dwr435 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Has anyone tried using a combo of charcoal and corn and do you think it helps? I tried it today to test the second phase of my forge build and it seems to have worked well. I built a charcoal fire and then topped with corn, let it coke up and make a dome shell arround the fire, and then fed the fire through the "door" whenever i replace the project in the fire. Used plain clay bricks to build up side temporarily to get a deeper fire, fire bricks are hard to find around here have to order online probably. Seems like i used alot less fuel this time then my first test. But i also fixed my air flow issues getting my hands on some 2 inch iron pipe and an old hair dryer. Let it get too hot a few times and burned up some metal. Will line the fire pot on deck next week with the portland mix to get a better table and less of a heat sink. Basic set up is, brake rotor fire pot, lawn mower body for table, hair dryer into, dryer vent tube into 2 inch iron pipe, shower drain cover over air inlet plan to cut a pass through area to get work lower in the fire easier and get longer stock in, and line it with portland and sand mix thanks for the tips so far, any info is always greatly appreciated dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I like using corn better than charcoal. Just my opinion. If I had a chimney then I would prefer coal. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryLWatson Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I'd be interested in learning more about how to burn corn in a forge. I wanted to try some charcoal but I couldn't find any around here that weren't designed for a barb ecue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwr435 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 I used cowboy charcoal from lowes, and then just topped it with corn, to form a crust like coke. then feed charcoal and corn into the fire when i pull out the work. this was only my second try with solid fuels. but corn seems to work pretty well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Ever use coal? Corn works exactly the same but it is less dense and has 1/2 the heating value per pound as bituminous coal. It cokes the same, and is managed the same...except you do more managing because it burns up faster. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwr435 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 No i havent tried coal but may since i saw someone from here sells it in pittsboro nc which is like 20 mins form me, how much corn do you go through in a sesion? how deep of fire do you use with corn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I use a couple gallons in a couple hours. A 50# bag lasts me a few sessions of about 2 hours each. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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