Maintenance; Damp coal

[Admanfrd]

    Every single "Coal forge upkeep" article i have read says to keep the coal damp. That's it. I need to know, how damp is damp? all the way through? On top of the fire? distance? etc etc. I am using Bituminous coal BTW. thanks in advance!

[ThomasPowers]

Well with the coal I used in Ohio I never used water; with the coal I use in New Mexico I store it in a 5 gallon bucket with water up to the top of the coal.  With *your* coal it's probably somewhere in between.

[Stephen Olivo]

Play around.  Experience is the only way to know and it will also depend on what your trying to do with it.  Some days I go through several 5 gallon buckets other days maybe a half.

[HWooldridge]

It's best to experiment with your own fuel but for comparison, I put about 3 gallons of coal in a five gal bucket with a 2-3'quarts of water. I let that presoak for a few minutes while the fire is getting underway with dry fuel. When the blast is healthy and going, the wet coal is packed on each side of the fire so the flames can continue up thru the center. The coal will coke and eventually burn hollow with each heat so the fresh coal is regularly fed in as necessary.

[rthibeau]

using water to dampen the coal on the forge serves to delay its burning while enhancing its ability to pack together while changing into coke. Water is not necessarily needed but slows the consumption of the fuel. It's okay not to use any water, but you'll probably use more coal otherwise. If you don't have any trouble obtaining coal, then you don't have to worry sbout it. It's not that big a deal.

[swedefiddle]

Happy New Year,

 

Here everything is damp. I use water to slow down the burning of the coal so it will coke up better and keep the fire hot-spot smaller than otherwise would be. It depends on your climate, whether it is fines or not, which shoe did you lace up first. If the coal is very dry, it will burn easy and your fire-ball will consume your coal quickly. It you keep it damp around the edges/sides, it won't create a huge hot-spot.

 

I can't remember, does coal come in a 20lbs. or a 100lbs. tank???? :) :) :)

 

Neil

[Admanfrd]

So, what I have gathered so far is that damp= soaked throughout. On my last experiment, I sprinkled a little water on top of dry coal and it... Exploded. A piece hit my glasses. (Wear them). So, soak through, or just the outside, like running it over a hose. While the fire is going, put water on the coal?

[swedefiddle]

Keep the outsides of the coal wet. As the fire burns, push the outsides toward the center, add new coal to the outsides, keep it wet (not soaking wet, but, damp wet. Unlike Dry wet) LOL The heat from the fire, dries out the coal, the heat turns it to coke, you get your heat from the coke, not the coal. The smoke from the coal is the impurities leaving the coal, what doesn't turn to smoke or coke, turns to clinker. Colonel Clinker or any one of his family!!LOL

One drink for the fire, one drink for the fire-man, Etc. repeat, repeat :) :)

 

Forget about what you are worried about. Light the fire, make smoke, get something hot, hit it with a hammer until it quits squealing (gets dull red), repeat as long as needed.

When you are not smiling, you sleep!! Job is never done, Knowledge is never fully known.

Enjoy

 

Neil

[ThomasPowers]

my local coal comes as fines and you sludge it with water and take a shovelful and let the water run out and apply to a going fire along the sides to coke up into chunks.  Always save some dry coke from the previous fire to start the next one as it lights a lot easier than wet coal does.  Beginner's mistake is to let the fire burn down towards stopping time.  Pro's usually build it up towards stopping time to have a fast easy light the next go!

[Admanfrd]

After burning, my coal looks like charcoal, cracked and split. is this coke?

[Ridgewayforge]

Coke appears as grayish, pourous rock, not shiny and hard like coal. 

 

From left to right: Clinker, Coke, Coal

[SmoothBore]

I don't "pre-soak" my Bituminous Coal, ... but in my flat bottomed Rivet Forge, I sprinkle it heavily around the edges, to restrict the fire to about 9" diameter, in the cwnter of the Forge.

 

In my other, "Table Type" Forge, with a 6" deep, recessed fire-pot, sprinkling is not necessary as a means of controlling and concentrating the fire, ... but when adding "fine" Coal to the fire, I'll often sprinkle lightly over the top, to encourage it to clump together.

 

 

I use the Blower Valve to control the heat, ... not water.

 

 

 

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[arkie]

I keep my coal damp by sprinkling.  I use a tin can with some holes poked in it and a handle attached.  I keep the can in a small bucket of water next to the forge and sprinkle when needed around the fire.