new ribbon burner forge issues questions

[wrickm]

I built a small ribbon burner propane forge and i really love how it burns, but i have had a couple issues.  I feel like i am constantly adjusting up the regulator.  I know that bottles freeze, but it starts only a few minutes after i light it up.  I never had to pay this much attention to the pressure on the venturi burner setup.   I would appreciate any thoughts you guys have.  I use a heating wrap on the bottle but the bottom still get's frosty so i am going to cut a barrel in half to make a water tank for the bottle. . .  I have attached a pic of my setup.

 

[Frosty]

What's it doing to need turning up the gas? Having to adjust a little as the burner block warms up isn't strange.

Frosty The Lucky.

[D.Rotblatt]

If it's the tanks getting cold, my larger ribbon burner freezes a 30# tank.  I finally plumbed two tanks together and it solved that problem, and it lasts longer.  My setup is like yours, the two tanks sit under the forge, but I plan to change that (after 40 years of doing it this way, I suddenly got an image of a faulty pressure release valve giving out in a plume of LP gas that would ignite under the forges...just a silly little thought I can't seem to shake ).

If it's not the tanks freezing, read Frosty's question....

DanR

[wrickm]

11 hours ago, Frosty said:

What's it doing to need turning up the gas? Having to adjust a little as the burner block warms up isn't strange.

Frosty The Lucky.

Going cold, starts nice strong flame with a beautiful big hotspot, the the fuel flow drops and the flame loses focus (becomes less visible fans out more) and the area directly under the burner becomes darker and colder than the edges.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

The problem could also be with the tanks themselves. BBQ newer tanks have a safety valve that limits the pressure the tank will let out. Have you tried opening the tank valve very slowly or get an older tank that has no safety valve?

This from the Blue Rhino web site about that.

Quote

The OPD valve has a safety feature that sometimes restricts gas flow if the tank is turned all the way on. We recommend that you turn the tank valve one turn (360 degrees), light up, and then use smaller turns for a higher flame. The normal procedure is to turn the tank on and then turn the grill controls on, but doing this with a tank equipped with an excess flow device will sometimes cause the "check valve" to prematurely activate.

 

[wrickm]

irondragon, i dont think that is the issue, but that is great info to have.  It makes how the tanks act when i get mad and whip the regulator up to full make a lot more sense.  At first i thought i was just somehow suffocating the flame, but this makes waaaaay more sense.  Thanks man!

[ThomasPowers]

Having been around an older style tank at a camp ground where some fool unhooked it without checking that it was turned off and vented it to the great outdoors; I am ok with messing with fussy check valves.  Better than messing my pants!  (I helped to make a perimeter to keep people away until it was done and dissipated.  Fuel Air bombs are not your friend!)

[Frosty]

15 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

Fuel Air bombs are not your friend!

Doesn't that depend on where they are?

On 11/25/2019 at 7:58 AM, wrickm said:

Going cold, starts nice strong flame with a beautiful big hotspot, the the fuel flow drops and the flame loses focus (becomes less visible fans out more) and the area directly under the burner becomes darker and colder than the edges.

Over how long a period of time? If it's during the first few minutes there's a problem but if it's over a couple few hours it's drawing enough gas to cause the liquid propane to start turning to slush and lower the available gas.

If it's the second you need a larger propane tank. MY NARB runs fine on a 40lb. tank for about 4-5hrs before starting to freeze up. I can run both NARBS on my 100 lb. tank all day. 

Frosty The Lucky.