February 10, 201511 yr I was wondering if anyone out there has put a hood on a charcoal forge,or would know how.
February 10, 201511 yr Is your forge set up inside a building, or outside in the open? Inside, of course you need to move the smoke and CO out of the building. Outside, do you have to deal with wind? Sunshine? To give a better answer, we will need more information about your setup.
February 10, 201511 yr Author My forge is setup in a small building where size is a problem. I just want a better way to get smoke out.
February 10, 201511 yr Talk to your local (wherever that is) sheet metal shop. They may have a hood they are taking out. They can also make one for not much $ You can use a wheel barrow body, unless you are creative, it will also look like a wheel barrow. :) :)
February 10, 201511 yr Greetings Mad, I suggest you do a little research on hoods on this forum. There are many examples of great hoods and methods of smoke removal and one that just might fit your space.... If it looks like a wheel barrow .... its a wheel barrow... Just my 2c Forge on and make beautiful things Jim
February 10, 201511 yr look into a side sucker hood; they work the same for coal or charcoal; getting the proper diameter chimney is VERY important; as you live in Antarctica you will not have to worry about spark arrestors or rain. Depending on what you do you may even be able to inclose the fire area with a barrel with openings on opposite sides to put work through. Use a wheelbarrow *HOW*??? as a hood horizontally over the fire? Terrible method! Side sucker is much more efficient! However to answer your first post: Yes, Yes.
February 10, 201511 yr Author It doesn't need to look fancy it just needs to work. The only reason i had the idea with the wheel Barrel was, because I wanted to save money
February 10, 201511 yr Author It doesn't need to look fancy it just needs to work. The only reason i had the idea with the wheel Barrel was, because I wanted to save money.
February 10, 201511 yr Author It doesn't need to look fancy it just needs to work. The only reason i had the idea with the wheel Barrel was, because I wanted to save money
February 10, 201511 yr The side sucker is hard to beat. It sits off to one side and doesn't get the the way.
February 10, 201511 yr It dosnt need to be expensive, the "side sucker" or hoffie style is simply a 12"x 12" box, extending threw the wall with a 12' stack going up 3" above the highest point on the roof. A box or bucket with a hole cut in the side seting next the fire, with a 12' stack going threw the roof works just as well, just cut the hole just about the same square inches as the stack (go smaller and increase till it draws good) going ober the top of the fire makes it hard to see what your doing and get od shapes in the fire. Not to mention it just dosnt seem to draw as well
February 10, 201511 yr Smoke is smoke. The heat from your fire wants to go up, you give it a conveiniant place to go and it will take the smoke with it (and a big gulp of room air with it) some times a wad of pater burt in the stack is neede to get things going. Somthing as simple as 12" ac duct with a 90 degree bend will work to get the smoke away from you, or a 5 gallon steel pail with a hole cut in the side and 12" ac duct coming out the top. Search IfI for "side draft hood" look in the uri hoffie bluprints ans such. The big differences with charcoal and coal are the mass and cleanliness of the fuels (and cokeing, charcoal is "coked" wood) they bothe generate the same amout if heat pound for pound. And generate smoke and hot air.
February 10, 201511 yr Greetings Mad, I don't see why not... Good thinkin... It may not last as long but it would function the same... Just for fun deliver it to your forge in the wheel barrow. LOL Forge on and make beautiful things Jim
February 10, 201511 yr Greetings Mad, I don't see why not... Good thinkin... It may not last as long but it would function the same... Just for fun deliver it to your forge in the wheel barrow. LOL Forge on and make beautiful things Woops double post...
February 10, 201511 yr A 24 gallon grease drum from your local oil change place will work to. As the top is over 12" its not hard to fit the flue
February 10, 201511 yr or get 1/2 doz 5gal drums mate, do a similar thing with them as the 55gal forge, put 1 or 2 horizontal if you need to go through a window, be aware of fire fleas with charcoal mate, especially if your taking the smoke outside.
February 10, 201511 yr Note that the side sucker is different than the Hofi variant of it goes straight up from the box. Hofi's works when you don't want to put holes in your roof. My side wall was made from a hail damaged metal roof that conveniently had a large hole where the house's wood stove came through. I just stuck a 10" spiral seamed duct out the hole at a steep angle and it will sing with a good fire!
February 11, 201511 yr Author I Made a hood out of popcorn tin last night. It had a decent draw. Some smoke wasn't going up the chimney. I made the hole a little bit bigger to see if that works.
February 18, 201511 yr I made a hood from a stainless trash can and the back of a smoker I'm using coal but it should work for charcoal I guess. I made a video of it working.
February 18, 201511 yr Mad; how big is your chimney? and some chimneys need to be "primed" to get the draw started. a crumpled up piece of news paper lit at the bottom of the chimney can encourage it to start the process.
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