DavidTodtman Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Hi All. Here are some pictures of the propane gas manifold I just attached to the forge I am building. But I just wonder if it could be close to the forge for safety. The "idle" line is offset from the outside of the forge body by 1" and the other elements are a little further away. I will insulate the inside of the forge with 2" (thick) of kaowool or similar product. If it is too close, how far away should it be? I do want to mount it beside the forge. David Todtman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Is this a blown or aspirated burner? If there is nothing but gas in the line what is the problem? Propane can't catch on fire/explode without O2 and what you are doing is preheating your fuel---look up recuperative burners please. I'm more worried about your plastic covered handles or having hot handles when you need to do an emergency close on them! Also what temp is your pipe dope rated for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Choices, Choices, Choices. You have lots of Choices when you are building. Why create a potential problem, even if it is a small chance. Heat goes up and out. Fire doesn't follow the rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidTodtman Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 Okay these replies are helpful. I don't know the heat resistance of the pipe "dope"--actually teflon tape specifically for gas applications. I don't want to mess with the potential for heat-caused leaks. I also do not want to have to grab welding gloves to turn the ball valves off. And, what are the internals of the needle valve? Meltable? It will be easy to simply reset the manifold away from the forge body. Any suggestions for how many inches away it should go? I do want it to attach on the side of the forge. I will also add a baffle between the forge and the tree that holds the manifold. Best, David Todtman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 So long as there's nothing flammable or meltable within say 10-12" of the forge body there's no problem. I run a four burner forge with one regulator and five 1/4 turn ball valves, one right in front of the regulator the others on the manifold. Good brass fittings and compression fittings and no need for pipe dope of any kind. My master shutoff is next to the tank, 6'-8' from the forge. The four 1/4 turn ball valves are the individual burner shut offs. Ah HAH, the needle valve is for the idle circuit, took me a second to put two and needle together. I don't bother with an idle circuit, my chamber stays hot enough long enough I can just shut the burner down if I'm going to be away for a while and it'll self light when I turn it back on, coming back up to forging heat in maybe a minute or so. I like simple, less to go wrong, not that an idle circuit is complicated or failure prone. ON the how close is too close I'll be experimenting on the new forge with serious propane preheating. The only hassle is I want to have my burners more portable but still superheat the propane like hot air balloon burners. A while ago I was researching some super efficient burners being made by the British and they were bringing the propane well into 4 digit temps before introducing it into the mixing zone but they were using electric coils to heat it with. I just want to pipe it through some high orange heat and see how it works. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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