new forge

[mater]

I got a new forge put together. My old one was a coal forge, the weather drove me indoors this winter and I couldnt get any thing done. Im back in busness now though. Ive only had about an hour with this, but it seems to work well.

[ALW]

Very nice.  Can you explain the parts you used for the gas line?  I'm thinking of building a propane forge and not sure what all I'll need.  Can you use the regulator that comes with a gas grill and then connect the needed fittings to that to supply gas to the forge?  

Hope that forge works out well for you.

Aaron

[mater]

I got the 0-17# adjustable reg.,10' hose,brass tee,pressue gauge,needle valve, from ellis forge.I needed to add a pipe coupler to that. And all that hooks to the burner. You can see the pipe coupler before the tee. Take a look at ellis's site. If you cant make heads or tales after that, I'll get more pics and help.  Mark

[Bobby Urban]

More picks please - and how is it lined?  I could build one like that real easy but need some tips on lining it.  

Nice looking set up you have there.

Bob Urban

[mater]

Its lined with ceramic insulation. 2" thick and coated with some sort of morter. Statenite I think they call it. I got the insulation from ellis forge as well as the other stuff I mentioned in former post. Ill get some more pics.
 It has a fire brick layed on the floor over one layer 1"of insulation.

[mater]

some more pics

[mater]

Thats a 4" hole in the front and 2 1/2 in the back. The inside is about 4" Plates on the ends are 1/8" thick 8" dia. pipe for casing about 13" long.  Any more questions, just ask. Mark

[Steve Nuckels]

Mater, That looks great!  Solid and well thought out!  We will be expecting some "action" pics!

Steve
-------
Potomac Forge
-------
IN GOD WE TRUST

[joekeith]

That looks real doable.    Thanks for the post.

[kbaknife]

Do you know how much pressure you have on the supply side of your needle valve?
If it was me, I'd make sure THAT fuel was specifically regulated.
I don't know what good that regulator does AFTER the valve.
The needle valve only controls the VOLUME of fuel - not the pressure.
And without a regulator with a gauge BEFORE the needle valve, you have no idea how much pressure you have or way to control it.
That will be very significant when it comes to tuning your forge.
And the same thing with that regulator that is attached to the tank - it has a constant regulation of pressure and is only designed to control the VOLUME of fuel.
I would put the gauge you have before the needle valve so you have an accurate idea of line pressure, and an ADJUSTABLE regulator at the tank to control line pressure.
For example, have an adjustable regulator at the tank to send maybe 8-10 lbs of pressure into the line, and then an in-line regulator at the forge to step it down to your desired tuning pressure.
Right now you have no way of controlling PRESSURE to the forge.
As humidity and temperatures fluctuate, you'll need to have a lot more control of the forge environment on a day-to-day basis, otherwise I can see that thing causing you fits!
Darren Ellis stocks those things for not much $$, and I think just a little more control will make that a kick-butt forge.
Really nice job.

[mater]

Im not sure I understand. I have an adjustable regulator at the tank. If I move the gauge to the other side of the needle valve { before} will that do what your suggesting? Or do I have to have a regulator like on my torch with reg. and gauge together. In line before my set up.thanks for the help  Mark

[kbaknife]

No - that is NOT an adjustable regulator. It does not regulate pressure - it only regulates VOLUME.
That regulator steps the tank pressure - which is something like 120 psi - down to about, I don't know, maybe a couple pounds.
You can only regulate the AMOUNT of gas at that low pressure.
Think of that needle valve as a nozzle at the end of a garden hose and the spigot at the house as the regulator.
If you have the nozzle adjusted to spray a solid line of water to wash your truck, but have the spigot at the house turned way down, the water will only barely squirt out of the hose.
Now, leave the nozzle EXACTLY where it is, but open up the spigot at the house and now the nozzle squirts with a LOT more pressure!
You have no adjustment of pressure in your line there - only two nozzles and no spigots.
That "regulator" is a fixed pressure. You can only control how much volume you want at a FIXED pressure.
Without a blower in your burner, and no regulation of pressure, you are fairly limited in the amount of control you will have. That pressure gauge AFTER the needle valve tells you nothing, because right AFTER the gauge, the line is open to the atmosphere!
That sort of looks like a BBQ grill regulator, or something for a cook stove.
There's a whole bunch of them that look alike but do different things.
This set up here with this regulator -  would tell me the tank pressure as well as how much pressure I put in the line, which I run at about 8-9 pounds.
 
Then run it to a regulator at the other end of the line and step it down to my desired burn pressure -which is about 4-5 pounds - and regulate the AMOUNT of gas into the forge with a needle valve.
 
Also, if you can figure out how to add some more gas line between the tank and the forge, you'll be letting the gas warm up BEFORE it hits the forge as really, really cold gas right out of the tank.
You'll get better combustion with warm gas than cold gas.

But, if I'm completely wrong and it works for you, then forget everything I said.

[mater]

Well, I try and make some changes. The reason I thought I had an adjustable regulator was because ellis sold me that regulator as a 0-17 lb. adjustable regulator. I questioned the gauge at that placement. It only tells residual pressure. Ive heard you talk about the importance of a longer line for warming the gas. After the pictures you posted, some of this makes more sense now. I have never seen one of these set-ups, Im just trying to figure it out as I go. THanks again Mark

[kbaknife]

I've thought about this for a little bit:
Do this at least - put that gauge BEFORE the needle valve. Having it after the needle valve tells nothing, as far as I can figure out.
Turn the gas on and open and close the "rgulator" at the tank. If you see the gauge go up and down, then you'll have a MUCH better idea of what's going on in your fuel supply.
Then adjust your flame as best you can with the needle valve.
From what I can see, that would give you a much better idea of where you are.
But nobody ever called me smart.

[mater]

Ill make that change and see where im at for telling pressue.  Mark

[kbaknife]

That's great you got that regulator from Darren - now I see what you have.
You got it from the right guy!
If you put the gauge in front of the needle valve, you'll know what your line pressure is, and come to know your settings and that will help a lot.