edv7028

Thank You Flaming S Forge ! Sorry to keep bothering you; but you seem to have tried lots of the stuff I'm trying to learn about. Gee... 30 pounds in 8 hours ?!?!?! I have this 50# bag that I was hoping would last me MONTHS ! I hope it gets cheaper if I expect to accomplish anything. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had one Really Beautiful Fire going yesterday in my Brake Drum Forge where the 3/4" thick Brake Drum got to glowing Cherry Red. I had my Squirrel Cage Fan running Full Bore; but being a small fan, it's nothing really impressive. Anyway, I had what I'm assuming are lots of those "Clinkers" after the 1st burn. I cleaned out the forge, started another batch of Coal/Coke Combination, and then re-burned those "Clinkers". The Leftovers got considerably smaller; so I guess those "Clinkers" will burn too if I get them hot enough. I don't know. I'm still having problems getting my Coal/Coke to ignite, even with the instructions I found on this website. Finally, I got a combination of wood chips and candle wax into a pile at the bottom of the forge, put a little Coal/Coke on top, then lit it up. So far, this has been the easiest way to get everything burning; but it still took me about an hour. The weather here has been foggy/misty for several days; so I was wondering if my Coal/Coke has absorbed any of that moisture, and now will not catch fire as it should. If you have any input on this, please let me know. I'll add some info to my profile in case it helps anyone's answers to my questions. As always, I Thank You All ! Regards, Ed VA

Hello & Thank You for your links to those reports on burning oil. I have logged onto your website about 3 or 4 times; and the last 2 times, I keep getting an error which disallows reaching you. The error is... "Access Violation at Address 0000000". I have never had this error on any other website in the 4 years I've had this computer; so I'm guessing the problem is at your end. If not, and you know of anything I can do, please let me know the procedure. Thank You ! Ed VA

Hi Flaming S Forge... How long does say a 1 pound coffee can of Coal or Coke Burn in your forge when you have your air system turned on high ? How much Corn did you put into your forge; and approximately how many minutes did it burn for you ? How much/many "Clinkers" do you usually get from a 1 pound coffee can of Coal or Coke ? Thank You ! Ed VA

Hi Again... Steve Sells... Good Thinking about losing some of the weight as I melted those cans there Steve. It hadn't occurred to me; but I'm fairly certain that when I was using Mesquite Wood, I didn't lose much. Now, with the Coal and Coke, I have No Doubt Whatsoever that I'm losing LOTS of that Aluminum Weight. Before I can let loose of the can as I'm putting it into the top inlet, melted droplets of Aluminum are spewing out of the forge. It doesn't even take 2 seconds for the cans to melt/vaporize ! At least I burned an entire 55 gallon trash can of cans in less than an hour. Most of this time was handling the cans, and tending the fire. By the way... does anyone have any idea what percentage of Coal/Coke turns into what you all call "Clinkers" ? Say for example that I put a one pound coffee can of each into the forge, and burn it, how much, (or how Many), "Clinkers" should I expect ? Jaylis ???... Thanks for the warning on the burning oil/diesel. I did stay up wind of the fumes, and did lots of dancing around trying to stay out of their way. Not only are they injurious; but they stink ! Thanks Again ! Ed VA

Hi & Thanks to All of you folks for your input... Flaming S Forge... Your info was Great and I really appreciate the photo. Here, 100 pounds of corn is about 1/3 cheaper than 50 pounds of Coke or Coal; so I was interested to see if it worked, and how long it lasted. Your info was really helpful. Thank You ! I cranked up my forge today, trying to practice with lighting the coal and/or coke. It took me quite awhile to get it started, not knowing which I should have put in first, or at least not knowing which fuel was which. Anyway, I finally got it going; and proceeded to melt a bunch of cans and bottles. I had my Squirrel Cage Fan running at the top end, and the flames were blasting out the top of my forge. It worked GREAT ! I put an old empty 5 gallon kerosene can with the top cut out on the bottom, then cut a square hole in the side for the Squirrel Cage Fan's output. On top of this, I have one Brake Drum lying there as the firepot, and the other on top facing downward. There is a Perforated Stainless Steel Screen on the bottom to allowthe air in, and keeping the fuel from falling out. The melted aluminum, glass, lead, simply melts through the perforations, and is collected in the bottom of the kerosene can. I've already collected about 5 pounds of melted aluminum for recycling like this. Saves lots of space in the trash bags ! It didn't cost me anything except the 1985 Chevy Suburban which burned-up, and 1 cut-off wheel which is only partially used up. Oh yeah... it also took 2 gouging rods to burn a 2 inch hole in the side for a Hair Dryer Air Input which I no longer need. "Cheap is Good !" Thanks Again ! Ed VA

Hi to All... I just now joined this group because I've recently made a small forge out of some old Chevy Suburban Brake Drums. I've tried only Mesquite Wood Chips & Twigs as fuel so far; and found that I can heat 1/2" rebar hot enough to bend into a circle by hand only. I've tried spraying old engine oil, cooking oil, and old diesel onto the fire to attain higher temps; but am still working on an automatic spray mechanism to get this done at a later date. From what I've read, it'll make lots of difference. As is, I can melt about 100 beer & soda cans in about 20 minutes, or as fast as I can throw them into the top inlet. I can also melt glass in about 2 minutes per bottle. This is irrelevant; but I only offer it as an F.Y.I. in case anyone cares. If anyone has ever tried "Deer Corn" as fuel, I'd be really interested to know how well that works. I've read about many Home Heating Systems that use corn as fuel, along with wood pellets, Walnut Shells, etc. I found some Bituminous Coal and Coke 2 days ago, and before I waste too much of it, wanted to know if anyone can tell me the temperatures that each can reach, and how long a 1 pound coffee can of each can burn given the same amount of air/fan speed. Oh yeah... if anyone can give me a bried instruction on how to actually "Weld" metal together in my type of forge, again I'd appreciate your info. Thank You ! Ed VA