[TheForge] Propane supply problem

[marc at ironringforge.com]

My interspersions (did I just invent a new word???) below:

Quoting "terry l. ridder" <terrylr at blauedonau.com>:
>
> On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 marc at ironringforge.com wrote:
>
> marc>
> marc> My propane supplier won't give me more than 5psi to my new shop.

> which company is your propane service company?

I'm going with Amerigas. I was going to try others in the area, but Amerigas'
propane prices are significantly lower than everyone else. Since I also heat
the house and water with propane, switching to another would cost at least
$170/year.

>
> also ask him for the specific chapter and paragraph he is going by.

He mentioned 2.5.1.

>
> the national fire prevention association code allows for greater than 5
> psig if the piping meets certain criteria. the main criteria is that the
> piping system is welding or brazed.
>
> my piping system is running at 20psig propane.

He never mentioned that. But I'm running copper tubing with flared connections,
so I would probably be out there. He did mention that they could go to 20psi
for a liquid delivery. That's about it.

>
> i would suggest visiting the library and checkout the latest nfpa for
> fuel gas and the lpg.
> NFPA 54	  National Fuel Gas Code
> NFPA 58	  Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code
>
> also checkout the book,  NFPA 58: LP-Gas Code Handbook, 2004 Edition
>
> http://www.nfpa.org

Thanks, I think I'll do that.

>
> marc>
> marc> So what to do? I'd like to keep using a non-blown burner. I know that I
> can
> marc> forge at 5psi right now, but not weld.
>
> this really depends on the burner you are using.
> 5psig of propane should be able to reach welding temps.

I'm real flexible with burners right now. I was about to try out the side-arm.
but if there's a design that works better at lower pressures, that would be
great. If I get the chance, I'll try a bigger jet size on the side-arm and see
what happens. That's a simple enough experiment.

The downside of a bigger jet is less savings when idling. I use a needle valve
to turn down the heat while hammering. If I set the burner to weld at 5psi,
then I would probably do normal forging down near 2-3psi. That leaves little
room to turn down. Hmmm... maybe using the regulator for this instead of the
needle valve. Something else to try.

>
> marc>
> marc> Also, I was looking to use the piped propane to run some oxy-propane
> for cutting
> marc> and spot heating. What pressures are needed for that? And how about a
> hand
> marc> torch, like a propane TurboTorch? Do they need higher pressure than
> 5psi?
> marc>
>
> nfpa 54 and 58 do not cover any fuel gas piping system used for welding.

Actually, I was asking if 5psi would be enough to power a cutting/heating torch.
If I can make 5psi work in the forge then I'd like my other applications to
work, too. The TurboTorch I was thinking of is the plumber's type of
air-propane. I've seen some people do interesting work with copper using these
to anneal.

>
> marc>
> marc> My other option is to get my own tank, like an 80-lb, but I got spoiled
> with my
> marc> previous 100-gal tank.
>
> personally, i would have two different bulk tanks, one for the house and
> one for the shop.

I've already got three for the house. Our property isn't suitable for one of
those torpedos, I guess. I really didn't want to add one more.


Thanks for the feedback, Terry.

--Marc