T-Rex burner.

[jackrabbitslim]

Anybody have or have used a T-Rex burner from hybridburners.com? They seem like they'd be effective but they don't seem to offer a trial period. Any first-hand experience would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Raymond Richard]

They are a good burner but I think they are over priced. As far as a trial period goes there like buying anything electrical. Once you use it its yours. Hard to re sell it as new since it would be obvious that it was used.

 

[WadeH]

I would like to know if they are worth allot more than other venturi burners. What I see is the do not look really any different.

 

[jackrabbitslim]

I appreciate the feedback, Ray. I had some serious sticker shock when I looked at the prices. I understand about them wanting to recoup R&D investment but I also don't want to drop $144 on 1 burner unless it's BADASS, you know? The website makes it sound like the best, most efficient, most perfectly flexible thing since sliced bread and they have very impressive testimonials from Ron Reil and Jesus Hernandez but then again it would be my do-all. I don't have space or funds for multiples at this point. Has anybody done a side-by-side with a T-Rex and a good but not so fancy burner like IG's or Darren Ellis's? Is it better by $75? Is it really as flexible as a forced-air burner? The website says yes. Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Scriven]

Anybody have or have used a T-Rex burner from hybridburners.com? They seem like they'd be effective but they don't seem to offer a trial period. Any first-hand experience would be greatly appreciated.

I have the 1" foundry burner. It burns very cleanly and quietly and gets very hot.

It is very controllable and burns very efficiently. You can dial in the temp very precisely.

 

[Raymond Richard]

I appreciate the feedback, Ray. I had some serious sticker shock when I looked at the prices. I understand about them wanting to recoup R&D investment but I also don't want to drop $144 on 1 burner unless it's BADASS, you know? The website makes it sound like the best, most efficient, most perfectly flexible thing since sliced bread and they have very impressive testimonials from Ron Reil and Jesus Hernandez but then again it would be my do-all. I don't have space or funds for multiples at this point. Has anybody done a side-by-side with a T-Rex and a good but not so fancy burner like IG's or Darren Ellis's? Is it better by $75? Is it really as flexible as a forced-air burner? The website says yes. Inquiring minds want to know.

If I didn't have power to my shop I would have to go with a ventura burner. The worst thing about ventura burners is if you want them to burn hotter you have to up the gas input. At the cost of propane these days I'd just soon throw some air in the mix and get more bang for my propane buck. The only time I will use a ventura style burner is when I do forging demo's.

 

[deker]

If I didn't have power to my shop I would have to go with a ventura burner. The worst thing about ventura burners is if you want them to burn hotter you have to up the gas input. At the cost of propane these days I'd just soon throw some air in the mix and get more bang for my propane buck. The only time I will use a ventura style burner is when I do forging demo's.

There's the rub! If you have electricity go for a forced air burner. They're shockingly easy to make if you're the handy type and very easily tuneable when running. I regularly forge weld at between 2 and 4PSI...

-d

 

[Dakota 11]

i have the 3/4 inch shorty burner its a handy little deal for sure. I use it and can forge weld with it in my propane tank forge. I dont think people understand psi very well when it relates to how much propane is being used. on mine the way i have it set up i can turn it down to were on the regulator gage it says Zero and i get a smallish flame that wont go out. Now to the psi deal, I forge weld in my from time to time. And i know how long a full tank will last me and at what psi. When i was using old wolfe forge we ran it and 10 psi to forge weld. Since his meters were messed up im sure we could have gotten away with less but it worked, anyways at that 10 psi we burned some propane, even more then i would burn with my shorty burner at a higher psi. If i had to do it over again i would have got the t-rex 1 inch burner. They are pricy but isnt everything in relation to what u get? These are complete plug and play ande can in an instant change the flame in the forge.Pete

 

[sunshadow]

i have the 3/4 inch shorty burner its a handy little deal for sure. I use it and can forge weld with it in my propane tank forge. I dont think people understand psi very well when it relates to how much propane is being used. on mine the way i have it set up i can turn it down to were on the regulator gage it says Zero and i get a smallish flame that wont go out. Now to the psi deal, I forge weld in my from time to time. And i know how long a full tank will last me and at what psi. When i was using old wolfe forge we ran it and 10 psi to forge weld. Since his meters were messed up im sure we could have gotten away with less but it worked, anyways at that 10 psi we burned some propane, even more then i would burn with my shorty burner at a higher psi. If i had to do it over again i would have got the t-rex 1 inch burner. They are pricy but isnt everything in relation to what u get? These are complete plug and play ande can in an instant change the flame in the forge.Pete

One thing everyone seems to miss in this consumption equation is orifice diameter. Unless your orifice diameter (and flow resistance at pressure) are identical, propane pressure means natch! My first homebuilt blower forges I couldn't afford the adjustable pressure regulators, so I was running old fixed pressure barbeque regulators which i think run about 3 PSI or less, I ran a 1/8 inch jet orifice and could freeze a 20 lb tank in 40 minutes (and that was running the forge valve closed enough that the broken hose safety in the barbeque regulator wouldn't shut me off (means i was probably hovering in all reality around 1/2 psi) i can run my 2 burner atmospheric with .035 or smaller jets at 25 PSI and not go through even a tenth of that fuel. In reality you want to look at what your consumption at temperature is, thermal recovery, and atmosphere control. With a very efficient burner and lots of insulation combined with good design you can get welding temperatures with very little fuel, it will take you a while to get there though, or you can take the brute force approach, build a blower setup that is infinitely controlable and when you need brute force you've got it, and when you jwant to back off that is an available option.

Just my 2 cents

-Page

 

[kibuddha4]

My 1" uses just as much propane as my blown burner...or maybe I just can't tell the difference. I love both my blown and my Hybrid burner, so I can't play favorites. The way life is now all I can use is the Hybrid. I'm so glad I went ahead and bought it.

-Mike Sheffield

 

[DougSeward]

I have a 3/4" T-Rex burner which fires a home-built propane tank forge and I am very happy with it. It easily reaches 1900F and given about 20 min or so can reach 2100F. My next forge will probably be forced air for welding, but this one is quite effective for forging and heat treating. The burner is well built and has been quite reliable. My usual forging heat is obtained with 4-5 PSI. -Doug

 

[Kunklec]

I have the 3/4 T-rex burner. It has been very reliable and predictable. While pressure is not very a good comparison, I can run mine very hot or at a bare idle with a good flame. In my 8x24 pipe forge I can reach forging heat in 3-5 minutes. A 20 lb tank will last way more than I want to forge over several days. While it is a little high, the initial investment in comparison to building and operating a forge is not so much. My idle circuit runs through a needle valve at about 1/2 lb and so far have not run it over 5 lbs for forging.
Chip Kunkle

 

[jackrabbitslim]

Good call, Page! I totally spaced out on the pressure vs. volume thing. The problem here is that I just want somebody to tell me what the best thing to do is. Blown forge/high efficiency Venturi... I'm going to have to do some serious drinking on this.