Quote:
Originally Posted by geofthesmith  does it have to be more than one hole/slot or does it matter so long as you get teh airflow to the center? also does the air always have to come in from the bottom? |
Dont assume the air has to enter the fire in the center. Lots of firepots are designed with a solid cast-iron clinker breaker that sits right in the center of the air inlet. When you rotate the clinker breaker it rotates and it's sides and corners break up the clinker. As air comes up through the ash tube it hits the clinker breaker and is diffused around it. Air is always more diffused by the coal and coke itself as it enters the fire.
I have a firepot with a three slot design in the bottom so air enters directly into the heart of the file. Recently i used a firepot design with a centered clinker breaker as described above. I like the centered one better. It seemed to create a larger area of heat in the forge due to the air being diffused throughout more of the firepot.