How do you turn it off!?

[Astro_Al]

Hi guys. I have an Alldays and Onions coke forge. I don't do a xxxx of a lot of forging (sadly), but whenever I get it fired up it takes about 3-5 days to go cold again afterwards. What do people do about all that fuel burning?

I could spray water on I guess, but what do you do if you need to light it up again?

Stupid question but...

Cheers, Al.

[Wesley Chambers]

Are you using coal? Coke needs the airflow to burn, cutting off the air supply will stop it, but the coal will smolder till its used up. I dont understand how it can keep using fuel if you stop it from breathing.



Edit: One of these?

[Astro_Al]

I've been using anthracite beans as it was all I could find recently. (Anyone know any decent forge coke suppliers in Hampshire UK??? - who actually have stock).

That's basically the right forge, but mine is a motorised blower. Once its switched off it just keeps giving off heat for days - is that the fuel coking?

So you think its a wrong fuel issue?

Cheers Al.

[Thomas Dean]

Hi guys. I have an Alldays and Onions coke forge. I don't do a hell of a lot of forging (sadly), but whenever I get it fired up it takes about 3-5 days to go cold again afterwards. What do people do about all that fuel burning?

Pull the fire out of the pot, spread it out some and sprinkle with water. Use a sprinkly can, one with small holes in the bottom, and wet the coke. no matter if it is coke from coal or regular coke it will lite up the next time you are ready to use it. I do this after every forging session and have no trouble reliting the coal coke. I actually use wet coal, it is kept in water, you just need to keep back some coke to get the fire going and add the coal to the sides and let it coke up. Good luck....and get out to your forge more often! :D

[John B]

I've been using anthracite beans as it was all I could find recently. (Anyone know any decent forge coke suppliers in Hampshire UK??? - who actually have stock).

That's basically the right forge, but mine is a motorised blower. Once its switched off it just keeps giving off heat for days - is that the fuel coking?

So you think its a wrong fuel issue?

Cheers Al.

Definitely wrong fuel, you could rake out what you have and deposit it in a metal container with a lid on and isolate the heat source, or use coke,

Hampshire, the New Forest show was using coke, they had brochures from their fuel sponsors that stock the forge coke, unfortunately the brochure I had from them I passed on to one of our guild members www.blacksmithsguild.com who was local to the area and also had had trouble sourcing fuel, there are other sources also,

Try here, Corralls, South East England, Midlands Isle of Wight and Isle of Man www.corralls.co.uk for local depots


Or try another local smith, or Chichester College for their supplier

Or come along to the Forge in at Westpoint this weekend and take some back with you.

[Astro_Al]

Ah ok, thanks guys, it is the fuel then. No probs, the issue will go away when I find some... I knew the anthracite was wrong, I just had no choice.

John - I wish I could - can't even afford the fuel to get there at the moment!

West Dean college use forge beans from Corralls. Corralls only supply it from one location (Hove), they will stock it at Farringdon which is near me, but get this - they don't have any of the nicely labelled bags to put it in, so I can't have any!!!!! AAARRRGGG! Been waiting months for the bags, even though they already have the forge coke. Obviously I told them I don't care what the flippin' bag says, but no dice. Its enough to make me find a different supplier even if they do get some in.

I did see an ad in the BABA magazine about a place in Axford, so I'll try ringing them. Its an hour away but I'm close by every Monday so it might work.

Thomas - I'll try, I promise!

Cheers, Al.

[John B]

Try These,

Northover Fuels, Unit 22a, Butts Pond Industrial Estate, Sturminster Newton, Dorset. DT10 1AZ
Tel: 01258 472619

Managed to find them, they were the suppliers for the New Forest Show.

Hope you have better luck there.

[Astro_Al]

Thanks JohnB - again!

Much appreciated. I O U beer when we eventually meet...

Cheers, Al.

[Sam Thompson]

Mick Bengry supplies Hereford Colege and sends stuff all over the country.:

R & H Bengry
01568708434
Kingsland Station, ,
LEOMINSTER,
HR6 9SF

[Conrad Hodson]

Are you using coal? Coke needs the airflow to burn, cutting off the air supply will stop it, but the coal will smolder till its used up. I dont understand how it can keep using fuel if you stop it from breathing.

Unlike the two of you, my fires _never_ go on like that. My coal fires go out (i.e. can't be blown back to life) about two hours after the blower stops, unless I make a point of leaving a chunk of wood pushed into the firepit to hold the fire. When I was using metallurgical coke, it would go out beyond recovery in 15-20 minutes--you could take a leak but if you took a phone call it was easy to lose the fire.

All I can figure is that your forge/blower combos must allow a lot more air to convect through the firepit (when the blower is unpowered) than my setup does. I do know that old-time coal stoves, without forced draft, would burn coal steadily as long as they had special grates designed to let the air up through the fuel. If the coal just laid on the floor of the firebox like wood does it would go out.

Try plugging the air intake on your blower when you quit work, and check for air leaks around places like your ash dump cover. I'll bet your problem is an excess of natural draft from somewhere.

Conrad Hodson

[Francis Trez Cole]

anthracite only needs a draft to burn that is why they use it to heat houses you have to cut off the air supply. I use to use it as well becouse that was all I could get. try banking it to the back side of you forge out of the fire pot as your chimmney cools so will the draft.