tdab95 Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 I've been doing a little smithing with a hairdrier but now I have the option of a coleman air mattress pump.... Which should I use? I use coal in my forge btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 They are both probably about the same: loud and functional. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 The one that works the best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Is the coleman powered or pump? You should answer Thomas's question by yourself. No one will know better than you which puts out more or less air since you are right there by it. If you have the pump available to do a test, then try both on the fire. Remember, too much air can be worse than not enough. Sometimes we can learn more by trying things out for ourselves. Things like "Is the black piece that has been out of the fire for ten minutes still hot?" "YES!" Mark <>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backwoods Blacksmith Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Years ago I used a hair drier, and while it got the job done I didn't really care for it. Since then I have used a heater blower and a forced draft blower. Both with dampers. I think I had a better blast with the hair drier. By better I mean softer. By far. for me is a good double plate bellows and second best is any of the hand crank forge blowers. You can control the blast much better if you are doing it by hand because it makes you concentrate on the heat especially if you are forge welding. As far as using the air mattres pump I don't think that the volume you need will be there. Look at the difference in outlet size Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdab95 Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 It's powered.. And I'd say the pump blows harder but I'm not sure how much is too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Start a fire and try each blower. Too much will send fireflies flying and burn up not only all your coal but also whatever iron you put in the fire. I have a hand crank blower and even though I can regulate the speed I often get sidetracked by multi-tasking and crank too much thereby burning up the piece I was working on. :( Too little and you will never achieve the heat you need. Too much and things will melt and burn up on you. If one puts out too little and the other puts out too much, I would opt for the too much and throttle back its speed or damper it by blocking or redirecting some of the airflow. This is one of those "Time to experiment" times. Enjoy learning the different options that you have or can create. Let us know how it works out. Mark <>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdab95 Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 I'll let you know.. But I don't think that the blowdrier is too low.. Because I heated a railroad tie up to critical temperature (i think..... a magnet wouldn't stick to it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdab95 Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Not a tie.... Spike :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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