"Chirping" forge??

Mine does that as well when either the propane in the tank is getting low, or if the lines start to freeze up and the pressure is reduced to low. Look out because after the chirping is a flashback in the burner. So when I hear the first chirping now I shut it down and replace the propane tank. Mines a chile forge with their new burners. There may be a way to tune the burners when the pressure gets that low but I don't know how. Hopefully someone else will have a better answer for you so we can both learn.
 
I just built an annealing oven for some of the muzzleloading castings I make and when my gas cylinder got low the oven started to chirp like yours and all I had to do was adjust the burner air and the noise went away. I ran about 8 more loads of castings in the next 3 days and had no more problems -- the oven came up to temp just like it should. Good luck
 
Interesting...... I have the Habenero with the new burners as well. This is my first forge. I had been running at about 4-5psi off of a 30lb tank for about an hour when it started. The tank is about 1/2 full. I shut it down pretty quick when the chirps started to get frequent and the pressure began to fall.

I spoke with Dave(?) at Chili Forge just an hour ago and his guess is that the choke is open to wide, and should be closed to about 1/2 when operating at those low pressures. However, I don't think that suggestion addresses the chirping issue. But, as it is, I'm getting a lot of scale when they're full open( as directed by the operating instructions) so there may be something to that suggestion.

Another thought was to change the tip to one with a smaller opening.

He also thought "ice". I have an uninsulated shed, and it was about 35F degrees a here yesterday when this happened. But, I had been running the forge for about an hour and the shed - and the bottle - had warmed up a fair bit by that time. And, at 4psi, I wouldn't think icing would be an issue.

I'm just about to go fire it up again with a full bottle. I'll play with the choke a bit and see what happens.

Thanks for the input.
 
Pete - I was typing as you posted.

Thanks for the tip on adjusting the air. I assume you mean to close the choke a bit at those lower pressures?
 
I have come across the same problem, I have a 3 burner forge when I turn the PSI down there is a point where the forge doesn't have enough Propane in the system to keep all 3 burners running consistently. I close one burner down and it runs fine, if I turn the PSI down again I run into the same problem with the two burners then have to close it down to just one. I thought about putting in smaller holed nipples to see if that would allow me to run 3 burners at a lower psi? Let us know what you find out?
 
Mine is the Habanero model as well. I only the get the problem at very low pressure's around 4psi and lower. Usually when I run into problems it's because the tank is low, and I don't want to stop to change out tanks. I know I could probably change nipples and tune the burner to get better performance but I really don't have the time. When I get the temperature readout completed I'll be in a better position to see if it worth the cost and time to adjust the burner.
 
Sorry I can't be more helpful but it is a home made burner and home made oven. On the first load of castings the tank wasn't very heavy so it was close to empty and after it chirp I reduced the air flow to the burner and the noise went away. After the box I had the parts in turned a bright glow I shut the burner down and put a brick on the top vent and it took about 5 hrs before I could lift the box out and start over on another cycle. Any way the burner worked perfect at gas pressure from a now warm bottle and with the air intake closed to where it was on the last burn it fired up perfect. Yea for our side. One of these days I will hook up a temp gage and see where I really am but until then if I reach a good glow and cool down VERY slow all is well.
Again Good luck
 
A venturi burner draws the air in by the "Venturi Effect' caused by the gas jet. If the gas pressure gets too low, the venturi starts to collapse, and the resulting "chirping" is heard. It is caused by the flame moving back into the burner tube due to not enough gas/air flow to push it out into the chamber. The pressure needs to be turned up a bit at the regulator if chirping is heard. Do not run with a chirp, as the flash back and tube burning is not good for the burner.

The choke is how to adjust the air/gas mix, but there is a practical limit to how low a venturi will run. If a lower flame rate is needed, like for HT, building a blown burner is the way to go.....materfact, building a blown burner is the way to go anytime.

Ways to reduce the problem are;
Use a 100# tank to deliver a more even flow pressure and cut down on tank freeze up. The propane temperature lowers as it boils off to produce the gas we burn. After an hour of continuous boiling ,it gets to the freezing point and becomes slush in the tank. It will not deliver enough pressure to maintain the flame.

Adjust the choke to maintain a good flame. Make sure the chamber stays in the neutral to slightly reducing atmosphere state, or you will scale the heck out of everything you forge/heat.

Adjust the gas jet position. If the gas jet is movable. it may need to be moved in or out a tad.

Adjust the gas jet size. If the gas jet is a MIG tip type, changing it to a smaller size orifice will allow running at a lower pressure. The trade-off is that the burner won't get as hot at full blast as high as before.

Build a blown burner and make all the parameters adjustable. A gate valve in the air line and needle valve in the gas line will allow the burner to run from a candle flame to as big as the gas/air supply will allow. Virtually any forge can be retro-fitted to run as a blown forge.
 
Stacy, I am going to expose my Newbieness here but can you explain the difference between the Venturi Forge and the Blown Forge. I did a search and found a few small threads but need more info. I am interested in being able to run my 3 burner at a much lower pressure than I am able to now, due to the "Chirping"
 
Venturi forge (AKA Atmospheric Forge) - draws in the air by the "Venturi principle" caused by the gas jet. The air supply is directly in relation to the amount of gas coming through the small orifice. There is basically no adjustment for these types beyond raising and lowering the gas pressure.

Blown forge - The air is supplied by a blower and the gas is supplied by a regulator and needle valve. They are mixed as they travel down the burner tube and burn as they enter the forge chamber. Since the air and gas can both be regulated to any amount desires, any flame size or forge atmosphere ( reducing, neutral, oxidizing) can be created easily. They are pretty much fool-proof, and can produce more heat than a small venturi can. Larger forges and those used for welding are almost always blown.
 
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