Troubleshooting a weak Whisper Momma gas forge?

[gdh]

So I fired up my NC Tools Whisper Momma Propane Forge this afternoon in the hopes of getting a little forge time in. Unfortunately, there's something wrong and I'm not getting proper temperature out of the forge. Instead of the roar and orange heat to which I've become accustomed, the forge seemed to run more quietly and to sputter a bit as well as burning blue instead of orange. At best, the forge will now heat steel to a dull red just above black heat.

My first thought was that my propane tank was low, so I switched to a full tank with no change in the results. Recalling that a blue flame indicates that the fuel/air mixture is too rich, I adjusted the propane pressure to various increments between 5 and 18 PSI (the forge is rated to perform between 6 and 15 PSI).

I'm suspicious that there's something preventing fuel from making it to the firebox. The second burner (farthest from the fuel input) seems to have a weak to non-existent flame. There might also be something blocking air from coming in. I'm not able to inspect the burners in detail because, well, I was just running them and they're awful hot at the moment.

Things that I know

1) It was working fine yesterday.
2) It's been raining like mad and water might have gotten in somehow.
3) The forge is less than a year old so I assume I'll be able to get support from NC Tool.

Other than that, I'm stumped. I don't know much about propane and gas forges so I'm likely to be missing something obvious. Does anyone have any thoughts on what I should look at next?

Thanks in advance.

[David Einhorn]

On that brand, most likely your forge's orifices need cleaning. Try the orifice cleaner tool that is used to clean the tips on Oxy-Acetylene equipment.

[Rich Hale]

Pull the fuel rail and take the jets out and clean them. Just a puff of air the reverse direction may do it. Do not run anything througth the jets that would change the size of the orifice.

[gdh]

Thanks for the speedy response! That sounds like my problem. I took the jets off and tried to clean them with air but didn't get the results I wanted so it sounds like I'll need a cleaning tool.

Now, because I'm unfamiliar with this sort of thing, is something like a Radnor Model AG650C Standard Tip Cleaner what I'm looking for?

Thanks.

[jeremy k]

I had some issues with mine and a reverse air blast is all it took -otherwise just call the company - they are real good about getting things right for you. - JK

[David Einhorn]

Yes indeed, the plan old standard tip cleaner. And as was mentioned above be very careful not to use a cleaner-thingy too large and clean gently and as little as possible so as not to change the opening size. I just poked the cleaning tool through the opening once and that was enough.

Thanks for the speedy response! That sounds like my problem. I took the jets off and tried to clean them with air but didn't get the results I wanted so it sounds like I'll need a cleaning tool.

Now, because I'm unfamiliar with this sort of thing, is something like a Radnor Model AG650C Standard Tip Cleaner what I'm looking for?

Thanks.

[Mark S.]

I also have a Whisper Momma, same thing happened. Everyone is right, just clean the orifices. I also ordered a couple of spares to have on hand, they were so cheap that I don't remember what they cost (unusual for me).

[Chuck Hughes]

Only my opinion......... Atmospheric forges SUCK (literally) and I have had more problems with them than I think wish to think about. I switched to a forge with a blower and that made a big difference in the forge performance and dependability. I have forge welded with atmospheric but the blower type has never let me down when it comes to reaching forging temp.
I have a wisper daddy from NC Forge and can't seem to keep the burners "tuned." It always seems that one of the three is at least a little out of sink. The adjusting and resetting and cleaning attemps just took up to much shop time.
Good luck with getting that wisper going sounds like the advice you have gotten should cover the problem.
One additional thought. If you try taking the burners apart to clean the jets take care in how the thing comes apart so when it is time to put things back the orientation of the burners is correct.

[Jack Evers]

My NC forge seems to regularly do that in wet weather, but cleaning the jets is all that it takes.

[Frosty]

You might pull the hose off the regulator and blow back through it with the air line too. On occasion there will be crud in hoses, especially if they're old and just because you just bought it doesn't mean it hasn't been sitting on the shelf for a while. This is a "can't hurt and might help" suggestion, I doubt it is the problem but it has come up before.

If there is or was crud in the hose it will show up in the jets so you still need to pull them and clean them.

Frosty

[gdh]

So here's the followup. I talked to the nice folks at NC Tools (Man, I love hearing regional accents!) and followed a combination of your advice and theirs. I took the forge apart and aired/scraped out the jets/orifices and put it back together. When I had the burners off I noticed they were pretty wet inside so, after I put the forge back together, I let it run for a while to evaporate the water inside. After about a half hour the water was gone but I still wasn't getting the performance I've come to expect.

However, I "tuned" the burners and found it to be a much easier process than I anticipated. It would be less intimidating and more accurate to refer to tuning as "loosening the bolts and wiggling the burners back and forth until it sounds right."

So I'm happily back in action thanks to this forum and NC Tool's customer service. Thanks all!