[TheForge] re:burner question

[info@reciprodyne.com]

> From: Steve Smith <sos@alum.mit.edu>
> I used to have a 12"d x 18" forge--two
> burners was plenty. I used to point them tangent to the internal wall
> insulation (that swirl effect), but I find pointing them at the floor
> works just as well. I can't see pointing them up having any benefit.

Dear Steve,

The huge benefit from pointing any burners at the ceiling of any furnace is
to minimize blowing oxygen-rich gases directly at the surface of the
material being heated, thereby minimizing scale. The flame heats the
ceiling, then the ceiling heats the work via radiation, and you have much
less scale. 

Tom Troszak