Test firing forge photos

[jiminy]

Here's a 'poor boy forge' I purchased off eBay ready for it's test firing. I coated the inside insulation with a couple of layers of satanite ...mixed with distilled water to the consistency of cream and applied with a paint brush.

It has a 0-100 psi regulator and pressure gauge (yeah, that's overkill ...but it was the same price as the only other one they had which was a 0-30, and I wanted a 0-60 psi), running off a 30lb propane tank with a quick release fitting for easy uncoupling. The hose is a regular 1/4" propane high-pressure hose from a RV supply house (I asked the guy at the propane supplier where I bought the regulator if I should go with a 3/8" hose and he replied that it wouldn't make a bit of difference at those pressures for a 12' length of hose ...so I stuck with the regular 1/4" hose, and it seemed to work fine.

Test firing was at 4.5 psi to cure the satanite and test for operation. The air intake maniforlds were adjusted down to about 1/8" gap, and the flame was surprisingly stable at this low pressure, considering the recommended operating pressure is 15+psi.

Houston, we have ignition....

All systems 'go'...

Reaching operating temperature...

a 'perfect' test launch...

 

[Will52100]

Cool! Looks like it should work fine. The Satinite will help flux from eating holes in it too. Just to let you know, on my home built one about the same size with one forced air burner I normaly run 3-4psi. When it was a venturi design I had to run a little higher.

 

[the45guy]

I too looked at one of those on Ebay. Any idea of the temps ?

 

[jiminy]

Yeah, hot

Just kidding...the satanite appears to help quite a bit with heat loss ...as I said, at just 4.5 psi the entire inside of the forge heated up to just below 'white hot' temps (there was just a little bit of 'white hot' playing over the surface of the floor of the forge directly under the burners). So whatever temperature 'yellow hot' is, is how hot it got at 4.5 psi, it's 'lowest' temperature setting. If you want hotter temperatures, you simply dial up the pressure. (Remember, the 'suggested' operating pressure of these forges is 15-20 psi. I'm located at sea level, so if you live at a higher elevation, your psi will vary accordingly.)