hand cranked blower to electric

[joshua.M]

I have a ontario forge co. hand cranked blower and the original forge to go with it, but i use coke so if i am not there to crank it the forge will go out in 10 minutes. I wat thinking about taking the crank handle out and fitting it with a v-belt then attatchhing a small electric motor to the leg of the foge that has a tension-releas spring so that i stand on a pedal attached to the motorthen when i walk away the belt goes slack so the blower idles? let me know what you think please!

[Hayden H]

This sounds a little over complicated. (To me atleast.) I had the same problem with a big forge going out quickly, So i got a 2 inch cast iron T and 2 elbows, (Free from a mentor) plumbed a medium sized electric blower fan, (free also, found 10+ while cleaning shop) to it, the electric always blows, so when I stop cranking the blower theirs just enough air supply so keep the fire alive

[CurlyGeorge]

Hey Josh. To keep my forge getting air, when I'm not cranking the blower, I just set a small fan up to blow, on low speed, into the intake of my blower. Here's a picture of my set up. Look toward the left center area. Hope this helps.

http://www.iforgeiro.../27937-my-shop/

By the way, my shop ain't that clean, anymore. :D

[joshua.M]

thanks curly, i like the idea, do you think a hair dryer would work? nice shop! i wish i had walls lol

[CurlyGeorge]

Josh, I don't know if the hair dryer would work without burning up a lot of extra fuel. My fan sets back about 3" or so from the blower intake. It blows in enough, but doesn't have the force to really keep it burning hot and burn up fuel, while I stepped away. You can try it to see. If it keeps the fire hotter than you like, back it away a tad. :)

[joshua.M]

gonna try that! thanks curly