I've been looking at the Harbor Freight weed torch. You know for burning weeds, grass in a metal fencing etc. They are infinitly adjustable and if you squeeze the lever the flame gets super hot. The nozzle is 2" like most forge nozzles and it comes with a hose and regulator. The cost is $19.95 the one with a built in lighter (like on a grill) is $29.95.  And o'course I'm suggesting this idea as a first burner for a brick forge to get you started. Any thoughts on this.

 

Edited November 13, 20178 yr by Retiry
Addendum

Lots of folk think a weed burner might make a good forge burner but they don't, they're intended to burn weeds not get steel forging hot. The flame is very oxidizing so there is plenty of oxy so the weeds can get burning.

The closest to a furnace I've seen weed burners used for successfully are Raku kilns and an investment mold wax burn out furnace. And those are the old can on a stick type weed burners, not the thumb valve, big roaring flame weed blaster type.

Don't be disappointed though, the regulator and hose is the most expensive components when  making your own burner and $30.00 for the pair is a good deal and who knows you might need to burn weeds or thaw some attractive scrap steel out of frozen ground.

Frosty The Lucky.

I sometimes toy with the idea of using mine as the gas supply end to a Frosty T-burner, but it’s just too darn useful for getting a fire going in the smoker. 

Whats the best type regulator adjustable or non. Also I'm going for an 18" brick forge by 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 opening, would I need one or two burners.

 

 

13 minutes ago, Retiry said:

Whats the best type regulator adjustable or non. Also I'm going for an 18" brick forge by 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 opening, would I need one or two burners.

Retiry, please go read the pinned Forges 101 and Burners 101 threads in their entirety.

Adjustable is mandatory; 0-30 psi is a good range; many burners will work fine with 0-15 psi.  They must be rated for propane!

Brick forge: Hard firebrick or soft insulating firebrick?

What do you plan to use it for

How much activity will it see?

Can't answer a vague question...your assumptions may be different from my assumptions...

The reason for the length is for versatility, making tongs .  Mostly I ll be learning to do knives, using it a couple times a week over time.

14 minutes ago, Retiry said:

Whats the best type regulator adjustable or non. Also I'm going for an 18" brick forge by 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 opening, would I need one or two burners.

Cross posted with everyone else

ADJUSTABLE, hands down.  I recommend a 0-30 psi propane regulator at least, preferably with a pressure gage.  Quantity of burners has to do with type of burner, forge insulation, desired forging temperatures, forge inner volume, forge thermal mass...  A fair nominal rule of thumb is (1) 3/4" diameter mixing tube burner for each 300-350 cubic inches of forge inner volume.  Careful with the fire brick, you want insulating fire brick rated for at least 2,600 deg. F, not hard fire brick (which is just a massive heat sink).  Unfortunately the insulating brick suffers from thermal shock and isn't the best choice for a forge liner IMHO. 

We all make our first forges too large.  You most likely will only need to heat a maximum of 6" of stock length at a time for the projects you mention.  Be much better with a forge with a maximum heated length of around 8" and a thru port in the back than a huge brick pile.

Only heat what you can work at one go!

I believe the weed burner your speaking of is the one in this photo.  It works but you need to keep a fan on it so that it doesnt pull in hot air and choke itself out.  And it blackens the crap out of the metal.  And it doesnt get all that hot (although some of that may have been the crappy forge it was attached to).  For the same price you can build a tburner and buy a cheap 0-20 psi regulator off of amazon.

I forgot to add it drains a 20# tank in about 2 hours.  Compare that to the 8 or so hours i get with my current forge and any money you think youre sabing you arent.

On 11/13/2017 at 11:32 AM, Latticino said:

Cross posted with everyone else

ADJUSTABLE, hands down.  I recommend a 0-30 psi propane regulator at least, preferably with a pressure gage.  Quantity of burners has to do with type of burner, forge insulation, desired forging temperatures, forge inner volume, forge thermal mass...  A fair nominal rule of thumb is (1) 3/4" diameter mixing tube burner for each 300-350 cubic inches of forge inner volume.  Careful with the fire brick, you want insulating fire brick rated for at least 2,600 deg. F, not hard fire brick (which is just a massive heat sink).  Unfortunately the insulating brick suffers from thermal shock and isn't the best choice for a forge liner IMHO. 

