jlpservicesinc Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 3 hours ago, Glenn said: Push the coal in AND down. You want to collapse any air pockets or caves. Hi Glenn, just to clarify you meaning and from my understanding, With anthracite there isn't much caving (hollow fire) or open area unless there is is a huge clinker. vs soft coal where you can get a hollow fire.. ( in you neck of the woods do you see this more often).. It's one of the problems I think creeps up when someone bulds a firepot based on soft coal vs hard coal.. The depth of firepot as well as slope of the side wall as well as the coal size plays into how well it feeds in.. Pea vs stove as example (and yes I realize the standards for sizing can vary but in general at least around here the sizing is pretty consistent).. Pea or nut is the flavor of choice for most work and is easy to get at a local hardware store.. With pea there is nearly no air gaps and if fed in correctly and in line with what is burnt it can be a very tight fire.. Nut coal keeps a little more air flow and gapping between coal pieces.. Wtih pea you must keep a higher fire as the air is so restricted if one isn't careful with blast it can blow the fire right out of the firepot.. And stove or boiler coal well then there are large gaps between the pieces.. FYI.. A Tight fire will offer a more intense heat with a smaller center heart as the air and o2 are burnt and slowed by the resistance of less air channels in the fire mass.. A fire that has larger gaps because of the larger sized pieces can influence how manageable a fire size can be maintained and usually require more depth. I have found that it almost doesnt matter what fuel type, charcoal, hard or soft coal the pieces for the most part function about best in the cherry or nut sized pieces with pea sized pieces thrown in.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 JLP You are correct. My post was more generic to solid fuel, your post is more specific to anthracite. Thank You. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Lee Posted November 7, 2017 Author Share Posted November 7, 2017 7 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: "flying apart" sounds like way too strong an air blast! Haha i meant that the coal bursts and crackles shards into the air 8 hours ago, JHCC said: You are pushing the coal horizontally, from outside the fire towards the middle. Thanks again for a very functional explanation if any more questions arise ill be sure to ask you do i just kinda shove my piece under the bed of coals piled ontop of the fire pot? I usually push the piece down from the top of the fire as a whole. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stash Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 Jonah- there's a few bituminous coal dealers in your area if you want a switch from the hard stuff. I don't have my info available right now, but one supplier is in Smoketown. Have a look at the local gang at www.pabasite.com- there are a few members of PABA and IFI in Lancaster (Crazy Ivan and JWS to name 2). Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Lee Posted November 7, 2017 Author Share Posted November 7, 2017 Hey thanks for the suggestion, but im mainly concerned about cost. Unless they sell is super cheap i dont think i will convert to the soft stuff, but thanks for letting me know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 21 minutes ago, Jonah Lee said: do i just kinda shove my piece under the bed of coals piled ontop of the fire pot? I usually push the piece down from the top of the fire as a whole. Okay, here's the thing. When the air blast enters the fire, it provides oxygen to make it burn BUT it doesn't all get burned up at once. This means that you've got three layers to the fire: oxidizing, neutral, and reducing. In the oxidizing layer at the bottom of the fire, you've got a lot of hot unburned oxygen just waiting to grab onto a piece of hot steel and turn it into scale. In the neutral layer in the center of the fire, all the excess oxygen is burned up, so it's just hot. In the reducing layer at the top of the fire, there's not quite as much oxygen as you need to sustain combustion, so it's not quite as hot as you want. TL:DR = The top and bottom layers of the fire won't heat your workpiece efficiently, and the bottom layer will increase scaling. Stick your workpiece straight in from the side, into the center of the fireball, thus: (Note that this shows a bituminous fire with its layers of coke, but the same principle applies.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stash Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 Jonah- I don't know what you're paying for anthracite, but bitum is going for $8.50 to 12 per 50# in Lancaster and surroundings. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Lee Posted November 7, 2017 Author Share Posted November 7, 2017 Ok thank you so much, this helped a lot and although its sleeting at the current time, ill give this a spin tomorrow! Thanks!!! 2 hours ago, Stash said: Jonah- I don't know what you're paying for anthracite, but bitum is going for $8.50 to 12 per 50# in Lancaster and surrounding. Right, i pay $22 for 240 pounds roughly. It lasts a bunch longer and burns hot! Thanks for the idea, i truly appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 Jonah, unless you're specifically referencing something in an image that cannot be adequately described, you shouldn't include images in what you quote. We have members who still use dial-up, and it really eats up bandwidth and makes pages slow to load for them. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 Hard coal will crackle, load the big peices on the sides or top of your fire, letting green coal get into the hot spot will make any water make steam and explode. If using nut instead of rice coal feeding the big peices from the outside gives it a chance to dry out and then I night and it will break down into smaller peices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Lee Posted November 7, 2017 Author Share Posted November 7, 2017 2 hours ago, JHCC said: Jonah, unless you're specifically referencing something in an image that cannot be adequately described, you shouldn't include images in what you quote. Are you refering to the picture of my forge? If so, i did give specs a couple time throughout the discussion. If not sorry! 2 hours ago, Charles R. Stevens said: Hard coal will crackle, load the big peices on the sides or top of your fire, letting green coal get into the hot spot will make any water make steam and explode. If using nut instead of rice coal feeding the big peices from the outside gives it a chance to dry out and then I night and it will break down into smaller peices. Right, i switched from nut coal to a slightly smaller size that ranges from an inch to an inch and a half in size. But thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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