Hi all, looking for some quick tips on the best way to apply KOL30 in one session.  I mixed it with the recommended amount of water, so it was nice and "crumbly." So crumbly I'm worried about turning the forge right side up to do the floor.  I tried securing it with a duct tape "hammock" but I don't feel that will keep it from falling down.  Of course I can let this dry and do the floor later, but I'm trying not to waste the mixed KOL.  Thanks!

You can spritz the surface with a spray bottle and smooth the surface but I would let it dry for a day before you roll it. I mix KOL30 a little thinner, like brick layers mud. it wont fall off a trowel when you hold the trowel sideways but it's wet enough to get a slick surface. I haven't had any issues with shrinkage but I always let it cure 24 hours before moving or turning it.

Thanks, Twisted.  My premixed batch was drying, so I went ahead and just took a chance.  It worked for the most part, with only some stuff falling off of the ends that I had to repair. 

But man my tiny little forge just got really tiny! 

 

Looks good. If your burner is built for that volume! I built my third gasser with only KOL30, no fiber cloth or board. Coated the cured Kast-O-lite with Metrikote and I like it. The shell gets a little hotter than my fiber board/KOL lined version but with the Metrikote it warms up quick and I'm happy with it. I've been averaging  four hours of run time five to six days a week for a couple of months and so far no cracks. I'm glad I didn't get interested in switching to LP till those two products came along! I still keep coal/coke around but I really prefer the LP forges now.

Nope, burner is built for a volume 3-4 times larger.  I'm setting myself up for a fail, but at least I'll learn some lessons. If I have to do it over I'll just use one layer of Kaowool. If it does work, I'll be melting titanium after I put the Plistix on. Haha

Naturally aspirated burners have long turn-down ranges; I don't see any reason for a failure so far.

Mikey, I fired it up for the first time to continue the KOL drying (started it in the oven) and it seemed to work decently.  It sputtered a bit at low flow, but I didn't crank up the psi yet since I'm still doing the slow dryout of the KOL. Looks like my flared opening in the KOL near the burner port is blocking one side of the flame a bit (left side in the pix).

 

I found the kast-o-lite to be the most difficult part of my build.  I have onlny had 3 fires at around 5-6 hours total run time.

I barely have the regulator open and have only used about a half bbq tank. My forge is only abour 280 sq. in. and works great so far. Love it!

 

3 hours ago, paulgatx said:

Mikey, I fired it up for the first time to continue the KOL drying (started it in the oven) and it seemed to work decently.  It sputtered a bit at low flow, but I didn't crank up the psi yet since I'm still doing the slow dryout of the KOL. Looks like my flared opening in the KOL near the burner port is blocking one side of the flame a bit (left side in the pix).

You can power sand/grind  the opening after firing is finished. I still see nothing of failure in your photos. In fact, the need to keep the burner turned down is likely to go well with the small interior of your forge. When I shot pool in my miss spent youth, I labeled such happy circumstances as " I except slop" 

What the heck is that Mikey person blathering about? You chose to position your burner at top-dead-center and facing straight down; this forces your flame path to nearly impact on your parts. A harder flame would badly scale your work.