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I Forge Iron

Too hot in the shop; how do you stay cool?


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I feel like this is a very backhanded post...its snowing here right now....Okay, envying your problem aside <_< , Judging from the picture, your shop may stay a bit cooler if you moved the forge over next to the doors instead of radiating heat off the walls, past you, then out the doors. Unless that is where it is already (just guessing from where the light appears to be coming in from).

-Crazy Ivan

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My shop is aligned along the general wind path up and down the valley and I have 2 10'x10' roll up doors on the ends + the gables are open.  The ridge vent is getting closed in.  

 

I also have a squirrel cage blower set up to blow on me at head/torso height  and it's a dry heat out here.  Remembering to drink massive amounts of fluids helps I like gatoraide mixed with club soda a liter beer stein with 20 oz gatoraide and 12 oz clubsoda works and the lid keeps the flies/yellowjackets/grinding dust/etc out

 

Also I'm encouraging the mesquite tree on the west side of the building as the more shade the less sun!  (I must remember to give it a load of horse manure this spring)

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I put my propane forge on a mobile stand so I can wheel it out side the shop door when it's hot.  It means a longer walk to the anvil. but it's hot so still have enough heat to work the steel.  18 degrees below zero windchill this morning here in Nebraska so running the forge inside is great this time of year.

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78,

Some irony to read your inquery, it was -10f this morning in the shop. However, in the summer we open the two overhead doors, that cools thing off a it. I recall working in SD in the 80's, the temp was almost always the same, very little variationn, and the water was always cold. Enjoy.

Peter

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at the forge school this summer (los angeles) they had just gotten in some brand new chili habaneros, and they had them set up on tables directly opposite each other.  so working with them meant a brand new twin burner propane forge with the mouth facing directly at me on both sides.  more than once I went and soaked my head in the sink!  after they staggered them it became easier to dodge the dragon when I was working, and I make a conscious effort to step away between heats.

 

if you swap your anvil and forge location that might allow the forge to vent more directly to atmosphere and keep you in the shade while allowing you to get at your anvil, PH and press with equal distance between them.

 

having a big door doesn't guarantee good circulation either, if there is a window you can open on the other side that will allow air to actually flow through the shop from one side to the other.

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78sharpshooter, what's the trouble? my forge is staying cool.... Oh that's right, I don't have walls on my Smithy :rolleyes:

 

As stated above, it's all about Positive Air Flow. If you don't have a window to mount a box fan in, you might hang one from the ceiling above head level, and then canted slightly. to blow downward.

 

Nice looking tools, by the way.

 

We in San Diego have some real Winter Weather Challenges - sometimes gets down to the high 20's - it's Rough.

 

August in Phoenix?? yikes.

 

Robert Taylor

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From forge welding large pieces and working on some of the hottest and muggiest days in summer I  have learned some tricks.  

bandanas are your friend.  One drenched in water and tied loosely around your neck will help.  Another on your head with ice cubes on top of it underneath a baseball cap.

A large squirl cage blower pointed directly at your head will help immensely.

Drink lots of water not pop/soda or coffee or alcoholic beverages

consume salty crackers or just add salt to your meals to replace that which is lost from sweat as your body needs it.

shade is helpful.  

and if you don't already take frequent brakes step away drink some water eat salty food.  let yourself have time to recover what your loosing.  

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Oh yea, salt :) I usually have a bag of jerky in my back pocket and snack on that throughout the day because I tend to just drink plain water. I went through a quart of straight powerade(no, not all at once) before lunch on a hot day and that was one of the most uncomfortable feelings ever, dilute that stuff if you want to drink it all day(your body may vary).

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What is this "shop" and "overheating" you speak of? At home, I drag my stuff up from the basement and out on the lawn, and shade in the summer or windbreaks in the winter are unknown. On the other hand, so is carbon monoxide poisoning.

 

Similar problem with the smithing club at school, we set up outside the roll-up door in the courtyard. That space behind my carcass in my avatar. All the tools (including my anvil) come in and out of a job box    every      single     time.

 

 

 

When it's hot out, I take PowerAde Zero and cut it 3:1 with water. Empty one quart bottle into an empty gallon jug, fill with water, put in fridge. Take some of the diluted drink in the bottle out with you, refill as needed.

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I have a propane forge build in my future.  I have one that works well, but it is wide open and uses a lot of fuel.  I want to make it as efficient as possible with doors of some sort that can be closed between heats.  I have seen them set up with idler valves that worked two different ways.  On some they turn the gas off.  With the doors closed the forge would stay hot enough to reignite when they turned the gas on for the next heat.  On others they would turn the gas very low to reduce consumption between heats.  If I was doing it this way, I would pay extra attention to CO production because these burners aren't designed to run this way.  I live in South Texas so I feel your pain.  In my case the reduced heat production will be a fringe benefit.  Good luck, Jerry 

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I built my shop with a high peak to let the heat rise away from me. Then put a large squirrel cage fan at the top to pull out the heat. We also have a lot of windows to replace the air and can put small fans on us. Drink a lot of water and take breaks before they have to pick you up off the ground.

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While I'm no expert, my wife works in an industry where they need to control heat and air flow in their buildings very carefully. The first thing to understand is that air won't flow out if there is no air to flow in to replace it, so having one opening in the building won't give you very much airflow. Think of a ketchup bottle, if you hold it directly vertical, it won't flow out very easily because there's no way for air to get in to replace it. Tilt the bottle on its side and it'll come out much easier. Having an opening on opposite sides of the building will make a big difference.

 

The next thing to understand is why air flows. The first is a difference in air pressure, caused either by wind (which will be more effective if it lines up with the direction of those two openings) or by fans. The second is heat, hot air rises/cool air sinks, but only if it has a place to go, so you'll want a well-ventilated roof. If you can put a fan in the roof to blow the air up towards those vents, so much the better.

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In the "old days" before air conditioning and such, homes in hot climates had a large exhaust fan in the ceiling which blew into the attic.  They kept windows open to let the fan draw outside air in and create a breeze which in turn cooled as best it could.  I have talked to folks who lived on the hot, humid Gulf Coast in pre-airconditioning days and had ceiling fans that exhausted into the attic and they actually said it was tolerable in summer...hard to believe, but those folks didn't lie.

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I used to live in a house that had an exhaust fan in the ceiling, Arkie.  When you cut it on, it surely did suck the air in through open doors and windows.  The strong "breeze" was very nice in the Georgia summers, but that fan was incredibly powerful and subsequently very loud.  You wouldn't sleep with it on, that's for sure!

 

Another option is the swamp cooler.

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have you considered adding a roof exhaust to draw out some hot air ? I have a 21 inch industrial fan in the coupalo on my roof, works nice for winter welding when I dont want to open the doors, its about 7F here now.

 

Steve, do you have a picture of your cupola with the fan in it to share with us? I am planning on building a shop (not attached to the house) and would like a functioning cupola with something like a small whole-house fan in it to pull the air up and out. I'm having trouble finding a fan that is made to be used in a flat orientation. Actual whole-house fans are universally too large and move far too many cfm for a small shop (one-car garage-sized). I thought I found a good one at Northern Tool, but when I asked them if it could be mounted flat, they said that it must be used vertically, as it is meant to vent through an exterior wall.

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