We all make our first forges too large.  You most likely will only need to heat a maximum of 6" of stock length at a time for the projects you mention.  Be much better with a forge with a maximum heated length of around 8" and a thru port in the back than a huge brick pile.

Thanks to the three of you Bineman, Thomas and Mr. Latticino for your replies they all of course make sense. And I've learned one xxxx of a lot. I decided to use a portable air tank only 14"  long 3 inch hole in the back 5 in the front line it with ceramic blanket two layers of 1 inch and seal it with kiln refractory cement with a 1 1/4 inch insulating brick for the surface.  With the two inches of blanket times two, it leaves me with 10 inches less the space taken up with the cement layer front and back. So 9 1/2" long and the open area inside will be 6 1/2 inches in diameter. I'm going to use a .035 MIG tip. I'm going to drill 4 -1/4 inch holes and use a slider for fine adjustment. Any thoughts? 

I went to buy an anvil yesterday in Ohio. Paid 275.00 woke this morning to the FedEx guys knock. It's my copy of Anvils in America (signed copy ) ooooohhh. Looked up the anvil, it's an 1843 "Eagle" by Fisher. Jackpot first time out.  I know it's a 1843 because it says patent pending it was awarded the next year.  So it's a first run. When I get help getting it out of the trunk I'll post a picture.

Need a little more info on your burner to say anything.  What design are you using?  What size pipe diameter and length?  What are you using for a flame retainer?

 

also with your forge you said tou where closing up the backend.  Just to clarify you do intend to still leave a pass through correct?

On 11/14/2017 at 12:01 AM, Binesman said:

I believe the weed burner your speaking of is the one in this photo.  It works but you need to keep a fan on it so that it doesnt pull in hot air and choke itself out.

I definitely looks like it.

 

18 hours ago, Retiry said:

I'm going to use a .035 MIG tip. I'm going to drill 4 -1/4 inch holes and use a slider for fine adjustment. Any thoughts? 

Sounds like a variation on a Dave Hammer burner.  I believe the ones I made had  .030 mig tips and four larger holes on a 3/4" mixing tube (maybe half inch, I can measure if it helps).  Mine didn't also have a rear air entry port, so if yours does that will change things.

For your first burner build I strongly recommend that you just slavishly copy someone's existing design to limit the duration of the experimentation process.  In addition to build quality, there are a surprising number of finicky details that make the difference between a good burner and one that is dangerous to operate.  Specific location of the gas orifice is a big deal in naturally aspirated burner design, as is diameter and length of mixing tube, size, location and even edge geometry of air inlets, burner outlet configuration, materials of construction... (you get the idea).

Probably the easiest to construct with limited equipment is the Frosty Tee, one of the more effective is a Mickey burner (both designers regularly post here and can sometimes be persuaded to help with tuning).  I can only be of limited help as I'm more of a forced air burner guy, and those are quite different.

I'm doing a venturi design from an artist in Alabama. Mostly all stainless. It uses .040 orfice but it's very hot and can be used to melt or turned down for bending. It uses a 0-30psi regulator. I've gone through 3 interations this is the one I'm going with. And it uses Tig welding and I need to practice. I got to justify my purchase.

Then you should use the designer as your primary resource for design assistance.  Please send us details and photos once you get it up and running.

Will do.

 

When are we just going to put a banner at the top of the internet:  "If you care about quality AT ALL, just say "NO" to H****r F*****t"?

On ‎11‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 8:19 AM, ThomasPowers said:

Can't answer a vague question...your assumptions may be different from my assumptions...

Ugh!

Those are the hidden rocks, just waiting to sink someone's boat.