Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Fire pot dimensions for coal forge


Recommended Posts

Someday.  For that to happen though I will need to get my blower out of the garage where I stored it after buying it and use it. The latest hairdryer (liberated from my wife) will have to die first. I am lazy and just leave it running the entire time. Maintaining a small fire is not something a constant supply of air is useful for. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...
  • Replies 126
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

On 5/22/2020 at 4:52 AM, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

Have you seen this one. It's about as good as a firepot you will find. Why reinvent the wheel?

http://www.bamsite.org/firepot.html

Thanks for this.

I think I might try this one, I am getting a bit tired of experimenting TBH, and would just like something that I know is tested and works optimally (for coke or coal, not bothered about charcoal). I had designs for my own sideblast welded firepot, which would be really cool in a way, but I don't feel like taking a chance on it.

Safest way seems to be to go with a conventional bottom blast, they just seem to work for so many without any fiddling.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was just reading about grow op's moving from NM tribal lands to OK ones.  Not enough water out here evidently.

When I was in High School in NJ my Chemistry Teacher sang in a CW band and performed  that song for me at the HS talent show.  Only problem is that my Mother was from Humphrey, near Altus; although we have kinfolk in Muskogee...

(The year Oklahoma was playing Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl made for some tense times at home as all of us were from AR save for Mother!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

If you have a welder, add wings to adjust the depth in your tuyere.  IF no welder then bend some Z brackets to adjust the height.  Clay up any openings so all the air goes up the new tuyere.

As to the size of the opening, insert a pipe of the right internal diameter and weld it in place or add some shims to hold it in place.

Making things work is always faster than trying to make enough excuses to cover everything.  Not picking on you, just saying fix it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

It didn’t turn out quite like I expected it might. Whatever that piece is, it was not structured like I thought it might be. The nipple at the bottom is too wide to be slid into the top. I had thought I would use it to decrease the size of the opening. That nipple is very thick walled and would have left me with an opening of 1.5”.  I could have ground it down to fit, but that would have been a lot of work and I didn’t think I could grind it evenly. So I just cut the top third off of the top piece, necked down a short piece of 3” pipe and welded the 3” piece to the top piece I had cut off. 
 

It works ok. The opening is 2” wide, but I don’t seem to have a problem with coal falling through it. The coal clumps together so that isn’t a problem. The clinker mainly flows down below the top of the “bullet” grate. The opening does get clogged with clinker, but clearing it isn’t a problem. The 3” pipe down the tuyere holds the grate in place while I clean it out. I am not sure how long it will last. It has melted just a little around the opening. 

One thing I wish I had not done was flare out the bottom of the 3” pipe. I did it thinking it would help with air flow, and it may very well do that, but what I had not expected was the bloody thing would get wedged in place by ash and small bits of coke and clinker. I will have to pry it out. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is it now. The top is 2.75 inches from the top edge of the fire pot. The top of the bullet grate is two knuckles on my middle finger to the bottom of the pot. 
 

It does work. Clinker forms and falls down in a ring around the grate.  Clinker does form and clog the opening, but my poker can clear it without disturbing the fire. 
 

The problem is it melts quite a lot during each session. I need to try something else. The grate is carbon steel of some sort. Perhaps that is why it burns. This evening I went back to using bits of square stock placed over the tuyere opening. Better air flow. And don’t have to unclog the opening as often. 

E48F06D5-B1AA-4F5C-802A-5478918B9E91.jpeg

975FEC41-6B24-4A3B-B40E-24F15A44B4CE.jpeg

C6D6A4B1-EFBF-4E77-A5FE-835677AB5815.jpeg

1DC28984-97A3-4F50-9D1B-48E563C1F449.jpeg

970F8520-EC84-489B-94F1-83EB8AB6E2B8.jpeg

79284983-C723-4D2C-AEAB-D90DB3724DA7.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DHarris said:

You will have to show me Arkie.  It seems to be mainly glass. 
 

I was a little surprised that grate melted so quickly. 

DHarris, I don't believe I am a party to this conversation....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, DHarris said:

I was a little surprised that grate melted so quickly.

The problem is that you've got the "bullet" sticking too far up into the firepot. That exposes more of it to the heat, so it oxidizes faster. You want it lower down, so that it's below the fireball.

On 7/12/2021 at 10:48 AM, anvil said:

Forge clinker ball.

12 hours ago, DHarris said:

You will have to show me

I think anvil meant the CF clinker breaker. They're included with all the CF firepots, but replacements are also available on the website.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...