JT3 Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Complete newbie here so bear with me. I made a small fire brick forge and a burner to try my hand at this. I like it, and it works. My flame from the burner sometimes "falls" to the bottom of the Forge for 30 seconds, then pops back up to looking like a rocket engine. Maybe 30 seconds up, 30 down. Sometimes a couple minutes each way. It still gets hot, but when it's on the floor, it definitely isn't heating as well. Firebrick glows orange so there's heat there, it's just annoying hearing it change pitch. I know I have at least one problem because my drill and tap job for the orifice isn't even close to plumb. If someone could give a suggestion as to where to start looking at this I'd appreciate it. Harbor freight mig tip .035. I don't know what pressure I am running, but It seems to run best on quite low pressure on my 0-30psi regulator. Here's a video of the flame. Regardless, it's way better than my first try with a weed burner. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT3 Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 A couple more pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT3 Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 I should have also added that outside of the forge, the burner burns very steadily from barely any pressure, all the way up to wide open 30psi with not much difference other than flame length. The flame is much longer than the depth of my forge though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcornell Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 I'm going to take a guess and say you don't have a flare/flame holder on the end of your t-burner. I had the same jumping - I put on a bigger flare and it went away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT3 Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 Thanks. I have a 1 1/4 to 3/4 reducer on the end of the 3/4 x 10" nipple. The end of the bell iis about 1/8" from flush into the forge. I'll have to look and see if they have a 1.5 x 3/4 reducer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 A burr or contaminant inside the gas passage is capable of causing your problem. It easy enough to break down the passageways to clean them out and check for loose burrs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Even when it's burning at the end of the tube it's not burning well and it appears to be very rich. You should correct the jet alignment issue before doing much of anything else - other than Mikey's suggestion(s). Those should always be given due consideration over pretty much any of the rest of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT3 Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 5 minutes ago, Mikey98118 said: A burr or contaminant inside the gas passage is capable of causing your problem. It easy enough to break down the passageways to clean them out and check for loose burrs. Thanks. Do I need to grind out the threads in the large end of the reducer as well or don't they count as burrs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 He's talking about burrs in your mig tip or the fittings attached to it and/or your gas line, not the burner tube. You're looking for anything that could restrict the flow of propane up to the point where it exits the mig tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT3 Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 5 minutes ago, Buzzkill said: He's talking about burrs in your mig tip or the fittings attached to it and/or your gas line, not the burner tube. You're looking for anything that could restrict the flow of propane up to the point where it exits the mig tip. Ooohhh. Thanks. As for your rich comment earlier. Would you recommend downsizing the mig tip to. 030 from. 035? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozenforge Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Your mig tip appears to be aimed off to one side vs directly down the center of the mixing tube. That might be causing some unwanted turbulence hence the unstable flame. The fine tuning makes all the difference between an OK burner and a good burner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT3 Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 It's definitely off. I don't have a drill press and this was my first tap. Didn't work out so well. Looks like I need to start over on the head piece. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 28 minutes ago, JT3 said: Would you recommend downsizing the mig tip to. 030 from. 035? Not at first. Since the jet (mig tip) is not aimed anywhere near the center of the tube it may not be pulling in as much air as it would be if it were aimed correctly. If it' still burning rich after you make that correction then you'll want to try a smaller tip or trim the tip back so the end is further from the entrance of the pipe nipple. Either one of those options should change the fuel/air ratio so that there is more air compared to fuel. If you're close I'd recommend trimming the mig tip. If it's still way rich I'd try the smaller orifice tip first. Regardless I wouldn't mess with either of those things until the jet is shooting propane somewhere near the center of the tube. Without a lathe or a drill press it can be a little tricky. It looks like you welded a fitting to the top of the T. You may have cut the weld and run water through the tip until you get it centered then tack the fitting where it needs to be. What matters is that the tip is aimed down the center of the tube regardless of how far off everything else may be or seem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb the Unlucky Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 Hey guys, first time on here. I’ve been having the same problems with ONE of my two (identical) forge burners. I bought them off of eBay and they appear to be frosty the luckys design. This is my first proForge so I don’t know anything about burners. . I believe the reason is that with the one that works properly, i used a hole saw that was the same size as the end of the flare. I only managed to cut one hole with the saw and used a 2.25in instead of a 2in for the hole in my forge/insulation. The good one had an even hole and the bad burning burner is like a crater. I don’t know if that’s what’s causing, and I tried welding the burner deeper into my forge and that didn’t help. I’m kinda stuck now on what to do and would appreciate any advice. Caleb the unlucky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 Welcome to IFI! If you haven't yet, please READ THIS FIRST!!! Do you have pictures of your setup that you can share with us? It's easier to diagnose the problem and recommend a solution when we can see what you're dealing with . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Welcome aboard Caleb, glad to have you. If you put your general location in the header there might be members within visiting distance. Have you tried swapping burners to the other burner ports? That should tell you if it's a burner problem or a sloppy forge construction problem. I'm betting when you describe the port with the "good" burner as a smooth hole and the port with the "bad" burner as looking like a crater, you've described the problem. That's just a guess. If you'll post a couple pics we'll have a better chance of getting you up and working. Please NO videos, still pics are much easier to evaluate than shaky videos. A shot of the burners and outside of the forge so we can see how they're mounted and plumbed. A couple pics of the burners burning in the forge. If you can, a pic of each one burning individually would be best. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 What is the length of your mixing tube; it looks quite long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Mikey, that's the photo from the original poster a couple of years ago. We're still waiting for photos from Caleb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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