O D: That looks like one of my really early T burner builds where I cobbled a fitting on a piece of lamp rod to make up to the mig tip. I had a lot of trouble moving the end of the jet far enough back from the tube to induce enough air. There is still a concept drawing of my second generation T burner here on Iforge I'd sure like to see removed as it's so out of date. Give the new illustrated directions a shot, they're much easier to make and get right.

I don't clean the threads out of the thread protector / coupler, they actually reduce friction. I know that sounds backwards but air blowing across close spaced ripples like internal threads makes turbulence against the surface that allows the main stream of air to pass with less resistance. It's counter intuitive I know but it works.

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F C: There are welding suppliers in NJ, I know there are. There isn't any real advantage to buying them from Amazon. I can get a 10 pack at either of the welding suppliers within say 20 miles of me for under $15.00 tax included  and that's here in Wasilla, Alaska. There's also no reason to buy the tapered mig contact tips the air flow in which you need to consider turbulence is generated well after the gas jet. Sure those would work but if they were too short it'd be tough to lengthen them where standard mig tips are too long out of the package so shortening them to tune is a given.

Frosty The Lucky.

Alright thank you frosty. I will check out a welding supply place, or even maybe my local hardware store. One other thing is the 1/8" mpt x 1/4" flare fitting. The regulator kit I'm getting from Zoeller forge has a 1/4" npt fitting that is meant to attach to the burner. Will this work or should I get the 1/8" mpt x 1/4" flare fitting? I am hoping my hardware store will have that too becuase I can't seem to find anywhere online that sells them. Thanks for the help

The IPS faries disappeared my reply AGAIN!! ARGHHH. I'll have to get back later.

Frosty The Lucky.

The IPS faries disappeared my reply AGAIN!! ARGHHH. I'll have to get back later.

Frosty The Lucky.

Well, if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing a bit. And overthinking. Didn't mess much with tuning it perfectly, the flame in the furnace was a nice even blue, and not much if any excess flame was coming out of the top. Foundry is a bit different than a forge, the flame doesn't impinge directly on the metal being heated. If it does, time to change the crucible. Furnace atmosphere can be important, depending on the alloy being used. I didn't even get much dross, come to think about it, so it was probably on the neutral/slightly rich side.

A foundry burner is a different thing, not a lot maybe but different.

Fingers crossed, Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty, what is the effect of a .030 mig tip instead of a .035? Will a .030 work okay for a little while, at least if the forge doesn't need to get to welding heat?

If everything else is correct it'll run lean. You can tune it to neutral by moving the end of the mig tip (jet) closer to the burner tube so it induces less air. On the up side the smaller jet and higher gas pressure will make the burner less affected by breezes and back pressure.

So, yes using a 0.030 tip is only a final tuning issue. If you're doing it like I showed in the plans and trimming the tip to increase air induction you don't trim it as short as a 0.035. The affects of difference in supplied propane adjusts right out.

Frosty The Lucky.

Great! Thank-you very much!

Another question. The burner tube or mixing tube, whatever you call it, if you're building a 3/4" burner, you need a 6" tube. Does this 6" include the part that is screwed into the T? So the length outside the T is less the 6"? Or is this not really a big deal?

5 hours ago, tonyw said:

Another question. The burner tube or mixing tube, whatever you call it, if you're building a 3/4" burner, you need a 6" tube. Does this 6" include the part that is screwed into the T? So the length outside the T is less the 6"? Or is this not really a big deal?

I just buy a 6" nipple, the 8:1 ratio isn't a tight specification, you have leeway, 9:1 works just fine, If you go much longer then you have to start tapering the tube or skin friction will severely inhibit performance. Going shorter isn't a good choice though they need some length to let the fuel air time and space to mix.

Frosty The Lucky.

Ok I've built my t burner and I am having trouble tuning it. I have made sure my fitting is perfectly straight down the center . When I fire it up I am getting a little to much flame around the mig  tip for comfort and if you start turning upthe pressure I get a blue flame but not with the nice cone in the middle . II've tried shaving the mig tip down several times until I got the first one so short it would kill the flame with any pressure . It acts like I'm leaking gas around the 5/16" hole but I'm not I've checked all connections.  Frosty any advise on what I'm doing wrong . Besides everything lol

Flame should not be at the Mig-Tip!! Flame should be at the mouth/tip of the Burner ONLY. Test it in a Forge, not hanging free.

Neil

 

Ok I will try that I was testing it in free air . I watched a video on YouTube where the guy had his running perfect on a bench so I just assumed mine would to . I've been using Ron reil burner and it works good but I wana try this burner .

I feel embarrassed to ask this, since there is no mention of it in the plans, but I have no idea how to connect copper tubing to a propane tank. Would somebody mind helping me out?

Most folk I know connect their regulator to the propane tank and tubing to the out side of the regulator.

The regulators I have owned over the last 35 years all had fittings that fit a propane tank when I got them.

I was hoping to get by with a needle valve rather than a regulator; does that make a difference?

Regulator is strongly suggested as they require less fiddling as a tank chills and runs lower.

Many thanks! I'll take your advice.

1 hour ago, tonyw said:

Many thanks! I'll take your advice.

Always wise.

This has probably been asked, but I've done some searches and extensive reading, and I've not found what I'm looking for.

So, what's the smallest practical T-burner arrangement? I'm concerned with the practicality of the burner setup, more so than the practicality of the small-volume forge. I've seen 1/2" pretty commonly. Can it be done smaller?

Essentially, I like the concept of a tin-can style forge, the kind you usually see paired with torches off the shelf, but I really dislike the idea of using a torch. Seems like a t-burner would give a better result from my reading thus far.

Apologies if I've missed this somewhere in the pages here, or in the threads.

Make a 1/2" T burner and turn the pressure down for a small volume. One of our guys uses a 1/2" T burner in a 2 brick forge with a volume of maybe 40 cu". As far as I know Mig contact tips don't cme smaller than 0.023". If you want to go with a smaller burner you'll need to read up on Mike Porter's designs.

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty,

  I am using a 1/8" secs 80 nipple to build my burner instead of a flare fitting since that is what your alternative plans to connecting directly to a rubber hose say. How should I clamp it to tap? The flare fitting for the other setup has the hex to clamp on. You warned about damaging the threads. Maybe just clamp really lightly? Thanks

Carver: You're still disregarding the plans I made as clear as I possibly could, it has PICTURES of how to make the burner step by STEP. You don't clamp either the pipe nipple NOR the brass fitting at all. If you can't figure out illustrated plans you need to find another hobby.

Frosty The Lucky.

In a 1/2" burner build, d9 I still use a .035 tip?

In addition, I needed to use parts I had available.. (I  know, I  know...) The mig tip threads were too small to tap a 1/8 mpt to fit them.  But the id of a 1/4 flare fit perfectly...

So I have 1/4 flare going into the tee, tapped to accept the mig. It lengthens the rig inside slightly. So just trim the tip shorter to accommodate, yes?