Vent: my forge went cold mid-weld on a 20 foot gate and I had to refuse the job
Two Saturdays ago I was at my shop in Reno finishing a 20 foot driveway gate, had the forge running hot for 3 yrs with no issues, then the burner just quit right as I started the final scroll weld. I pulled the burner, found the orifice clogged with scale and some kind of grit, and of course I had no spare on the shelf. I spent 90 minutes cleaning it with a torch tip cleaner and a wire, but by then the steel had cooled and my flux was shot, so I told the customer Tuesday instead of Monday. He was fine with it, but I lost a day and a half of other work. Lesson is I should have swapped that orifice months ago instead of trusting it, and honestly I think anyone running a gas forge without a spare orifice kit is asking for trouble. What do you all keep on the shelf for burner failures, or do you just run two forges and call it insurance?