Quick Question about Charcoal

[scottyp74]

Can I use water like they do with regular coal to manage the burn time and for heat control or will it not work that way?

 

[ThomasPowers]

I restrict the amount of charcoal in the forge area instead---using fire bricks to make a smaller but deeper forge pot for it; but some folks do water their charcoal.

[scottyp74]

i was thingking more like the charcoal that im adding after i get a nice hot fireball going in the forge pot. Not so much as to get the fire pot wet it self.

 

[ThomasPowers]

NO! then you are just wasting heat to dry it out.  Only add what is needed as it's needed. (And make sure your forge is tweaked to use charcoal rather than coal.)

[turbo7]

It's better to make a deeper firepot like TP suggests, wet charcoal pops and spits fire fleas like mad.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Charcoal and a 3/4-1" sideblast with a bowl 6-8" by 4-5" deep is the bomb.

A botton blast is a real fuel hog, but you can "coke" wood on top. 

 

 

TP has more experiance with charcoal than most. 

Fireflees are as much poor quality charcoal as it is to much air. Can't speek to water, as I have never used it on my charcoal forge. 

[Frosty]

The only time I've added water to a charcoal fire is to put it out. I control the size and shape of the fire with bricks arranged around the duck's nest and how much fire there is with fuel and blast.

Frosty The Lucky.

[dancho]

I often use water to control charcoal  to get the  nice spot especially when use it for heat treatment.  Half mug in front.  Half on the back.  Never in the centre unless putting out the forge.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Heat treat, for somthing longish I will fire up the other forge, or break out some pipe fitings and a hand trowl