Need help first forge/burner build and trouble with burner

[LiveWire]

So I built my forge and I tested my Frosty burner out for a minute or two while I was just lined with kaowool and it ran beautifully.   Consistent nice flame that heated my metal to temp in 2 minutes.  Problem is I just got my rigidizer and the stuff to line the wool will hopefully be here soon.  I pulled the burner off of the forge to rigidize the wool... put burner back in after it sat for 24 hours and went to fire it up to help try out and set the rigidizer.  Now it won't stay running?  Any ideas on what could cause that.  I literally just loosened up the set screws and pulled the burner out.  Didn't do anything else.

[LiveWire]

This was before rigidizer.  Ran great.  Now it won't even stay lit?

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[ThomasPowers]

I've noticed my NA burners can get misaligned when I move them or the forge with them in place and I have to re-tune them

[Frosty]

It's easy to misalign the things, sometimes just moving the hose is enough to bump the jet out of alignment and it's maybe not aimed where it wants to be in the forge.  You had a beautiful flame before, it's still there you just have to find it. 

It's fiddling time.

Frosty The Lucky.

[LiveWire]

Been messing with it for hours now.  I can get it to keep a flame at next to no pressure just a candlelight intensity but as soon as I add gas it shuts off.  I put a blowtorch in it to hold the flame cranked to 20psi and got it to keep but it's a tornado of fire and sounds irregular.  First video is small flame and adding pressure it shuts off.  Second video is 20psi to get it rolling then turned down to 10psi and it held but not nearly as nice as before.  Do you think there's too much moisture in the air from the rigidizer?  Air should be coming in from behind the mig tip right?

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[timgunn1962]

How dry is your rigidizer?

It needs to be properly dry. If it is not, it can take so much (latent) heat out of the flame and produce so much water vapour that the burner struggles to stay lit. 

Make sure it's really dry and try again before you start messing with any other variables.

If I've thoroughly soaked the blanket, I generally give it at least a couple of weeks to dry off in the shop before trying to run the burner. This is obviously climate and time of year dependent: I am in Lancashire, England. Mine is not generally considered a warm, dry climate. I don't normally heat the shop, but usually run a dehumidifier in there. 

Once I've got the rigidizer properly dry, I'll apply a coating and leave it at least another week or so before running the burner again. 

I've tried force-drying a few times. Taking it into the house speeds things up quite a lot, but does not exactly promote marital harmony. Apart from the spousal disgruntlement, this doesn't seem to cause a problem and it cuts the drying time from weeks to a couple of days or so.

I have tried leaving small forges on top of an oil-filled electric radiator in the shop with less success.

I think rigidizer should be fine at perhaps 20 degC (38 degF) above ambient, maybe more.

For a surface coating, I have mostly used a 2:1 mix of Zirconium Silicate and Porcelain clay powder, made into a slip and painted on. Although not ideal even when dried slowly, this seems to crack much more when dried fast. If it is not fully dry when the burner is lit, it tends to flash off steam which lifts a paper-thin layer. This fires quickly and breaks up, then it seems to happen again. The result is a very fragile surface coat of varying thickness. 

I fully appreciate that nobody is going to wait weeks for their first forge to dry. However, it's a good idea to run your first forge for a few weeks, maybe even months, to work out how the next one can be built better, but to build the second before the first fails completely and ensure it has thoroughly dried before firing. 

If I really need to build and run a forge in a single weekend, I use IFBs and bypass the whole drying issue. I don't see any realistic way of building a long-lasting, flux-tolerant forge on such a tight timescale in my climate and using conventional materials.

[LiveWire]

Ok.  I was thinking it may be the moistire content in the air.  Wool was still pretty damp.  Applied the rigidizer 48hrs ago and this stuff takes forever to dry apparently.   Im super anxious to start hammering so i thought id run the burner for a minute or two every hour to speed up the drying process today.  I'll just let it sit and dry a couple more days.  

I see so often people are told not to modify the burners but frostys guide is for a 3/4.  I made a 1/2".  Thought maybe it was my design but I know it ran ok before?

Thanks for the quick replies guys.  Anxious newbie here.  Can't wait to use this thing! 

[Jasent]

I used a hand torch to speed up the drying then kicked on the forge. Tried it wet and had same trouble as you

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

The best way to speed up the drying is to place a 100wt incandescent light bulb inside for as long as it takes usually a day or so.

[LiveWire]

So I just got home from dinner with the Mrs' and it was significantly dryer from all my fiddling with it this afternoon.  I fired it up and it' sputtering but working better.  I think you guys may have solved my dilemma.  

Thats a great idea irondragon.  Just may give that a try.

Not gonna lie I was freaking out a bit.  By the way... Frosty... your burner is fantastic.  I made a 1/2" one and this thing is mean.  I can only imagine what the 3/4 is like!  Super excited to get started.

Thanks a bunch guys.