Mikey98118 Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 On 7/20/2017 at 9:01 AM, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: fired it up without the kiln shelf floor and it came up to yellow heat in 10 min. That is pretty much as good as things get. It should be noted that you used what I would normally consider as an out of date burner design in a forge which is so well constructed that it turned the old burner into an asset, thus forcing me to reevaluate what constitutes a good enough forge burner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 I fired it up today to finish curing the bubble alumina and it seems to be slightly hotter. I reduced the interior by about 30 cubic inches if my calculations are correct. It was 460 c.i. now it's 430 c.i. We haven't tried welding in it, today I made a small square punch and an S-hook, leaving the metal in to see if it would "sparkle" and it didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Sounds good. The last pic of it running looked hot enough to weld in. Thickening the floor by about 30 cu/in should make it both a bit hotter and increase the thermal mass so it'll take another 30 seconds warming up. Good things. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 After reading your account about cleaning the burner and spiders I decided this morning to pull ours and check it. Loosened the thumb screws all the way but the burner wouldn't come out, shucky-darn (not my exact words). I finally got it to loosen some but it was stuck solid when the flare hit the burner mounting tube. After much more colorful language and a pry bar & large channel lock pliers, I finally got it out. The problem was the bottom of the cast iron flare had developed a layer of scale on the lower lip that wasn't in the insulation for about a quarter inch. Had to take the angle grinder to it and smooth up the opening. When I put it back in, I made sure the whole flare was in the insulation and not as deep in the mounting tube. That will allow some secondary air but I should be able to compensate with the choke. I checked the propane kiln and the burners allow for a lot of secondary air. After firing it up it came up to what looks like the same heat or a little hotter, wish I had a pyrometer that will measure the temp, ours only goes to 2000° F. After the sun sets, I'll take a picture to see what y'all think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 I had decent luck preserving the thread protectors I use on the T burner instead of a flare by dipping them in Kaolin slip. It's what I had left from a long time ago experimenting with refractories before I learned anything about refractories. Anyway, the clay filled the threads, hardened and really reduced the oxidization. Next time I'll use bentonite. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 It would be good if you wrote a book about T burners and ribbon burners, with such details. Why? Your style of thinking is interesting, and your style of writing is engaging. As a successful author on how-to-do things, I understand how importance those are for an overwhelming majority of readers. I also know that style can't be faked; it comes from a lifetime of thinking in a particular way. My book was everything intended, but my own family couldn't force themselves to read it. Nor well I ever change style, because that require changing me Should you take my advice, just remember that about mid text, I will completely understand when you start cursing my name Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 20, 2018 Author Share Posted June 20, 2018 After the forge got in full shade I fired it up at 6:45 PM at 7psi. I think remembering reading somewhere it takes most propane forges 45 min. to reach welding temp. I put the pyrometer in at 6:50 PM and it read 2000° F which was the red line, the pyrometer actually goes to 2250° F. I took this picture at 7:00 PM after turning up the regulator to 15 psi. I turned the regulator up to 30psi and at 7:15 PM took this picture. Also checked it with the pyrometer and it pegged at 2250° F and melted the element, guess that's why it was red lined at 2000°. I needed an excuse to get a better one anyway... Looks bright yellow to my eyes and it should weld. I wonder if dipping the flare in bentonite mix would effect the performance? Although having it backed up into the Kaowool should protect it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 As to the burner, "Don't fix it if it ain't broke." That is a very hot forge; especially considering its forward exhaust is running wide open! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 20, 2018 Author Share Posted June 20, 2018 Thanks Mikey, always good to have positive feedback. BTW that debris in the first picture is scale from the burner when I was removing it. I'll remove it when the forge is cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 29, 2018 Author Share Posted August 29, 2018 Been a while since visiting this thread. Yesterday I was looking through our cans full of nuts & bolts for some nuts to use on casters, for a work table in progress. I ran across an orifice that I didn't remember having. The hole size is .053 so being the tinkerer that I am, I tried it in the burner. I can say without question that it's way to large for this forge. The burner would stay lit but the amount of dragons breath was horrendous and the forge wasn't getting as hot even with the choke open full. I did change the size of the orifice that we had in the burner from .036 to .038 and it made a difference in the performance of the forge for the better. Amazing what such a small change can make. It heats faster and in sunlight it looks to be high yellow to white after 5 min and the stock reheats much faster. The plan is to pick up some K26 fire bricks to replace the soft one's which should further improve performance. I was about to go and get the camera to take pictures, but it started raining and I had to shut it down to move it indoors. Will get some next time it's fired up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 I have found the right orifice diameter to beat larger, and sometimes small, every time. 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.