ironclad Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Hi all, i have my forge going for a while now, been knocking out the odd bracket and small stuff, So since moderating the hood (Thanks to all who gave me advice) and tracking down coke instead of the coal i was using, i have noticed far less smoke after it is up and running But lots more clinker. Now my set up for the fire pot is simply a kind of basin of firebricks sunk on a table, with a hole in the middle for the air to come out covered by two large washers with holes in. So the clinker has started to form around these washers and sticking to the bricks, causing small amounts of the brick to come away. Now my question is would i be better off making a fire pot like Aljeters, or going with Tom Allyn's pipe cap as i used 2in pipe on the ash dump, and filling in around the pipe with refractory. Or will the same thing happen with the refractory and it start coming away??Also does clinker stick to the metal fire pot? sorry for so many questions in one post... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backwoods Blacksmith Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I don't see how you are getting enough air without using a tremendous blast. I would try to find a cast iron floor drain at Lows or Tru Value. Your blast will not be restricted and the cast iron will not burn up as fast. Your clinker comes from the coke you are using. Coke made for smelting iron or for making steam will have more inorganic contents ie. dirt, rocks and sand. Personally, I prefer good soft bitumas coal over coke. The fire can be controled easier and won't go out. But you have to use what you can get. The more open the grate is the more control you have over the heat. Volume is prefered over pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I get clinker like that stuck to everything. I pull my fire out of the pot and scrape around hot to clean that up. I am using a brake drum and there used to be a good bit of dead space that the clinker would pack into. I have since lined it with a sand/portland mix and I get less, but clean my fire more often. If I don't clean my fire when I shut down I have a mess that may require a hammer to clear. I am burning "stoker" coal or corn right now, and have had it with both. I have a grate made from 1/2 inch bar bent to form 1/2 inch gaps. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewed Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Just my thoughts, but i'd say your fire pot is too wide, and not deep enough. I have both my forges lined ( one with sand/ cement, and one with refactory, ) both with metal tuywers, and have not had a problem with clinker sticking. I also tend to clean out the clinker while the fire is going, so it doesn't cool in the fire pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I agree that it would likely make life easier if you made your firepot deeper. The idea is to raise the sweat spot of the fire up to where you can readily run a iron bar through the *neutral* area of the fire where the fire is not oxidizing and not carbonizing,... neutral. Raising the fire up higher and cleaning the fuel out of your fireplace are both good ideas that helps preserve the firepot and fireplace. Also having your firepot inside of the hood limits the size of your project. I humbly suggest looking at the Hofi hood shown elsewhere on this forum. I also humbly suggest looking at the fabricated firepots also shown elsewhere on this forum. While I can work in just about any coal fire, I find that I can get about 10 times as much done if the forge and firepot enable me to build a nice fire that has a neutral spot that is maintaining at or close to welding heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironclad Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 Many thanks for all the responses, i have thought about building a fabricated fire pot after seeing the job Aljeters made, very nice. Would this last long? and does clinker stick to steel as bad? thanks again chris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southernforge Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 ...Would this last long? and does clinker stick to steel as bad? thanks again chris. Several people already tried to answer this.... A deeper firepot and fire will likely decrease or stop the sticking, *and* perlong the life of your firepot. A deeper firepot and fire will likely decrease or stop the sticking, *and* perlong the life of your firepot. A deeper firepot and fire will likely decrease or stop the sticking, *and* perlong the life of your firepot. A deeper firepot and fire will likely decrease or stop the sticking, *and* perlong the life of your firepot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironclad Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 ok thanks, i got it now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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