge sometime over the next year, but not right now. I am building inventory at this time. Thanks for your reply, Milton

I live in Southeast Alabama near the Florida Line. I started forging about 5 years ago and need to upgrade my forge. I am hoping to get some sage advice from folks who know much more than I do about this topic. In essence, what I am wondering is should I simply upgrade my venturi burners to forced air and move them to the side of the forge body rather than on the top. If I should go this route I can save a moderate amount of cash, but will I get nearly as much bang for the buck? I will be building a manifold toe distribe the air/gas mix to two burners. The air source will be about 4 feewr away on the floor, blowing directly into 1 1/2 inch pipe. I want to place a 1/2 inch black iron pipe sleeve about 4 - 6 inches above the blower, place a 3/8 inch x 6 inch sleeve into the pipe with a cap on that drilled out to 1/16 inch for the gas to pass in for mixing and distribution. There will be 2 elbows on the main piping then into the manifold where it will be distributed to the inlet to the forge. My other question is will this setup quickly and easily get above welding temperature in a 20 in x 9 in x 8 inch forge, lined with 2 inches rigidized Kaowool covered with 1/2 inch of Kastolite 30, then a thin coat of Plastix 900f ceramic coating. Any answers, advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Milton