[TheForge] hybrid burners, reducing atmospheres, and SAFETY

[Chuck Robinson]

Light your forge up at night. Let it come to temperature, then stand to the 
side of the opening and look at the color of the exhaust.
The richer the flame, the more yellow (reducing) it will be .
Reduce gas flow till you don't see any color that's oxidizing.
Finally increase flow slowly till you just start to see color again. That 
should give you the optimum heat output without excessive scaling.
If you mount a 0 to 30 PSI gauge down stream of your gas adjusting valve, 
you can mark the gauge face with a felt tip marker, when you reach optimum 
setting. The pressure reading should be pretty much the same each time you 
light up.
Chuck
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ben Barrett" <stircrazyben at gmail.com>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 2:24 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] hybrid burners, reducing atmospheres, and SAFETY


> So I've been following these burner threads, and now try to call my
> venturi "atmospheric", and to call my buddy's forced-air + propane
> setup a "gun burner"... so what qualifies as a "hybrid"? :)
>
> More importantly, what tips can you offer in finding the sweet spot?
> I have trouble finding it on my 3/4" mini-rex... I just got one of
> Art's fine Montanan burners at the Spring NWBA conference, and haven't
> hooked it up yet, but am anxious to try out my 2nd burner and learn by
> comparison.
> So far, I've been limited by a BBQ regulator, also, so I'm not
> surprised that I'm having trouble tuning the rex.  I know it
> deserves/needs better.
>
> Anywhoo, is there something I can do by observing the little wads of
> paper I toss in there?  I'm pretty sure my current/old setup is too
> oxidizing, so it makes sense to slowly (say, session by session) turn
> it back until the evidence of oxidization disappears.... surely there
> are some good tricks out there from all y'all old-timers ;)
>
> regards,
>
> ben
>
> PS - some said this conf in Enumclaw, WA was smaller than usual,
> prolly due to being only a week after the one in California.  I had a
> great time though, very treasured time in my smithing memory.  Thanks
> to all who help make these conferences happen, and especially to the
> extra attention to welcome new-bees like me :)
>
>
> On 5/4/07, Kathy <keporter at comcast.net> wrote:
>> The hybrid style burner has a facet I've not seen discussed; it tends to 
>> run
>> with a slightly oxidizing flame. Each burner has a "sweet spot" in its 
>> turndown
>> range, which is neutral burning with the choke wide open. However, 
>> throughout
>> the rest of its range the choke must be used to keep from ending up with 
>> an
>> oxidizing flame. This is no big deal as long as you're aware of the 
>> potential
>> problem. However, all the comments about oxidizing problems in forges 
>> with
>> hybrid burners has convinced me that it's time someone pointed out the 
>> obvious.
>> Don't just open up the burner and adjust the gas pressure for flame size,
>> thinking that this is all the adjustment needed. You must also choke the 
>> burner
>> a little if you're outside the sweet spot.
>>
>> What Jerry said about the problem of free oxygen in a forge run on 
>> propane is
>> also quite correct. It is truer of propane and methane than other fuels, 
>> but
>> applies even to oxyacetylene. When you burn any fuel, there will be some 
>> fuel
>> molecules, and also some superheated metal devouring scale causing oxygen
>> molecules blasted out ahead of the wave front of accelerated flames. 
>> Whether you
>> choke your burner to make a reducing (fuel rich) internal environment, or 
>> add a
>> lump of charcoal to make sure the oxygen is eliminated before it can 
>> touch your
>> work, is up to you.
>>
>> Whichever path you take, make darn sure that your working environment is
>> protected from the carbon monoxide rich exhaust you will then be creating
>> (powered exhaust hood and CO monitor).
>> Mikey
>>
>>
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