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I Forge Iron

Cost of Gas vs Coal?????


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If you Google "stove pipe" you'll get many pages of suppliers wanting to sell you whatever you need. There are wall, ceiling and roof jacks to safely penetrate whatever's in the way. The roof flange (stove pipe flashing) is a MUST and has to be installed properly or the roof WILL leak. It's not a big deal but you MUST follow the instructions. Then there's the rain collar which deflects rain away from the penetration and roof flange.

Brick isn't that big a deal to penetrate, it just LOOKS tough. A 3/8" carbide drill bit and a 1/2" or less masonry chisel will let you remove the bricks in tact so you can replace them if you wish without changing the appearance.  Heck, you can even color match the aged mortar. They make wall jacks for masonry walls too. 

People have been doing this for centuries, it's old tech with all the products, tools, and how tos easily available. It just LOOKS daunting.

Probably the worst thing is having to decide exactly where you want the forge permanently, there's only a little room for moving once the stack's in place.

Check local code!

Frosty The Lucky.

Yeah, it was never that I couldn't do it rather than if it was worth the time and money for me to do it vs just getting a gas forge and throwing in an extra ventilation van or something. For me to put stove pipe through any wood structure I would either need class A triple wall pipe which at 10" diameter is insanely expensive over $100/ 4' section.. If I wanted to use single wall it would need 18" clearance all the way around from any combustible material. I had even considered something like a commercial exhaust hood but those are extremely expensive as well. I could see all of this if I did this full time but not as a hobby. I think for someone like me that wont be forging every day gas probably makes the most since just out of convenience and ease of use.

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Militant, I prescribe to the theory that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. I use a plain jane 10" 28g ducting, From my forge hood it goes up 4' to a 2' horizontal section (it goes directly through a wooden wall) which connects to a 6' vertical. While running the forge for hours I can safely place my hands on the hood without the slightest fear of burning myself, the ducting itself is barely warm. I personally believe that the danger of coal fires are VASTLY overstated at least from a fire hazard point of view.

If you're safety conscious and a stickler for building codes you can easily make a portable coal forge and set it up outside.

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Militant, I prescribe to the theory that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. I use a plain jane 10" 28g ducting, From my forge hood it goes up 4' to a 2' horizontal section (it goes directly through a wooden wall) which connects to a 6' vertical. While running the forge for hours I can safely place my hands on the hood without the slightest fear of burning myself, the ducting itself is barely warm. I personally believe that the danger of coal fires are VASTLY overstated at least from a fire hazard point of view.

If you're safety conscious and a stickler for building codes you can easily make a portable coal forge and set it up outside.

I didn't think a coal forge would put off that much heat through the stack with it being such a small fire and drafting through such a large pipe. It is completely different that a blazing wood burning stove.  Do you have any pictures of how your setup inside and out?

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Yeah, it was never that I couldn't do it rather than if it was worth the time and money for me to do it vs just getting a gas forge and throwing in an extra ventilation van or something. For me to put stove pipe through any wood structure I would either need class A triple wall pipe which at 10" diameter is insanely expensive over $100/ 4' section.. If I wanted to use single wall it would need 18" clearance all the way around from any combustible material. I had even considered something like a commercial exhaust hood but those are extremely expensive as well. I could see all of this if I did this full time but not as a hobby. I think for someone like me that wont be forging every day gas probably makes the most since just out of convenience and ease of use.

Besides the fact already stated that forge stack is way cooler, if you wanted to have an extra skin of pipe all you need is one section of ordinary pipe a bit larger than the main flue in the place it goes through the wall. 

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Iron Poet do you live in Canada or US because if the insurance came out to my place and seen that set up which to me looks like duck work they would cancel my insurance on the spot .They made alot of people around here take out there coal furnaces because of fire risk and they can do whatever they want its there money and policies.If you can get away with it in your area give'er lol

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Iron Poet do you live in Canada or US because if the insurance came out to my place and seen that set up which to me looks like duck work they would cancel my insurance on the spot .They made alot of people around here take out there coal furnaces because of fire risk and they can do whatever they want its there money and policies.If you can get away with it in your area give'er lol

My workshop isn't considered a permanent building where I live so building codes don't apply to it. There are some pretty good benefits to living in a rural area.

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Nice setup.. maybe one day when I get out of the city... But as of right now i'm in the city and a gasser is probably the best option for the winter months and then if I want to use coal I make a portable to pull out in the driveway for the warmer months. If I owned the house it may be a different story but we rent off of my parents and I would hate to risk them losing their homeowners insurance over my hobby.

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I think you're right MIlitant for now you're much farther ahead going with propane. If you need a small area heated use a torch. You should be able to find a used oxy propane torch for not a lot and so long as you aren't doing a lot of cutting an oxy propane conversion tip on an oxy acet torch won't break the bank.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Since my shop is in my downtown area, 1 block from the county courthouse and surrounded by lawyers, I get a fair bit of "attention" at times.  After a couple visits by the fire marshal when starting my coal forge, he saw what I was doing and decided I wasn't going to burn down the city.  When the wind blows a certain way (it is distorted by the tall buildings) I can get a complaint from a neighbor that the smoke is being drawn into their space via their A/C unit.  That rarely happens but when it does I shut the coal off immediately.  I also do odd favors for the lawyers for free, so that helps.

I also get, on a random basis, visits from wannabe knife makers and blacksmiths.  My answer to the "which kind of forge should I get" question is to start with gas for the reasons some have listed above; no smoke, easily stores, build fairly cheaply or if mom/dad have the $$$ buy the kid one, etc.  Since most of the kids want to make swords, I recommend gas with a properly designed forge for that use.  Also, I have to go 130+ miles to get coal and buy 2 tons at a time.  The kids probably can't do that although I sell a bag here and there.

There is one young man who came in looking for help and he was already making his own charcoal.  He is definitely NOT the normal visitor I have and is well on his way to becoming a "smith". 

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I'm a coal man.  I'm comfortable with both.

 

Coal is far more versatile it handles large scrolls as easily as a short heat on a flat bar.

 

Production wise, I've never been able to out work my coal forge.

Blacksmithing/ metallurgical coal outperforms anthracite hands down and even tho the cost per bag is less anthracite, bituminous performs far less expense.

 

As for smoke, with proper fire maintance, your initial startup can be smokey, but once your Coke fire is running, there is little to no smoke.

 

Flue pipes should be ~12" dia for good draw. This can be had fairly inexpensively if you use two of the cheap 6" sections of snap together pipe from your local hardware store.  They will snap together sideways to give you a 12" inexpensive section of pipe.

 

Check with your local blacksmithing organization(SOFA) for either coal from them, or the location of a mine.  From the mine, commonly a pickup load is around $100.

Have fun

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