Ethan Stone Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 so i just got an old coal forge up and running, and i dont know what size holes the grate in the bottom needs. first i tried a really big holes about 1/4 inch, and then all the hot coals fell through and into the clinker breaker. then i tried small holes about 1/16 inch and that just keeps clogging. so i just wanted to so if any of people have had this problem you can help me out. Thanks, Ethan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Good Morning, Ethan You were correct with your first size, 1/4" to 3/8". There always will be some junk that falls through, keep dumping it out of the clinker breaker. If you are using coal that is a lot of fines, mix the fines in water until you can make baseball size, mud balls. Don't poke or prod too much and you will have a nice fire. Enjoy the experimenting. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 So it sort of seems like this would depend on your fuel size and type which you don't mention! Also forges with a clinker breaker don't usually have a grate, the breaker serves as one. Do you mean the ash dump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 For my brake drum with a 2 inch opening I use 1 piece of 3/8 bolt welded in place. For the 3 inch opening I use 2 pieces of 3/8 inch bolts. (one shown here before the other was welded in place) //with a 2=1/2 inch pipe, I have used 2 pieces of 1/4 inch round stock. I have burned coal dust all these set ups. I want LOTS of air going to the fire without any restrictions. You can control the amount of air to produce the heat you want from the fire. More air means a hotter fire but if you can not get enough air to the fire, you limit the amount of heat that can be produced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Stone Posted December 18, 2015 Author Share Posted December 18, 2015 hello, thank you all. sorry i took me so long to get a reply, so for some odd reason me and my dad thought that the 1/4 inch holes were to large so after reading these reply's i changed it back to 1/4 inch and it works fine. thank you all (even the curmudgeon ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Hey Ethan, are you trying to bait curmudgeons? You had a good question, got good answers and put them to work. That isn't going to get you on the curmudgeon's (idiot) list. We do however enjoy snappy reparte and friendly jabbing. Do you want to play? We've been known to play. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Easy, Jerry. Us old farts might play a bit to rugh for the "kids" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan the blacksmith Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 what size of coal are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Stone Posted December 19, 2015 Author Share Posted December 19, 2015 i was just kidding i should have been more specific. when i come to you asking me about the clinker breaker and such i dont know what you mean. when it comes to coal size i know some one who's giving it to me for free (they bought a farm and a random pile of coal on it), the sizes very a lot, most around the size of a soccer ball (or foot ball in other country's) and dont get smaller then a base ball. i generally break it down a lot. and frosty no i was not trying to bait the curmudgeons. thanks, Ethan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 S'okay Ethan learning the Jargon is part of the craft, we all had to learn it, still learning it. Break your coal to acorn size and wet the fines to pack around the mound. You'll use much less coal, have much hotter fires and have better control. No bait? You don't want to play? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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