Trip Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hey yall, As some of you know, I use a coal forge, and give anyone who uses a gas for a hard time....... well looks like I might be eating some crow, so go ahead and pass the salt and pepper!!! LOL Where I live it gets VERRY HOT AND HUMID, and with the coal forge it gets hot FAST in the shop. so I was wondering if a gas (propane) forge would help keep things a little cooler in the shop during the summer months????? I know it is still going to produce heat in the shop, but is it as much as a coal forge?? Also does any one know of any plans online that shows how to build a gas forge? I found some, but not to sure on how well it's construction is. What do you think? http://zoellerforge.com/simplegasforge.html I would like to build a gas forge that will get hot enough to forge weld if the need arises. Thanks, Trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenylittlemetalguy Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I have not used coal in my shop so i can't comment on the heat, but I would say the plans look nice, but way more frills than are really needed. I mainly us a small 2 brick forge with an atmospheric burner. It gets hot enough to melt steel, welding works fine. I have a large 4 burner for when I need the room but it sits idle mostly. Have you though about a simple brick pile forge? easily can weld and construction is as easy as you want. Frosty's burners are easy an cheap to build, $15-$20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 well I don't know ANY thing about gas forges. so what is a brick pile forge. I want to make some thing professional since I do blacksmithing for a living. I have an old "Hoffi" style forge hood that I had used in my last shop. Would that work for a gas forge body??? it is 14" square, has 1/4" thick walls, and has a "church window" opening at one end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel.85 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 My gas forge puts off a lot of heat, I get pretty sweaty out there. Im using a chili forge 2 burner, but usually just run 1 of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenylittlemetalguy Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 a brick pile is just a stack of insulating bricks in any shape that works. the good part is they are very flexible. need a wide forge one day? stack them wide. need a tall one? stack them tall. You don't have to make it just a pile. If you need it nice they are still a good choice.if you know what size you want standard, you can build a nice frame quickly without much hassle, since everything is square and straight. The reason I suggest block is when it comes to maintenance they are much easier to deal with than Kaowool, especially after a coat of ITC or similar coating(which is worth the price IMHO).It also helps that bricks are self supporting. getting Kaowool to stay in place can be an issue if you are not familiar with it, or have rigidizer handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Was any of the information in the many threads in this part of the forum of any value? Building a gasser has really been covered alot. As for heat,,If you compare a one brick gasser to a large coal forge there is a huge difference. If you have a four or more burner gasser and a little coal forge the same thing. In any case if you have anything that produces heat enough to forge weld steel it will be hot. Tha takes a similiar number of btus no matter wot the fuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 Was any of the information in the many threads in this part of the forum of any value? Building a gasser has really been covered alot. As for heat,,If you compare a one brick gasser to a large coal forge there is a huge difference. If you have a four or more burner gasser and a little coal forge the same thing. In any case if you have anything that produces heat enough to forge weld steel it will be hot. Tha takes a similiar number of btus no matter wot the fuel. But can't you control how many burners you use???? well some of the threads were helpful. I read some where about a frosty burner, but I can't find a thread on how to build one. Any one know where I can find it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 i am really old and found that in spite of that I can seek a lot of info on the net..I googled frosty burners and got a cople of hits,,I did nto open them... Justr sayin! ;lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 see this attachment: This how I suggest building a gas forge. Call or e-mail me if you have any questions.KD Gas Forge Tutorial.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kehler Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I find that the propane furnace heats up the shop more than the coal forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenylittlemetalguy Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 here is a link on the burners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 A gas forge is just running a salamander type heater inside the smithy. Puts out much more heat into the general area. If you really need to keep the smithy cool an induction forge will allow you to close all the doors and install air conditioning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 A gas forge is just running a salamander type heater inside the smithy. Puts out much more heat into the general area. If you really need to keep the smithy cool an induction forge will allow you to close all the doors and install air conditioning! What is a induction forge? can i build one? what is its fuel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 It's fuel is electricity, it heats just the part in the coil *FAST* as in seconds!. and if you have to ask then No building one yourself is not as good idea. However once you own the machine making different coils for it is pretty simple. They are not cheap but as fumeless as you can get and still be forging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 It's fuel is electricity, it heats just the part in the coil *FAST* as in seconds!. and if you have to ask then No building one yourself is not as good idea. However once you own the machine making different coils for it is pretty simple. They are not cheap but as fumeless as you can get and still be forging. Sounds like a cool piece of equipment, but I will bet that it has a bigger price tag then what this ole country boy it used to. lol I am thinking if I build a 4 burner gas forge, and then put some cut off valves on each burner, I can then control how many burners I want, or what the project I am working on will determine how many I will need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 It's fuel is electricity, it heats just the part in the coil *FAST* as in seconds!. and if you have to ask then No building one yourself is not as good idea. However once you own the machine making different coils for it is pretty simple. They are not cheap but as fumeless as you can get and still be forging. Sounds like a cool piece of equipment, but I will bet that it has a bigger price tag then what this ole country boy it used to. lol I am thinking if I build a 4 burner gas forge, and then put some cut off valves on each burner, I can then control how many burners I want, or what the project I am working on will determine how many I will need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 So sort of like driving a big V8 pickup around with nothing in the bed to save gas? Be better off building two or more forges sized for the number of burners in each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 hmmmmm ok Just got back from the big city, (population 1,200) and at the hardware store they had a all purpose out door, propane torch for sale. Would that work for a burner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Like a weed burner? If so: Usually very oxidizing and hard to choke due to their design. Not nearly as good as a decent one build from plumbing parts. Some armour makers use them as they are stable burning in open air and cover a larger area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 any one got any idea how much gas a 2 burner will use in a 10 hour day???? trying to figure if it is cheaper than making the 125+ mile trip for coal. thanks Trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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