What would you incorporate into a cast iron round firepot design, depth, grate size and style etc. i would appreciate some feedback!

I don't know much about cast iron but I can tell you a little about fire pots. I use mostly 3/8 and 1/2 inch steel, and I find that 3-4 inches deep works good. As for the grate in the bottom of the forge, I have always left the bottom solid and drilled holes through it. It works fine! I have only had one problem with that, and that was a clinker melted into one of the holes. It only has happened once in a year and a half, and all you have to do is punch it out. Support, anyone?

The kidsmith,
Dave Custer

I don't tend towards the round design, but if it is larger enough....12" to 14" across and 4" deep, it should work well enough....the grate should have at least one 1/2" slot in it for air flow as well as a clinker breaker to bust up clinkers and any ash accumulation so air flow is not impeded..

Round is fine and at least 4 inches deep. I would suggest slots instead of holes. I started out with holes and was forever keeping the ash and clinker poked out. The slots stay cleaner and are a lot easier to poke out.

does it have to be more than one hole/slot or does it matter so long as you get teh airflow to the center? also does the air always have to come in from the bottom?

Edited June 24, 200818 yr by geofthesmith

In the ones that have made and use the air blast is from the bottom with 3 slots.

Side blown forges are popular in England but they usually don't have a firepot per say and are quite different in how the fire is used/maintained.

For hobby use and clean coal you can get away with simple grates. For heavy use I'd suggest looking at professional firepots---they are made that way for a reason!

Also look into the extra heavy duty coke firepots as some folks use that fuel.

If you have an air blast from the side, because of the intense heat if you are using coke or firewelding a lot, you will need to put a water tank on to prevent the tue burning away.

The pictures show a portable set up that should illustrate what is needed

I have a 13" dia. 3/4" thick round coke pot at the homestead. I haven't found any problem in working the sizes of metal that I use. the bottom of mine has a clinker breaker setup in it.

What would you incorporate into a cast iron round firepot design, depth, grate size and style etc. i would appreciate some feedback!

An easy and convenient starting point could be a drinking bowl from a dairy barn. These are attached to the stanchions for the cows to drink from.
Some are plastic, some galvanized and some cast iron.
About 8" dia. and 4" to 5" deep. Just a thought, hope this helps. Dan

I use a cast iron floor drain bowl. It's round, ~4" deep, ~12"dia. Looks somthing like this, without the grate: works well! No clinker breaker; I use a small piece of perf. steel to keep the coal from falling out the tuyer, and replace as needed.

Edited June 25, 200818 yr by GOATMAN

does it have to be more than one hole/slot or does it matter so long as you get teh airflow to the center? also does the air always have to come in from the bottom?

Dont assume the air has to enter the fire in the center. Lots of firepots are designed with a solid cast-iron clinker breaker that sits right in the center of the air inlet. When you rotate the clinker breaker it rotates and it's sides and corners break up the clinker. As air comes up through the ash tube it hits the clinker breaker and is diffused around it. Air is always more diffused by the coal and coke itself as it enters the fire.

I have a firepot with a three slot design in the bottom so air enters directly into the heart of the file. Recently i used a firepot design with a centered clinker breaker as described above. I like the centered one better. It seemed to create a larger area of heat in the forge due to the air being diffused throughout more of the firepot.

Some clinker breakers are shaped so you can have a flat up so air goes to the sides, or have a lobe up so it tends more toward the middle so you can adjust for the type of fire you need.

I use a cast iron floor drain bowl. It's round, ~4" deep, ~12"dia. Looks somthing like this, without the grate: works well! No clinker breaker; I use a small piece of perf. steel to keep the coal from falling out the tuyer, and replace as needed.

Is this the type that is used on rooftops? How thick are the walls on one of these? Dan:)

goat man where do you get those they look sturdy i think i just might need to try this one

Hey that's pretty cool. I did a google search for "iron cesspool bell trap" and got a ton of hits. They range in size from 3 inchers to 12 inchers. I may have to give this a shot since they have them at the local ace. Thanks, Rob.

Actually, I found them in a junk pile in my dad’s garage, There are two, so when one burns out, I have a replacement. The ones I have aren’t quite the same as shown, and it took me a little while to find the picture I posted. They are actually very hemispherical in the bowl, but have a square flange on top to accept a 12” square grate. The hole in the bottom is ~3”dia, with a collar ~2”long protruding from the bottom of the bowl. Cast iron, about

Edited June 26, 200818 yr by GOATMAN