I'm curious how many folks here use a commercially made burner flare like the one sold by Larry Zoeller, or the flares that come with the T-Rex burners. If you have such a flare, have you ever replaced it? Do you plan to replace it eventually? Would you be willing to pay a little more for a flare that might last much longer?

If you don't use commercial flares, why not? What alternative do you use? (Sheet metal, piece of pipe, refractory flare cast into the forge, something else)? Do you just go without? If you make your own flares, how often do you make them, and how much time and effort do you put into it?

I'm asking because I've long wondered whether it'd be worthwhile for someone to make high alumina ceramic flares. I'm thinking about what it'd take to do that, and whether it'd be worthwhile.

Bueller? Bueller? :)

I use just the opposite!

Thanks for showing us that video Grant !!! I make gas forges here and there and was looking for something to put on the tip!

I guess that make sense. Simpler, too.

Is that just a piece of rigidized ceramic wool, Grant?

I suspect an accurate hole in the ceramic wool, with a suitable rigidizer would work as well as a flare. I am using Zoller's flare, an last I looked it was brand new looking still, but its not like my forge works that hard...maybe used once a month for an hour or two, (and now I have choice between solid and gas fuels. solid is much cheaper per hour, but takes longer to startup.)

Phil

The underwhelming reaction here is confirming what I suspected. :)

I guess that make sense. Simpler, too.

Yeah, I find if they are set back from the face , they hold up a long time and are cheap and easy to replace. I've done some with a bit of SS pipe welded on the end and they last for years even with hard use.

Is that just a piece of rigidized ceramic wool, Grant?

Pretty much. Those shells are vacuum-molded. The perforated steel mold is covered with a plastic that has millions of holes then they pull a vacuum on the mold and lower it into a tank of refractory fiber and binder slurry. A guy with his hands in the tank controls the buildup thickness. These are done for a 2800 degree rating.

Do you weld in that? (I'm wondering if you have any trouble with flux getting into the burner -- not that a little flux would really do much harm in a blown burner that size.)

The burner is well off to the side and if I was welding I'd not be over the burner. There is also an air gap around the burner. That particular video is with a venturi burner. The burner pipe is 1-1/4". The forge is 5 X 5 X 11.

Here's the venturi I sell that is used in the above video:

Those shells are rad. Will you be producing them for sale? Seems like a cheap way to get folks up and running, simple simple.