Big Lake Forge Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 So today i had just gotten my gas forge put together, after 1 year of gathering parts and maybe $200 dollars. I had a BAD experience. I was putting my burner in my forge body and i felt a alot of wind coming into my shop and my shop it 3 sided with one open side and i didnt really pay any attention to it. This was the first time i had ever lit my burner and it is a venturi style buner if that makes any difference. Anyway, I turned on the gas and lit my buner mith me blocking the wind from the burner and as soon as i stepped out of the way, the flame shot back into the burner and started flaming up, so i shut off the gas, took the burner off the regulater hose, put the burner on my anvil and hit it with my sledge hammer. I dont think that burner will be bothering anyone else for a long, long time!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pault17 Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I know you can smother a fire out. never tried to encase it in the metal though. other than the burner, hope all is well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhartironwerks Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 While I can appreciate your frustration, you may have just blown a good learning experience by destroying the burner. Things don't always go as planned in blacksmithing. Good luck in the future. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Lake Forge Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 i know it just scared the heck out of me, but i think i will go back to my coal forge!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisG Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Forge ahead.....yeah pun intended. Try it again, not sure of the type of gas one you are talking about but I made one and here is the link and it may have helpful info for you.LINK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Another option would have been to turn gass off and wait til the wind was calm and try again. One question. was there a lag in time between turning gas on and lighting it..that would have let gas go where ever it wishes. When and if you make another burner make sure you make it exactly like the instructions describe. Tried and true plans are best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Lake Forge Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 no i held my lighter in front of the burner as i turned the gas up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinton Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 When I light my gas forge I just put a small piece of brown paper in there and light it- then I turn the gas on slowly to each burner (my forge has 2 burners) Once it is lit I open the valves a little more untill I get a good flame in there. I have seen guys get lit up with propane- one guy on a cutting torch opened the gas valve then began looking for a striker= a big ball of flame covering his upper body and head- no more eyebrows all facial hair singed, hair singed badly. He was not seriously hurt but badly embarrassed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Usually when I get burn back it's usually that the pinhole has come out of exact alignment down the center of the tube. I adjust and and it's fine. My blower system sometimes get shut off by the GFI being weird. (it happens will all powered equipment using that plug so it's not a problem with the blower and it's not my plug so I can't change it out...) Flame starts billowing out. We turn off the gas and reset the GFI. May I suggest you have someone with some gas forge experience to hand NEXT time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Lake Forge Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 yea, thanks for all the replies. I was embarrassed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 I have had my properly tuned forge do that in a good wind, push the fire right up an out! Took a serious wind though and I should have shut down and cleaned up by that point (storm) Build another burner and try again! Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Losing your temper with your tools can be counter productive. I once worked for a guy who would lose his temper and *throw* tools when he got frustrated. We learned to seek cover when we heard the profanity, as he was paying us by the hour he was losing 4 times the time during these episodes. Funny thing he once told us a story of when he was much younger and re-roofing a barn in Colorado. To "speed things up" he had wired the safety off on his air nailer---and being Colorado the sheathing was *heavy* for snowloads and it was a sizable nailer. Well as might be expected in a cautionary tale he ended up nailing his leg to the roof. Losing his temper he grabbed the nearest tool and threw it as hard as he could and *then* realized he had thrown the hammer off the roof and he was stuck there for an appreciable time before anyone was close enough to hear him asking them to bring a hammer up and pull the nail holding his leg to the roof. Guess he was a slow learner... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraythe Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 I agree on losing temper. Especially with propane. The reality is the gas velocity wasnt high enough to cause the venturi effect. You either needed a smaller nozzle, or to reposition the nozzle further in the burner. I have run venturis in high wind just fine (though I prefer blown burners for unrelated reasons) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraythe Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 no i held my lighter in front of the burner as i turned the gas up. Dont do that unless you want a trip to the emrgency room. Use a sparker like the kind meant to start OA torches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Dont do that unless you want a trip to the emrgency room. Use a sparker like the kind meant to start OA torches. I find I get best results from using a plumber's torch, inserted lit into the cavity before turning the gas on to the forge. The least amount of drama, excitement, loud noises with flame where I don't want it...Good things! Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basher Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 my advice would be to find someone who has a working and untempremental gas forge and go and observe their light up procedure and set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonjic Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 im with basher, its all about confidence and knowing what to look for / at. My (xxxx near perfect) venturi gas forge does a very sizeable 'whump' when lit, and can spit the ball of lit newspaper 'spill' 6' when it ignites. perfectly normal for my forge, terrifies people who have not seen it before Yellow billowey propane flare ups do not concern me (close the bottle, assess the situation).... its the prospect of unignited gas that scares me. Often gas forges require a bit of nursing untill the chamber gets hot, then they become a lot more stable. They also become much safer when they are up to heat (to my mind at least) , as they re-ignite the burner if it blows iteself out. Even though me and my gas forge are friends, I still wont leave it unattended untill the chamber has taken some colour with the heat. Just not worth the risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I close the air baffle when I light my forge with a b-bq lighter. I get just a soft fluffing flame, step back and open the air baffle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.