My JABOD

[SinDoc]

Dont think I failed at it but who knows . Planning on using primarily charcoal. Used some fire bricks I had laying around for the pot. Got it all packed down and ready to try once I get an air pump.

[Frosty]

How's it work? From here I might've tried hammering it harder but I can't feel the soil.

You aren't thinking fail are you? You know the old saw about the proof of the pudding don't you? Light that puppy up and take her for a test run of ten.

Frosty The Lucky.

[SinDoc]

I messed with it a little last week and unfortunately the blower I got was a little too powerful and sends fleas everywhere. Need to downgrade it a bit. I used lump charcoal and got a piece of mild round stock up to a bright yellow in no time. Need to cut the pipe a bit shorter, put in a 90 and maybe a check valve for a bit more control on the air then mount a lower power blower to the side.

The soil was quite wet when I did this so it has since turned into a nice solid mass of almost clay consistency. The fire pot has already hardened quite nicely as well. The only problem I foresee is the bottom got a little toasty to the touch after mild tinkering, so I may need to either remove the fire brick or make it deeper. I only had 2x6's laying around and probably should have gotten 2x8's.

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, SinDoc said:

should have gotten 2x8's.

Nooooo, 1" x 8"s are plenty strong enough. Nothing wrong with using what you have of course but if you're buying new only get what you need. A piece of plywood with a 2 x 4 stiffener or two under it will hold the soil. Remember the beauty of a JABOD is NOT having to move all that dirt and the forge at once. You empty the soil into a couple buckets and reload it after you've moved it.  Yes?

If you have too much blower, don't use the whole blast. Make the connection between blower and tuyere pipe so you can misalign them and waste excess blast. It's just air aim it at your feet if it's a hot day. Hmmm?

I use a 12v DC mattress inflator blower when I burn coal or charcoal and I NEVER build a fire THAT big so it's always only partly aimed at the tuyere pipe. 

More sand will lighten the soil if it's too heavy and will help prevent shrink checking. I'll ram up nicely when only moist.

You're on the right track. I DO want to see pics of your fire and some steel making out in there next time though!

Frosty The Lucky.

[SinDoc]

I had thought about doing something with the angle as that is what I was doing during testing as if I pointed it directly at it, coals and ashes and everything else would go flying. I think I will mount it on the side of the box on a sort of swivel so I can rotate it up and down to change the amount of air going into the pipe. I still need to do some modifying on the pipe as it is currently WAY too long. Shortest piece the hardware store had was 4'.

I plan on getting pictures because I know how much you guys love pictures. My intent with this is to give me the ability to make larger items that simply wont fit in my propane forge.

[Frosty]

That sounds like a good way to mount the blower and control the draft. I like it.

The pipe's too long? The steel tuyere pipe? Oh MY GOODNESS what to do? Let's give a shout out to the 56,000 members of Iforge and see if ANYBODY somewhere in the world knows the answer!  Sorry, I couldn't help myself, I'm a weak person when handed a straight line like that.

Have a hacksaw? 1" iron pipe of your desired length is a 15-20 second job.  Remember the secret is Measure TWICE. No matter how many times you cut it'll still be too short! Want to know how I know?  I saw it on Candid Camera. Talk about Old - School! 

How about this potential solution if you don't have a hack saw. Put the fire trench at the far side of the JABOD. Any reason you can't run the tuyere the full length of the box under the dirt? I'm pretty sure the dirt will get over the sensation of violation, it's pretty resilient that way you know. 

I'd better stop now, I'm having too much fun. Just remember a JABOD is just a hole in the dirt in a box. Over thinking it spoils the dirt, next thing you know it'll want an allowance and to borrow the car on weekends.

Frosty The Lucky.

[pnut]

It'll take a few sessions to get it dialed in just the way you want it. 

Pnut

[SinDoc]

I was going to use my Dremel with a cutting wheel and just quickly cut it into 2 pieces then take the piece I cut off and cut it into 2 pieces, rethread the ends and reassemble everything to keep my pipe length for heat dissipation while keeping it tight to the box at the same time. Essentially just make a "U" around the box that goes up to the blower but keeping it spaced roughly an inch away from the wood just in case it were to get too hot. Granted treated lumber doesn't typically burn easily. At least not for a little while. 

