Virtual BBQ - 2 Brick Forge WIP

I purchased a MT245C torch today from Menards. I recall something being said about drilling something out to get more heat, but cannot find it. Does it ring a bell?

I know this is an old thread, but the information here has done a lot of clearing up for me in a world of hearsay. Thank God I saw this a month ago, when sand and Plaster of Paris and Youtube seemed the answer.

EDIT- After some more digging, I see that to drill out the orifice to .35mm should roughly double the output without overheating. Is this the part under the torch head? I'm not sure how to go about this, and can find no instructions.
 
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Hey guys, Ihave a quick question about refractory cement. Well actually, making my own. I couldn't find it for buying but I found a set containing 1 kg clay powder, 1 kg fireclay powder and 500 ml sodium silicate.

The box says: mix clay powder with water until you get a compact mass. Ratio, what kind of density?? Doesn't say. So can I assume i just need to add as little water as needed in order to get a thick mass?

Next step says to mix fireclay powder and sodium silicate with the clay mass as needed... As needed? What does that mean? I wanted to make my forge tomorrow but if I don't manage to get this right i'll have to eait till Monday. So if someone's got any idea how to mix this, I would be very greatful.
 
That kit is for a person doing various stove and forge repairs. Leave that to the folks who know what they need.

You want a tub of satanite. You can buy it from many pottery suppliers, Boiler repair shops, and of course, online.
High Temp Tools and Refractory carries all the supplies you will need for building forges, including burners and burner kits. Ebay also is a source for supplies. Free shipping from many of the sellers.
http://hightemptools.com/supplies.html
 
I'm from croatia :)
But no issue, I called the manufacturer and they told me exactly what to do.
 
Well, an issue.

I fired up my 2BF today and ot didnt really work well.

First I should point out that I tried it out outside. It's quite chilly and a bit windy so that must have affected it too a bit.

My center hole diameter is about 2-1/2 inch. I places the hole for the burner about 1 or 1-1/2 inch from the front. The top of the torch hole is tangent to the center hole diameter at the top. It's only a bit angled towards thr back (how much should the angle be?).

My torch hole is maybe 1-2 mm bigger than my torch (torch is Italian but similar design to MT245C, just above 6k BTU/h). I think it's also tappered and a closer fit as it enters the chamber.

Firebrick... I don't know, I've bought it from a guy in the ads here because noone in Croatia sells insulating firebrick. He is a knife maker as well and he sold a lot of these bricks to other guys who all made ovens so I think they should be fine. The outside of the bricks got just a bit hot, I could touch the metal cloth but only for about 5-10 seconds. Can that tell me if the brick is OK?

I've coated the chamber with stuff I mentioned two posts up. It's not a smooth surface, it looks like concrete made with small gravel. But I do get twirling of the flame, maybe 1-1/4 or 1-1/2 turn. So I dont't think it has a big impact.

I have a butane cartridge for my burner. That may be an issue but it should still get hotter if I did everything correct.

So tomorrow I'll make the torch hole a bit bigger and place the burner at the very beginning. I'll also try and use it indoors.

I'd like to get more ideas what I could do? Or what I did wrong based on what I wrote above.
 
First, a picture would be a great help in diagnosing the issues. Second, butane doesn't contain as many BTU/per as propane, so it will run colder.

How long did it run before you tried touching it?
 
First, a picture would be a great help in diagnosing the issues. Second, butane doesn't contain as many BTU/per as propane, so it will run colder.

How long did it run before you tried touching it?
Sorry to bud in but I just wanted to say that this is a great thread and I'm glad it was resurrected. Looks like I have a new project for the spring :):thumbsup::thumbsup:. I think i'll start off simple with a railroad spike knife, now I just need to locate an anvil.
 
First, a picture would be a great help in diagnosing the issues. Second, butane doesn't contain as many BTU/per as propane, so it will run colder.

How long did it run before you tried touching it?

I'll get some pictures after work, I have some but they don't show anything important really.

It ran two times for about 20 minutes each.
 
Ok, so here are the photos. I've expanded the port a bit yesterday evening, went a bit overboard maybe, but I think the problem is my torch.

http://i65.tinypic.com/8z1rtl.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/6oimiu.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/2i8huyv.jpg

The torch I've bought is a soft soldering torch in a set with a cartridge. With the cartridge it works at 1 bar and produces 1,7 kW, which is over 5k BTU.
My forge has a displacement of cc 44 cu in.
So not enough BTU.

Now, this torch works up to 4 bar pressure and produces just over 6 kW, which is close to 20k BTU.

This would be enough but I need to buy a propane tank and a 0-4 bar regulator. I've already payed 70 bucks for the torch. The regulator is another 15, and the smallest tank I can get in Croatia that I could easily get filled is 7,5 kg (over 15 lbs). I don't have a tank so that would cost me another 100 bucks if I buy new (other option is getting a used tank for around 40 bucks, but with the risk of the tank not being safe).

So I'm thinking about my options. Spending 200 bucks on a small forge, or trying to sell the torch and making a coal pit...
 
Edit: Found my answers after doing more reading around. I apologize for the questions that had already been answered elsewhere.
 
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