August 7, 200718 yr now that i've got all i need for a coal forge setup, i just need some sort of blower. anyone wanna fire off some cheap/easy ideas for a blower and some tubing to channel it? thanks Evan
August 7, 200718 yr Flexible dryer vent hose, salvaged blower from a wood stove, duct tape=working forge In my case anyway, YMMV. In the Lessons page from the home page of this site, look at the forges section. The potty chair forge would be mine!
August 7, 200718 yr I just bought Item number Item# 16-1336 from Surplus Center - Hydraulic Equipment Electric Motors and am installing it now.Seems to be just what I need. I did the blowdryer thing and though it worked ok, there are many better ideas. Nomad
August 7, 200718 yr I use a salvaged blower from a small gas furnace, metal dryer vent tubing, and stainless metal tape (duct tape works but I have a lot of the s/s tape on hand). You need to be able to vary the amount of air flow. Some use some sort of rheostat, dimmer, or ceiling fan control but I use a sliding air gate. Wire the blower through a foot switch so that the air stops when you step away from the forge. This will save fuel and keep you from burning up stock from lack of attention. Steve
August 7, 200718 yr Watch your local auctions, especially farm auctions. I picked up a champion no. 50 blower for $5. The motor actually works just had to replace the cord. I am actually going to replace the motor with a baldor farm duty motor i have so i dont have to worry if it gets a little rain on it. Sean
August 8, 200718 yr A scrapped HVAC ( furnace etc ) squirrel cage works for me. I also have a scrapped vent blower from a gas appliance of some sort. I have in the past used crank blowers ( and still do in trailer forge) but power blower and airgate work exceptionally well for me here at home. 3 " vent pipe ( galvanized ) works well for blast piping. This said, I HAVE used shop vacs in the past as well with the same mentioned airgate.
August 8, 200718 yr started off with a small squirrel cage motor with baffle plate and air gate, rigged through a dimmer (burnt out rather quickly, but very cheap to replace) 4" dryer vent hose, didn't even try to seal it up very well as I had more than enough air into the firepot. Found that I need less are flow with coal than I do when using only metallurgical coke. Next plan to move blower purchased from Steve Kayne outside of smithy and control flow only with air gate. Have a toggle switch extension bar (several plugs) mounted to side of forge table
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.