Greebe Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 So I am in the process of buying a house with a large 2 1/2 car garage and was thinking of using a gas forge. I was going to start with a single burner and then go to a double if I feel the need for more heat, but I was curious what proper ventilation would be for one of these in a closed shop? How do you guys go about this issue? Thanks, Greebe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 I open up both 10'x10' roll up doors on opposing walls of my shop and it there is no breeze I'll throw in a 1/3 hp fan. Of course I often do knives and so tend towards a reducing atmosphere in the forge anyway... If I lived in a cold climate and had a fairly "tight" shop I would probably totally enclose the forge in a steel box with outside air provided for combustion / vent needs and use an air barrier to keep exhaust from entering the shop through the access gap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keykeeper Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Greebe! Congrats on the new quarters in the works! Hope all goes well, when you get it and get all moved in, let me know. I'll try to make a trip over sometime to visit. I can't wait to see the house, also. (How's that "new" anvil working out?) -aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnptc Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 you can also install a CO monitor to make sure all is well. not expensive :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greebe Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 Hey thanks for the recommendations. During the summer I was thinking that opening the garage doors would work fine but I was thinking more about winter use. The idea for enclosing seems like it would work but might be a PITA. I suppose I will just put a few CO monitors around as johnptc suggest and go from there. I was thinking that a forced air cross ventilation system would work fine too. That would be easy enough to fabricate with louvers so that they can be closed off when the forge is not running. Aaron-- Yeah I'm pretty stoked about the house in the works. It has been hard to find a decent house for a fair price. Homes are a lot more expensive here than we originally thought they would be. The banker said that it should take about 30 days or so to get everything done for move in. It is pretty nice place on 3 city lots. The owners bought the house next to it and tore it down to get the extra space. Plus finally I get my shop and the wife doesn't even care if I take the whole shop and not park the cars inside. Anyways once we get moved in I will let you know and you can come over and take a look. Later Greebe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greebe Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 Oh yeah the anvil is working out well. I need to make some hardy tools for it though and get a good solid piece of oak to put it on. Greebe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 If the garage has windows, open two far apart from each other, then put a fan in one of them. My shop was once used to store cars (imagine that!), but I replaced the doors with swing-outs and put openable windows in them. In the winter I open the windows on the far right right and left and put the fan to blow out one of them. I use a dept. store pedestal fan, and that gets all the CO out. I second the recommendation for a CO monitor. Strong recommendation. You won't find much cheaper life insurance, especially the kind that actually insures lives instead of betting you won't die. Get one that has a digital readout so that you can keep track and take measures before that brain-piercing alarm goes off. Usually I keep the windows closed while starting work and then ventilate as soon as I see the CO numbers go above 0. Once the forge is all really warmed up, usually 1/2 hour into working, I can shut things down. However, a propane forge gets the shop pretty warm, so unless it's below 0F out there, I tend to keep ventilating. Did I say get a CO monitor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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