Chriscarte82 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Good afternoon all, I've had my devil forge 2 running for a few sessions and wondered if anyone could advise on correct running pressure. I think with experience I'll get the hang of managing the forge but I've gone though a 13 kg tank of propane in no time at all. I think I've probably been working the steel too cold so had to heat it multiple times meaning I've probably been burning it longer than necessary. Anyway any advice on running the forge would be greatly appreciated and hopefully save me a bit of cash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Does your forge have a hard refractory lining? Not only does that protect the insulation from damage (with the attendant health risks of breathing silica particles), but it also helps the forge maintain a relatively constant level of heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriscarte82 Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 Yes I hardened it with the refractory coating rigidizer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 6 hours ago, Chriscarte82 said: I think with experience I'll get the hang of managing the forge but I've gone though a 13 kg tank of propane in no time at all. "Gas pressure management, has little to do with gas pressure, and in your case, everything to do with reducing the gaping holes at both ends of that forge. Furthermore, when you act on the very good advice about adding rigidizer and a refractory coating, closing down those openings will become even more necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 And finally(?): what does the manufacture say when you asked them about your usage issues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
localsmith Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Correct running pressure has too many variables. What size burner is your forge equipped with? Burner size makes a huge difference in regards to fuel economy as does size of the forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Good Morning Chris, To have zero pressure reading, you either have no jet in your burner or your Propane bottle is frozen. There is no 'ONE ANSWER' to Propane Forge and Burner issues. To control a Forge, you must be able to control Fuel volume, Air volume, amount of Heat retention in the Forge (you have to close the front and back doors, but still have a chimney for the exhaust. For air/fuel to go in, unburnt fuel/exhaust must get out). If you want the Forge to react to the refractory, keep the heat inside the Forge. If your Propane bottle is freezing up, join 2 or 3 bottles together. Sit the bottles in water, the water acts as a 'Heat Sink'. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 I sure wish folks would take my advice to NOT put a gauge on their forge until AFTER they learn to run it. This is a perfect example of the gauge causing confusion for zero benefit. If you didn't have a gauge on it you would've realized immediately the bottle was empty and had it refilled or exchanged. As Mike said, the problem with your excessive fuel usage has ZERO to do with the PSIG and everything to do with pumping more fire through the forge and out into the shop than retaining for useful work. Do yourself a favor and either take the gauge off or at least cover it with tape so you won't look at it. Learn to tune the fire by ear and eye, believe me with a LITTLE experience you can tell more about your fire by how it sounds faster than you can read a gauge. No fooling, I can tell when I light it without it coming to temp but I have a few decades to rely on. Your tools are talking to you, always but you have to learn to their language and listen. Nobody's forge runs at the same psig for the same temp as yours does, even the same model forge. As said there are too many variables so anybody telling you what psig your's SHOULD be running at has marked themselves as someone who's advice should be taken with a grain of salt. I'm not dissing anybody who offers pressure advice, they're trying to help and that's a good thing. Unfortunately in this case it's for nothing. I've watched forges as identical as it was possible to build in a club forge workshop running on the same table at different psig. to reach the same temp. One of the fellows I pointed it out to went to work trying to adjust his forge to match the psig of one close to his to no good. So I popped his efforts by pointing to one on the other side of the table running at it's own happy psig. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriscarte82 Posted September 23, 2020 Author Share Posted September 23, 2020 Hi thanks for all the advice up to now, I posted a pic of the gauge to show which value my forge operates on as I know some use different readouts, not to confuse anyone but my issue was not that the bottle was empty the forge was off at the time the picture was taken, having spoken to the manufacturer they recommended a good running pressure of 0.1 -0.12 which along with frostys advice of listening and looking should see me through. I am in the process of ordering some suitable fire bricks to block up the back and some of the front to retain heat. Fingers crossed I should get a lot more use from my gas bottle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Just a quick reminder to US folks; his gauge is metric---NOT PSI ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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