MageDK Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 I recently started getting into forging and I built a small propane forge. It's built out of fire brick. I drilled a hole at the top/side (depending on which way you lay it. I've tried both orientations) and fit the burner into it. The dimensions inside the forge are about 4.5 x 8 inches. When I light up the burner initially it works fine with the choke completely closed. As soon as I start to open up the choke more than a fraction of an inch the flame goes out completely. I've tried opening the choke at anywhere between 1-10 psi, but it keeps going out on me as soon as I stat to open it. Here is the list of components that I used. Adjustable Propane Regulator 0-30PSI High Pressure 5 FEET SS Braided Hose-Type1 (QCC1) and 3/8 Female Flare Swivel Fitting commercial link removed Goede Stainless Steel Foundry/Forge Burner commercial link removed US Stove Company FBP6E FireBrick commercial link removed Could the burner be defective, or am I doing something wrong here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Welcome to IFI! If you post photos of your setup, that might help the forge folks here discuss what might be your problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 What did the supplier of the commercial forge burner say when you talked with them about it? BTW is that soft firebrick or hard fire brick, how large are the openings to prevent back pressure issues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Burner appears to be a copy of a Dave Hammer style NA propane burner. In my limited experience these are very sensitive to longitudinal location of the gas orifice, gas pressure, and position of flare. We need a whole lot more info to evaluate your burner operation. I'm guessing that you are getting a quiet, soft, highly reducing flame (yellow color, long and "whippy") with the air inlet shroud closed completely. The flame you are looking for is blue and the burner should sound more like a jet engine. This can only be achieved by getting the gas injector to induce enough air through the openings to create the correct mix at the burner outlet. You should be lighting your burner at low gas pressure (no more than 5 psi until you get it tuned) and the air inlet shroud open to at least the first set of holes. Initially there should be no back pressure in your system (forge doors wide open). Adjust the position of the gas orifice tip till the burner is operating correctly. Once you get a stable, blue flame at the lower pressure, start to increase the pressure until it goes yellow at the tips again. That is the indication that you need to slowly open the shroud further. The adjustable, stepped flare can also be moved slightly to improve flame stability over it's operating range, but try to adjust one thing at a time. Note: this is a general tuning procedure based on my experience. Ideally you should follow Thomas's suggestion and go to the manufacturer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MageDK Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 I purchased the burner on amazon and I contacted the seller to get the info for the manufacturer to see if they provided any support. I haven't been able to find the manufacturer online I just keep getting amazon, ebay and other online store pages for similar products. As far as it being hard or soft. It's a rigid brick, but not as hard as wall bricks or pavers. It's pretty easy to cut through with hand tools. The front of the forge is completely open 4.5in x 8 in. The back has a small opening about 1in x 8in. 3 hours ago, Latticino said: Burner appears to be a copy of a Dave Hammer style NA propane burner. In my limited experience these are very sensitive to longitudinal location of the gas orifice, gas pressure, and position of flare. We need a whole lot more info to evaluate your burner operation. yes, when i first light the burner it is long whippy yellow color. When i open the choke slightly the core turns a little blue, but still yellow around the outer edges. If i open the choke to expose the first set of holes completely, the flame goes out. I light it at low pressure and the front of the forge is completely open. Should I be opening the back completely as well? As soon as I get home I will include some pictures so that you can all see what I'm doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 A good manufacturer should have tuned the burner before letting it out of their shop. Location of the flame at the flare and how it behaves when you open the air shroud will tell a lot about tuning requirements (i.e does it lift away from the flare before blowing out). Sounds like you need to open the shroud very slowly to reach a good flame, then play with the flare position to help with stability as you increase gas pressure and open it further. One door open should suffice, provided the burner outlet is far enough from the opposite wall to allow full flame development. Have you tried running it outside the forge? I usually rough tune outside the forge, then make final adjustments after mounting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MageDK Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 I haven't tries running it outside the forge, but I can try that. I'll put it in the bench vise and try tuning it. I'll see if i can take a few videos to show exactly hoe it behaves. thanks for all the feedback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 You also may want to review the following posts: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Take the burner out of the forge, and learn to tune it in the open. When you don't know how to solve a problem, simplify it FIRST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 Welcome aboard...If you edit your profile to show your location, you may be surprised at how many members are near you. Still pictures along with a short video will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MageDK Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 I did take the burner out and try tuning it better. It starts off easy enough at low pressure, but even at 30psi i can't open the choke more than a fraction before it goes out. I opened up the regulator to 10, 15, 20, 25 then 30 psi. Each time i opened the choke slowly from back to front. But as soon as it opened each time it went out. heres a video of what I did. also a few screen shots of my forge just for future reference. Video.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Watched your flame video; it reminded me of one of my favorite sayings, on a very bad health day. "I need to jack up my wig and run a whole new me under it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Looks like gas orifice size and position need work. Did you read the links I sent earlier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MageDK Posted February 13, 2020 Author Share Posted February 13, 2020 On 2/12/2020 at 5:22 AM, Latticino said: Looks like gas orifice size and position need work. Did you read the links I sent earlier? I read them, thanks. I haven't had much time in the workshop this week. Will go through them and try out a few things this weekend. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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