Jesse Steele Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Good afternoon from a true rookie. Apologies up front for what is undoubtedly a repeat question. I bought Mr. Porter's book back in 2014, and shamefully, I never made the opportunity to follow through on a burner build. I am in the Navy and just moved to a new home that has an outdoor fireplace with natural gas piped in. I am looking into the potential of tapping off that gas line and finally building a burner and forge. Unfortunately my copy of the book is still with the majority of my household goods and I cant bring myself to pay the current prices on Amazon for a second copy (though still worth it). At any rate, I will patiently wait another two weeks, but I wanted to know in advance if tapping off my gas line is a good idea or should I just stick with a propane tank? I have been reading a lot that says natural gas is not delivered st a high enough pressure for forge work. Sorry, lots of words for a pretty basic question. Thank you, Jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 In general residential natural gas lines do not have enough pressure to operate a naturally aspirated burner. However, if you want to go with a forced air burner then it can work well. If you are going to tap into the natural gas line then you are already tied down, so a blower requiring a tether to electricity doesn't seem like a big downside for you. Blown burners are very easy to construct and it doesn't take much time to learn how to tune them. The only real drawbacks are being tied to a power source and having to adjust the the fuel or air supply any time you change the other one in order to maintain the same forge atmosphere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Steele Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 Buzzkill, Thank you for the prompt and great response! Looks like I have some research to conduct on forced air burners! Jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Normal house pressure for natural gas systems is 6" water column, about 1/4 lb., you can get increased pressure systems to your house, but there is added work and expense involved. You would have to check with your gas company to see what they have to offer. Like Buzzkill stated, there are blown burners working off natural gas at 6" water column. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 It is better to go with a gun burner (fan-blown) with natural gas. On the other hand, the safety devices that garage equipment really should have, if you want to keep the fire marshal and your insurance agent happy, are all set up for gun burners. Porter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 6 hours ago, Jesse Steele said: a true rookie Welcome to the insanity. Where is your new home located? I always suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 There is still all kinds of help for you in the book, outside of what burner design you choose to go with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Steele Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 On 8/21/2019 at 5:49 PM, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: Welcome to the insanity. Where is your new home located? I always suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST Thank you! I am excited to learn from y'alls experience. Just moved to Amarillo, TX. Never thought the Navy would take me to the Texas panhandle. Thanks again. On 8/21/2019 at 12:32 PM, Les L said: Normal house pressure for natural gas systems is 6" water column, about 1/4 lb., you can get increased pressure systems to your house, but there is added work and expense involved. You would have to check with your gas company to see what they have to offer. Like Buzzkill stated, there are blown burners working off natural gas at 6" water column. Thank you! On 8/21/2019 at 2:12 PM, Mikey98118 said: It is better to go with a gun burner (fan-blown) with natural gas. On the other hand, the safety devices that garage equipment really should have, if you want to keep the fire marshal and your insurance agent happy, are all set up for gun burners. Porter Makes sense. I have a tendency to over-research and under-execute. So much misinformation online, I look forward to getting your book back so I can have a reliable, consolidated information. Thanks again! Jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 You want to do a little reseach on gun burners while you're waiting. There are guys on this forum who built their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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