January 2, 201214 yr I'm building a forge, and since I haven't even seen coal up close yet (or worked a forge) I'm trying to figure how big the opening(s) on the sides of the clinker breaker should be to allow air to pass by. I'm making the triangler cube type that rotates. Is a quarter inch on each side enough when the flat side is up? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
January 2, 201214 yr The idea is to get air INTO the fire. I use 2 each 1/4 inch rods across a 2 or 2-1/4 diameter pipe. For a 3 inch pipe I use 2 each 3/8 inch rods. No clinker breaker involved. I run everything from lump coal to breeze or fines (read coal dust) in these forges with no problems. I am sure those that use forges with clinker breakers will add to the thread.
January 2, 201214 yr my current forge (canadian forge co.) has a clinker breaker and i dont like it as much as my older forge without one, sadly i sold the smaller old one for the newer bigger one, coal and coke will vary in size. My coke is in peices of about 1/2" to 3/4" peices but when it burns down into peices of 3/8 and smaller they can fall through the gaps, i need to figure out some kind or grate to put in it instead Josh
January 4, 201214 yr My set up is home made and I elected not to put in a clinker breaker (mostly because I was lazy). It turns out that I don't need one in my case. The clinkers form a little above the bottom of the fire box and the clinker breaker wouldn't hit them if I had one. The air enters through two slots in the bottom, about 3/8" wide. Every once in a while I let the fire cool a bit and reach in with a pick and pull out the clinkers. This system has been working fine for 6-7 years.
January 4, 201214 yr If you make your air gap too small you can always open the gap up a bit with a grinder. Phil
January 11, 201214 yr Most triangular klinker breakers you see have a 1/4" gap on either side when the flat side is up. Keep in mind that this forces the air towards the sides of your fire box and is good if you need a large fire. Turning it with the point up forces the air towards the center of the firebox for a smaller more controlled fire. It also increases the opening on either side of the klinker breaker to add more air.
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