Believe me i want to get started but the issue is I dont know what size propane tank I will need to keep the tank from freezing up and I was told that I needed to know the btus to be able to know the size regulator and the size propane bottle I would need 

So basically my biggest question is really just what regulator do I need to use, I want to be able to forge, heat treat, and forge weld fairly easily , sorry for the dumb questions

Just google “high pressure regulator” and get one that has a pressure gauge on it.  I read on one website that it is a good idea to have a gauge with higher psi capacity than you intend to use to avoid damaging it with spikes that can cause the needle to stick when you turn the gas on.  I don’t know how true that is.  Either way, a gauge for 0-30 psi is what most use.  You can get one that claims to be for forges on amazon for pretty cheap.

All the charts you are referencing are likely for gas appliances and not for forges.  I’ve never seen engineering specs for propane forges and I’ve done a LOT of reading on the topic.

Your time would have been best spent reading all the gas forge stickies here and taking notes.  That’s what I did.  I admit that it took a lot of work and, one day, it would be nice to put together one short sticky with all of the most basic information consolidated...but Mikey has done GREAT summaries of late that cover much of it.  I learned what regulator I need by reading those same posts.

 

Lou

Ive been reading them and it honestly just confused me more

If you have to know the BTUs you build the forge and then weigh your propane tank. Run it for say 10 hours straight at working temps and then weigh your tank again and calculate propane usage in pounds per hour and then multiply by BTUs per pound of propane.

Ok, so in summary as long as I get a regulator with a pressure gauge that goes from 0-30 psi is what I need?

 

That is rated for propane.  

I've used 0-15 and 0-30 propane regulators bought at a propane supply place; a propane regulator from a turkey fryer, an acetylene regulator marked "for all fuel gasses"  . Never noticed much difference in how the forges ran these last 20 years.  What I could find cheap was what I went with.

When u used the regulator from the turkey fryer, were u able to acheive welding temps easily?

Well it melted steel into a puddle on the floor of the forge... Of course this was an old turkey fryer bought used at a fleamarket 15 years ago. Had a nice adjustable propane regulator on it.  I don't know if modern ones have been "safened up".

That is good enough for me then thanks a lot sir

On 5/12/2018 at 1:18 PM, Dillion Brian Grant said:

Ive been reading them and it honestly just confused me more

I agree with that.  There is so much information, some counter examples that seem to disagree, and generally an overload in those threads.  But, for fear of the curmudgeons and, because I’m tenacious, I dug through them at least twice each.  I still have a few questions I couldn’t quite answer.  We definitely need to get a simple breakdown post with some of the little details covered...but even then, the information will change as improvements come.  

In the end, you are work8ng hard to do it right and to do it safely and you can’t be faulted for that!  There are plenty of people taking bad information from a YouTube video and settl8ng for what they think is good enough.

First off thanks for agreeing, honestly it amounts to is I want to spend as much money as needed to do it right but i don't want to just me xxxxxxx money away for,stuff that won't work and yes I literally have reread all og them like 5 or 6 times and my brain hates me for,it 

First off sorry for the lauguage really didnt think I said something wrong, but anyways I have finally gotten the money to order everything needed and it is currently on the way the list of stuff I ordered is as follows

 

 

1"×24"×25' ceramic fiber insulation rated for 2600 degrees

1/2 gallon of MEECOS Red Devil refractory cement rated at 3000 degrees

1 pint of Matrikote

 

And 6 Rutland firebricks(hard firebricks rated at 2700 degrees)(the intention is to use them as doors for the front and back 

 

My plan is to use 2 layers of ceramic insulation

Then a thin layer of refractory 

My biggest questions are where would I need to put the matrikote

And also how thick does the layer of refractory need to be?

 

Refractory cement is not the same as the castable refractory material that is often recommended on this site.  That cement is designed to stick pieces of high temperature material together, not to act as a hard shell for your forge.  If you want to build a forge that will perform well and last for a while then you need to get one of the materials that is suitable for the application, like Kastolite 30.

Refractory thickness is a matter of personal preference to some extent.  The thinnest I've seen recommended is a quarter inch thick, but between a quarter and a half inch seems to be common.  The Matrikote is the final coating inside the forge chamber.

So matrikote can be used on the refractory cement

The refractory cement should not be used at all.

Ok so ive got some castable refractory ordered, my question now it this

My forge is 2 parts following the directions on Wayne's website and my dad brought a very good question to my mind which is this, how do I put the ceramic fiber insulation on top 

As in I know i put 1 layer of insulation, then the rigidizer, then the castable refractory, my question is this, what do I do to keep the weight of the castable from collapsing the ceramic fiber insulation ??

Read Build a Gas Forge attachment again.  You hold the blanket back about 1/2" all the way around.  The castable refractory will adhere to the metal and completely enclose the ceramic blanket.

Let me know if I can help you again.

Wayne

Ohhhhh so first the refractory goes on? Ok that makes a lot more sense

PUT THE BLANKET IN, HOLDING BACK ABOUT 1/2" THEN CAST OVER IT, THEN APPLY THE IR PRODUCT.  THE REFRACTORY COVERS THE BLANKET COMPLETELY. 

U Don't have to seem upset sir I was just trying to clarify 

Where can can I order the castable refractory that accepts credit card?

 

Do you mind if it's in Australia?

Honestly all I want is it to be as cheap as possible thats my biggest issue everywhere I have found it it was like 85 dollars +70 dollars for shipping for the 55 pound bag 

So asking the NC blacksmithing groups about local sources to hold down shipping might work better than asking the entire world?

True I honestly had a giant brain dart