Let say i have the burners from a mr volcano 2 forge.  Could I use them in the making of a Firebrick forge?  Also are the Firebrick constructed forges worth it for a hobbyist and would that be a down grace from the Volcano 2, the body of this forge suffered fatal damage before it got created.

Sure they will if you choose the right kind of firebrick. Morgan K-26 are alumina, insulating fire brick with a working max temp rating of 2,600f. Finding a retailer that carries them near you can be challenging but they are being used in boilers and furnaces more often all the time so the odds aren't too bad. 

The pic is one of many our local club built a few years ago. Angle iron, all thread some strap stock and a 1/2" T burner built at a club burner build clinic a week before. The bricks are Morgan K-26 and if they'd been available at the time we held the clinics the doors would be K-26 split bricks as well. 

The volume is approx 160 cu/in. They reach melt your steel if you're not paying attention easily. The pic was taken about 5 minutes after lighting the burner. I don't recall what we used for the kiln wash, it was something the host had on hand.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

Thanks Frosty for the super fast responce to my question.  SO if I replicate the approximate volume from inside my smashed Mr Volcano 2 I shoud in theory have no issue using the 2 burners I have from that.  After a quick google search I see the bricks come in may different thicknesses, do you recall is you used the 2.5 inch thick ones for your build?

Edited November 12, 2025Nov 12 by Mod30
Remove @ name tag

You're welcome but please do NOT use the at sign, this is not a social media site it's a forum and the ampersand messes up the OS so the moderators have to do some coding to correct the problem. 

It isn't "in theory" The number of burners is determined by the volume and shape of the forge chamber. You can't duplicate the shape of a Mr. Volcano and I don't know it's volume or the size burners you have. Approximate the volume and the burners will work well enough.

Yes, I use standard size bricks, being common they are less expensive and easier to get. Better still I don't have to explain to people how to use them. Heck HWI, the manufacturer in the USA for Morgan thermal ceramics will happily make and sell you K-26 block in any size or shape you wish. FOR A PRICE. They also supply similar IFBs rated at higher max working temps but they're more expensive, of course. 

One more tip, do NOT clamp a forge like the one I showed tight! Fire brick, even the best expand and contract with thermal cycles and they MUST have a little room to do so or they WILL break up.

Frosty The Lucky.

Any competently built 3/4" burner will sufficiently heat 350 cubic inches within a reasonable forge design to forge welding temperatures. Two such burners from Mister Volcano will heat 700 cubic inches inside a forge up more than high enough to do that job.

These burners are nearly as hot a a Mikey burner; I bought one just before they quit selling them, to find out how hot they are; it was the best $25 I ever spent. 

Glad you FINALLY jumped in Mike. Been out of town, maybe bow hunting turkey or Javalina with a spear?

Frosty The Lucky.

Haven't touched a bow in seventy years. I have no use for Havalinas or other pigs, since the doctors don't allow me to touch bacon or any other fun stuff.

I have been kicking back lately, unless someone asks me to answer a question. You have been doing just fine. I've been monitoring, but feel no need to but in (much:)

I haven't drawn a bow in a long time though I wish I'd brought my 47lb. Bear recurve with me when I moved here. I loved that bow, we were almost made for each other. Made a 45lb aluminum "kit" bow in Jr. High metal shop class but it wasn't made for a human being to draw. I couldn't hit much buy my forearm and it pinched my fingers like pliers. Got an A for a grade but a nothing for a bow. 

I picked up a 40-70lb compound bow after I'd been here a while and liked it less than the aluminum kit. I could hit the mark with it but it was so uncomfortable to shoot I shelved it. I DID learn how the eccentrics worked though so it was worth the price. Years later I discovered compound bows are pretty old tech, centuries old.

You know throttling hooligans with a shillelagh isn't so bad if you only take them a couple at a time. It's why they are the way they are you know.

I was hoping you'd jump in, I remembered you knew and had an opinion about the Hells Forge burners I didn't. I guess that's a different thread though. I know the Hells Forge was only talked about briefly here and we weren't very impressed.

Ah I remember, it was a fellow on IFI asking about patching the flame face refractory on his Hells Forge. There's still a how to video on their site and I realized why nobody talked about them. I felt sorry for the guy who asked. The flattened oval looked like a real pita to spread Kastolite into and there was only room for a single layer of refractory blanket. 

What I wasn't sure about was how good Hells Forge burners are, so many of them are near mirror images and some are pretty decent, some dumpster bait. You know like Mr. Volcano, the forge was decent but the burners were primo.

Mr. Volcano is a sad story but who knows Igor and his brothers may get stuck with another load of material and start making them again to defray the cost. They actually made money but only a fraction of their operation's usual margin. 

Who knows eh?

Frosty The Lucky.

 

14 hours ago, Frosty said:

I was hoping you'd jump in, I remembered you knew and had an opinion about the Hells Forge burners I didn't. I guess that's a different thread though. I know the Hells Forge was only talked about briefly here and we weren't very impressed.

I approved of their burners four or five years back and said so, but the trouble is that they kept changing them. I also noticed that they quit showing photos of what kind of flame the new burners produced; between that and the rediculous trumpet shaped flaring of their newer burner's flame retention nozzles, I started dissing them.  That's where I stand right now.

As to their forges, if the burner is trash, why even look at the forge it's supposed to heat?

I'm always willing to discuss burners, but I think forges have been covered very well, since I see zero new designs in them now.

Oh I remember what happened to the state of commercial forges and burners when trade restrictions were removed. Everybody who thought they could make buck went into high production and the quality and safety went in the dumper.

The original question was about relining a Hells Forge that'd been bought maybe 15+ years ago for his son. The topic of burners came up and you being more familiar with them I thought I'd ask.

I think I have him lined out on relining his forge, if not I'm sure I'll hear back, I  invited him to after all.

Jer