Natural Gas Forge?

[efleming]

Hello Gentlemen, Phil is absolutely correct. Those posts from my web site are correct as well. I just run a tee off my garage furnace which is a 1" NG pipe. It's running about 1/4 PSI. Don't use any oriface restriction other than a 3/8" ball valve. I easily get 2400F degrees with this set up. Take a look at the links Phil has posted above. I've heard many people say this will not work but I can tell you it works fantastic. Keep in mind I live at sea level so you higher altitude folks may need to experiment a bit. Shoot me a message if you have any questions.

Eric

 

[S.Grosvenor]

A photo would be greatly appreciated.

Here are some pictures.
This is the orfice tube, about a 1/2" hole

Gas Control ball valve

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Thanks for posting Eric.

Phil,
What I was saying is that NG won't run a venturi, and on a blown forge, it needs a supply line bigger than 3/4". Any restriction will drop the flow too low. Notice that Eric had to change all things to have full size piping and a 3/8" ball valve.

 

[Geewilly]

Thanks for posting Eric.

Phil,
What I was saying is that NG won't run a venturi, and on a blown forge, it needs a supply line bigger than 3/4". Any restriction will drop the flow too low. Notice that Eric had to change all things to have full size piping and a 3/8" ball valve.

I know this is a very old thread and maybe I should create a new one, but I was wondering if anyone has ever tried using a G-TEC natural gas booster -- such as G-TEC TB-15 or bigger? I wouldn't be interested in using a venturi type burner but a ribbon burner instead. I know the torch boosters aren't cheap by any means, but if they would work for my purpose then I would purchase one. I would want my forge to get up to 3,000 degrees. I would think these boosters would be pretty safe to use as you wouldn't have to worry about wiring PID's for safety shutoff and such for power failure.

Greg

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Welcome Greg. I'll leave this thread open, as the previous info is still valid.

#1 - A safety solenoid (not PID) is a very wise thing. Stuff happens in a shop, power fails, breakers get blown. You want the gas to shut off immediately when this happens.

I have never heard of a forge running on a torch booster. I don't think they will work, because the volume they deliver is far below what a forge runs at. The TB-15 is for 15,000 BTU.
Forges run at 50,000 to 200,000 BTU.

I don't know why you need 3000°F in a forge unless it is a melting forge for wootz. 2400-2500°F is plenty hot enough for damascus and most all normal knife tasks. The goal in a good forge is to get the entire liner evenly heated to a desired temperature, not how hot the flame is. This is where a PID controller is nice.

 

[Geewilly]

Welcome Greg. I'll leave this thread open, as the previous info is still valid.

#1 - A safety solenoid (not PID) is a very wise thing. Stuff happens in a shop, power fails, breakers get blown. You want the gas to shut off immediately when this happens.

I have never heard of a forge running on a torch booster. I don't think they will work, because the volume they deliver is far below what a forge runs at. The TB-15 is for 15,000 BTU.
Forges run at 50,000 to 200,000 BTU.

I don't know why you need 3000°F in a forge unless it is a melting forge for wootz. 2400-2500°F is plenty hot enough for damascus and most all normal knife tasks. The goal in a good forge is to get the entire liner evenly heated to a desired temperature, not how hot the flame is. This is where a PID controller is nice.

Hello Stacy,

Thank you for your response. Yes, besides damascus welding, I would like to be able to melt metals up to steel. 3,000 degrees might still be a little overkill but eh --why not lol.

Thanks,
Greg