Embarrassing Question, fire not getting hot

[plane_crazzy]

I really hate to have to post a question like this but I am at my wits end.  I have had the same forge and blower for about 2 years now and have never had any trouble getting a fire going. Usually all it takes is some news paper mixed in and I am forging in 15 minutes.  Here lately I have been unable to get a fire going at all. the blower is still blowing hard, and I even totally redid the entire airpipe from the blower to the tuyere just to be sure I had no leakage.  I have gotten coal from the same place and it looks and feels the same.  I have dumped lighter fluid on it and as soon as the fluid burns off the coal is only smoldering at best. Today I cranked on the blower for 20 minutes and finally got a small fire going, but there was no heat in it. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG!? I am absolutely frustrated and have no idea what is going on at this point.  Any help?

[jmccustomknives]

I love open pine cones for starting my forge.  No lighter fluid needed.  Usually 5 or 6, light them and get them going good then hit them with air and cover them up with the coal.  Even with the junk coal I'm using 5 to 10 minutes and I'm going.

[pkrankow]

So this is a new order of coal from the same supplier?  It sounds like a different product, regardless of looks.

 

Try getting some lump charcoal and see if starting with the charcoal you can light this coal.

 

Phil

[Marksnagel]

Are you saving any coke from your last fire? The coke starts a lot quicker than raw coal and in just a little bit you are heating iron. As you work slowly add coal in from the edges as it cokes up.

 

Just a thought.

 

Mark<><

[Glenn]

Build a fire from sticks, twigs, or small wood that would make a boy scout proud. Once you get a good fire going, add some small wood and some coal. Let the coal catch fire and then add more coal. 

 

The secret is to get a good bed of embers (coals) built up before you add the coal. The coal then has no choice but to burn. As it catches fire and starts to produce heat, add more coal and keep the air going. If it is half way good coal it will catch fire. But you can not run it fuel thin, you have to have a ball of fire about the size of melon, with more coal on top. Depending on your project, you may have a depth of 9 -12 inches or more from twyere to top of the coal.  

 

The heat of the fire is controlled by the amount of air, not the amount of fuel.

[Fe-Wood]

I am going to assume you have air flow because you cleaned the line? Did you clean the ash dump? I like pinecones myself. Let them get a bit of embers going before adding coal or coke. Don't give to much air to fast or coal. You want the fire building red hot embers, to much air or coal and they cool off to much....

[plane_crazzy]

I will give it another shot with just wood starting and see how that goes. I do not know what the problem is. I have never had difficulty getting a fire going before.

[John McPherson]

Could be the quality of the coal itself: sometimes you hit a seam that is mostly sand and/or shale. They probably get the same price for everything, what do they care? From the cab of a big excavator, it all looks the same.

 

Fill a tin can with random samples of the bag you just bought, and try to compare it to any known or older stock you have left.  Wash it off in a bucket or screen, and see if it is just coal dust on gravel. Take a few nut sized pieces out and crack them with a hammer, and really look at the exposed surfaces. Turn a plumbers torch on a small piece or 6 and see how much heat it takes to burn up, and how much clinker is left behind.