Gregor1 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Hi, guys, Long time lurker first time caller.... I have got a small N.C. forge about 12.5x6x3" inside dia. stock, i've used it for years but it has never got hot enough and never enough heat to weld with by a long shot. I have two Ron Reil "T" rex burners but they are a few years old, i'm not sure if they are his most current design. just lately I've been wishing I could weld with this forge, so I have been experimenting. To no avail, maybe worse. I put the two T rex burners in the forge, hard to light low temp. and they "puff" as if someone was turning on and off the gas really quickly. Also the air vents need to be open fully for it to work at all. From the descriptions of the T Rex burner and the what I've read this system should be great. I'm afraid I'm may be missing something. Any thoughts as to how I might proceed? Thanks in advance Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EtownAndrew Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 It sounds like you should be able to forge weld. If you are having trouble with the burners how do you get it to work normally. Do you use a different set of burners? I think that the puffing sound normally comes from not having the pressure turned up enough. But that may not be what is happening in your case. Can you post a couple pictures of the burners and propane forge. That may show something that the description misses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Your forge area is too small for your burners. The back pressure in the fire box is what's causing the burners to puff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 What does it run like with only one burner going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Welcome aboard Greg, glad to have you. If you put your general location in the header you might be surprised at how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance. The Rex burners are made by Rex Price, not Ron Reil and are different types of burners. The inside dimensions of your forge put it right at 221 cu/in volume and ONE 3/4" Rex is more than enough to bring that volume to welding, heck melt steel heat. To burners are making way too much back pressure so it's huffing and seeing as they are NOT actually burning they're blowing cold air. Turn one off and close the choke so it doesn't act as a chimney and get cooked. That forge chamber is a shape that isn't going to want to heat evenly, it's long and narrow so the volume under the burner will be the hottest and cooler the farther away it gets. If you actually need even heat you'll want to make two 1/2" burners and use them in the existing burner ports. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregor1 Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 Ok sounds like i've got some homework. I'll Take some pics of how it is now and some of the results of the changes that are suggested and post again. BTW I am located in Montgomery, NY 12549. For the last fifteen years i have hosted a blacksmith meet here at my shop. This year it is on the 22 of March. All are welcome. We have a demonstrator in the morning. It is always a good time! Greg Phillips 937 Rt.17k Montgomery NY 12549 845-590-5254 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy k Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Greg - have you contacted the maker and asked them why it's not working to your needs?They should be able to trouble shoot it for you : http://www.nctoolco.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 If youir forfge is a two buner whisper model with a sheet metal door..they are deisigned to ehat horshoes for shaping...not any of them that I have seen or used are hot enouigh for forge welding...The other models,, like the whisper mama and whisper daddy work really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Excellent Greg, we're on the way. Once again I find myself with a little regret for living so far from the main stream, I'd just LOVE to make meets at other clubs. If you ever get up this way let us know and we'll fete you. Same goes for anybody. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregor1 Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 Here it is as it is. If I need to make a new larger forge what would be the perfect inside dimensions for these burners ? Hmm... I gues drag and drop doesn't work on this forum. Can I attach pics and or movies to the reply ? Ahgg!!I just ran out ouf fuel. I guess there will be no tweaking of the flame this weekend. Maybe its a good time to make a new forge of the correct volume. Could some one point out where to look or how the figure that out ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 If you're using two 3/4" burners 9"x9"x9" is right at 730 cu/in and can handle some odd shapes and sizes. This just so happens to be a really easy chamber to make from fire brick. This brings up one of my favorite types of gas forge, especially for folk getting into the craft and so not sure just what size or shape they'll need. Not saying this last applies now but it might for some guys reading. Build a table with a fire brick deck larger than the proposed forge size, say 18" on a side. Put a shelf on the stringers so you can store the fire brick. Now all you have to do is stack fire brick in a size and shape you need slip a burner tip in a gap and you're off to the races. If you rig the burners similar to the way I do you can turn as many on or off as you need and not be burning gas you don't need to. How do I plumb my burners you ask? I put a 1/4 turn ball valve right behind the regulator on the propane bottle, then the hose to 3/8" pipe nipple which has 3/8" "T"s. with a 1/4 turn ball valve in line. From the manifold to the burners is 3/8" pipe to 1/4" compression fitting, 1/4" copper tubing and the burner is connected with a 1/4" compression x 3/8" mpt fitting. It sounds complicated but it's actually pretty simple and if you use a lot more copper tubing on each burner you can shorten it by making large coils. this lets it be flexible and you can adjust the length considerably meaning you can put burners where you want within reason. If you want one somewhere unreasonable, use longer copper tubing. The manifold and copper tubing holds enough gas to help level pressure spikes caused by turning burners on or off. The copper tubing is fire proof so you don't have to take special measures to shield it from the fire. Heck, put it IN the fire, preheating the propane has more effect than heating the intake air. I don't know why but that's shy you see the stainless steel preheating coils on hot air balloon burners. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Read my tutorial on my web-site. Certainly not the only way to build a gas forge but it is the way I like to build them. If nothing else it may give you some ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EtownAndrew Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 I have a Brick Pile forge like Frosty describes. At one point I had two 3/4" burners hooked together and running off one tank. Since then I have separated them to run on individual tanks. This provides several advantages. The main advantage is that it makes the burners more portable. I transfer them between a forge and melting furnace. I also use them for occasional spot heating. Most of the time I only use one burner for the forge and furnace. I can easily block off the back half of the forge to heat small items with 1 burner. In fact I use the 2nd burner so infrequently that it is now coiled up on a shelf and not installed in it's place on the forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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