[TheForge] going for gas

Wed Feb 5 20:37:01 2003

Two years ago, my local chapter of ABANA  made a group purchase of Whisper 
Momma  gas forges. It has  a commercial  version of the  Venturi burner 
that I first  learned about by reading Ron Reil's web page. using  LP gas 
(liquid propane gas) .

Had I known how much quicker it is to get something done using a gas forge 
rather than working with  coal, I would have owned one of these years 
ago.   Even starting with a cold gas  forge, so little time is wasted 
getting the first piece of work, up to heat,  I thought it was like  a 
dream come true.   http://www.nctoolco.com/forges3.htm

  We got the  top  model pictured on the web page.  I wish that we had the 
2nd version of the "Whisper Momma  Open Ends" where the longer pieces of 
steel can go the long way through the forge.

  I can imagine being in an Urban location, and  building these gas Venturi 
burners into   a commercial looking   barbecue,   well insulated with kao 
wool.   Something like  the wonderful mind pictures that Phlip wrote about 
using a "charcoal barbecue with attitude".

  I have gotten an easy 8 hours out of one of those little 20 # LP Gas 
barbecue sized LP tanks.  But a 100 pound bottle like is common in 
residential areas to run a gas hot water heater, or a gas kitchen range, 
seem to last me well over a month with the gas forge. Locally it costs me 
about $7 (USD)  to get a 20 pound LP gas tank refilled, but only $20 to get 
a 100 pound  LP tank filled.  The cheapest of all is to connect it to 
our  1000 gallon home LP barrel, but having the option of a portable forge 
with a small portable tank is  great.

Dann

At 09:47 PM 2/5/03 +0200, you wrote:
>Hi all
>
>I have been operating a home forge for a while now ( I live in built up
>residential area) and I have received a complaint from a neighbour
>regarding smoke. I use a coal forge. This puts me in quite a
>predicament. I wish to continue forging but I don't want a visit from
>the cops or worse, her lawyer.
>So I have been thing about going for gas. A gas forge that is.
>Should I go for gas? Will it be cost effective considering that a 40kg
>(90lb) bag of good coal costs me 40 - 45 rand ( about 5dollars)?it
>usually lasts for about 10 - 15 long sessions at my forge. The work I do
>mostly small decorative stuff and some bladesmithing. If I should indeed
>opt for a gas forge, what should I know, bearing in mind that I have
>obtained gas forge plans and visited Mr Reil's very informative page.
>
>Thanx in advance for the help
>Sheldon Laing
>Hephaestus Forge
>Cape Town
>South Africa
>[email protected]
>
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