propane burner question

I just went outside and fired it up. My gawd, it sounds like a jet engine.

Steve

Get a BIG tank of propane. 100 pounder for starters. The small ones will freeze up.

John

Or check out the thread in here from a couple of weeks back titled "propane burners" . I built two for less than 20 bucks , they do need a regulator though (I was given one ! With a 20 lb tank attached !) . I have successfully heat-treated 4140 steel with one using a small clay flowerpot as a "forge" . Two burners and a regulator will cost less than that 100 pounder , and I bet in the right vessel , will produce all the heat you need . But that's just my opinion ...

I have one of those weed burners. It uses tons of gas. It puts out a copious amount of heat and sound. I use it to start fires. I used to use a long piece of 1/2" copper pipe connected to a hose that runs from the regulator. The pipe would be placed at the bottom of a pile of branches, blackberry canes, etc. It worked OK and didn't smell like diesel. My neighbor saw it and made up one for himself. I told him about my new weed burner. Told him he had to see it. He thought it was just the same setup we already had except it had a valve. I finally got him to come over to see the thing start a fire. The look on his face when I pulled the trigger was priceless. He actually jumped back. Then he wanted to use it. ERS

Nope. About the only thing I use mine for is hot-oil bluing.

Too much heat, not enough temperature. It's big, clumsy, uncontrollable and pretty much useless for heating anything to a reasonable "working" temperature.

Get yourself some Kaowool blanket or proper firebrick. When you direct the burner into a corner formed by such material you will get enough heat to forge steel. We use them regularly in the shop I work in to preheat before welding. Randy

Anyone use one of these for that?

Caveats?

Pointers?

Advice?

It must be a real Bad Boy, as it hooks up direct to a propane tank with NO regulator.

TIA

Steve

Got one, made several, etc.

I think you'll be disappointed in it's performance in a open top forge (I think that's what you're describing).

One of the more common uses for those around here is as a branding iron heater. I just did a tuneup of a branding iron furnace the other day and I can say that if properly done you can definitely use it for forging heat. It got the branding iron (one I'd just made for another customer the day before) hot in a very short time (and I mean yellow heat). The branding iron was made from 3/16" x 1 1/4" hot rolled strap bent into the letters and attached to the handle with 5/16" rod. I'd say it took about 30 seconds for the iron to get hot after I'd done the modifications to the furnace. The modifications amounted to adding a exhaust stack and blocking the torch end so that there was no excess air drawn into the furnace with the flame. The furnace itself was just a piece of 6" pipe about 3-4' long with a door cut in the side about half way.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

I have one and have used it on an improvised firebrick forge. It got the job done, use mine more for weed burning , thawing, heating branding irons ect.

Mine ran too rich for blacksmithing, I added a blower setup, which helped some but not the best.

I built a Ron Reil type forge burner (easy project) and it is considerably more efficient and all around better forge burner IMO

DE

someone will blast me for this, but we use weed burners all the time for various projects. The ones with regulators are wimpy. the good ones have no regulator, and will freeze up a 5 gallon bottle in about 5 minutes.

when teh bottle starts to slow down, torch the bottom of the bottle until she perks back up. you want to warm it up until some of hte ice melts off, but don't warm it up anywhere near to where the water comes off the outside of the bottle.

torching the hose is a BAD thing.