That moment my forge burner flared up and singed my eyebrows off

I was in my garage last Tuesday cranking up the propane forge for a railroad spike knife and forgot to check the regulator - the pressure was way too high and a fireball shot straight at my face. Now I keep a written checklist taped to the wall and check every fitting before I light it. Anyone else had a close call with a burner that made you change your whole setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

parkerp802d ago

The flashback on my ancient Venturi burner was so crazy that I welded the gas valve shut with the heat itself. Now I use a separate needle valve before the burner inlet, gives me way finer control than the standard ball valve most guys run. That blowback melted the plastic handle off my regulator too, so I switched to a brass one off an old oxygen bottle setup.

casey162d agoMost Upvoted

Are you running propane or MAPP? Cause that sounds like more of a fuel issue than a valve problem. I've had blowbacks too but never enough heat to weld anything shut. Maybe your tip is too small for the flow rate you need. Feels like you're overcomplicating things with the needle valve. A good quality ball valve gives plenty of control if your regulator's set right. That brass regulator swap makes sense though, plastic ones are garbage for anything hot.