Lab-lover

Mikey98118, I have a 0-60 gas regulator and I have tried a .023 and a .045 welding tip. The video showed the results with the .045 tip installed at 30 PSI. If I reduce the gas pressure much below that the flame wants to back up into the burner tube. Swedefiddle, I realize this is just a first attempt and I am FAR from giving up (in fact I seldom do quit once I begin). I am just asking for help in diagnosing our current set up and what to do next to improve our process. We are having fun playing with the forge but I feel we are ready to take the next step in producing a hotter environment. Welshj, we are open to stepping up to a forced air burner at some point but would like to understand more about our Venturi burner first. I may build a Frosty T burner just for the fun of comparing the two types.

Thanks for all of the great info!!! I normally use gas rated pipe dope on the joints but didn’t have any handy so used the tape for a quick test and will replace it asap. I understand that part of my problem is that the fire brick is a heat sink. Would coating the inside bricks with refractory help reflect the heat and make it more efficient or is that a waste of time and effort? Is it normal for a naturally aspirated Venturi burner to require 30 PSI? A 20lb propane isn’t going to last long at that rate. I keep reading about people achieving hot flames at only 2 PSI. How is that possible?

Hello everyone, thanks for letting me join this forum. I realize many of these questions may have been asked before so if you are tired of answering them, please just direct me to the appropriate posts for the answers. My son and I have just jumped into this activity and have attempted to build our first propane Venturi burner. The dimensions are a 3/8” brass shutoff leading into 1/4” black pipe feeding a .045 welding tip (we also tried a .025 tip). This nozzle sets 1.5” into a 1.5” x 1” intake reducer which connects to an 8” x 1” black pipe nipple and finally to a 1” x 1.25” reducer. This last reducer sits on a matching hole in the soft firebrick top of the forge. All of this is fed propane from a 20lb propane tank with a 0-60 PSI regulator. I will add some pictures of the build to help clarify the above description. I will also add a video of the flame we are producing. It does have something of a blue cone but it seems ragged with orange tails. We are able to get a piece of 5/8” x 4” coil spring steel to resemble a nice orange Cheeto but can’t seem to get it any hotter. Finally the questions; Why do we need 30 PSI to achieve a blue cone? How do we increase the heat output? Is it normal for the output reducer to get as orange hot as the target steel? Why does the flame keep wanting to blow back up into the black pipe nipple? Could part of the problem be that our forge is just loosely piled hard firebricks which probably has considerable air infiltration? If we can get the flame production and high PSI requirements figured out then we will build a properly sealed firebrick forge if you think that is adequate to use. Thanks in advance. IMG_0250.MOV