[Frosty]

Uh HUH. Wanna bet I can make all your cuts faster with a hack saw than you can make one? I don't get your concern with heat dissipation? The air is going TOWARDS the fire and steel is famous for being a poor thermal conductor. The tuyere on my rivet forge is maybe 6" long and doesn't get ore than warm to the touch and that's because the pan is almost touching it it's so close above. 

Making a U shape makes sense and once it's out of the box you shouldn't have a problem clamping it to the side. Just make the bottom of the U slope downhill towards the leg heading to the blower. Warm air rises, it won't go downhill. The dirt is a good heat sink and the fire back will keep the fire from directly contacting the dirt your tuyere is buried in. 

If it does get too hot moving it out of contact is just a matter of easing it out of the box a little and tilting it downward so it's below the box. This is easy to do IF you don't build it so nothing can be adjusted. Keep is flexible until you know exactly what you need and want.

Make sense?

[SinDoc]

I just want don't want anything to melt even though I know it is unlikely lol but yes, that does make sense. As for the hack saw, I only have my Dremel and my Sawzall for cutting. Haven't acquired a hack saw yet but it is on my list to get.

[pnut]

You can see how long the pipe I used in my first jabod is in the picture. I've used it in every JABOD I've built and still use it. Less than an inch has burned off in a couple years. 

Pnut

[SinDoc]

I like that. That looks like the pipe I am using with how far it sticks out. One other reason I want to cut it down is I just want the whole thing to be a bit more compact. Plus if I leave it sitting around with that long pipe sticking out, one of the kids is bound to run into it sooner or later . I am way over-engineering it, but having fun in the process.

[pnut]

That was all made from garbage and freebies. I used a night stand from the hotel I work at as the box hahaha. For being made from cheap particle board it lasted about a year or so. There's a ball valve on the end of the pipe to choke the air off. I power the AC mattress pump with a portable jump starter. The pump is in the styrofoam cooler because it was annoyingly loud. I have a hand crank blower now. Jabods are deceivingly simple. I've since switched to a kettle grill that I fill with dry kitty litter and use bricks for the firepot a la MARKIII jabod style. 

Pnut

P.S. Yeah I'd definitely cut it down if you have little folks running around. They have an uncanny ability to manage to run into anything hard or pointy. 

Edited May 19, 2021 by pnut

[SinDoc]

With the price of lumber, if I had not had those pieces on hand it would have been cheaper to just buy a round charcoal grill and retrofit it. Lumber is so dang pricey right now. $73 bucks for a single sheet of subfloor that I needed for my bathroom remodel!

[pnut]

I found the Weber kettle grill in the trash too. I live in town but I'm surrounded by rural areas so there's plenty of junk to repurpose. 

Pnut

[Charles R. Stevens]

Note, I melt fire brick in my JABOD, and burnt the bottom out of my portable. I now recommend at least an inch of dirt under any brick you put in the bottom. 

[SinDoc]

I was considering taking it out as I don't think I have quite an inch of dirt underneath it and if I raise it up more, my fire pot will be very, very shallow.

[ThomasPowers]

Tis the season for folks to start getting new propane grills and junking their old ones.  Keep an eye out as it's pretty easy to convert one to a JABOD.  They "hide" in a back yard better and you can close them up even hot if there is rain.

I notice in the most recent Consumer Reports that they were discussing grills and one (the big egg type) they mention using briquettes for some cooking and lump coal for extra heat.  I'll be contacting them tonight to point out they probably mean lump CHARcoal; other wise they need to put bituminous or anthracite and that coal smoked meat is NOT a good taste!

Hacksaws are usually cheap at yard sales and flea markets; I sue a wood cutting bowsaw frame and a piece of bandsaw blade for a longer, stronger hacksaw---make the hole a bit closer than the wood saw blade has them to get a tad more tension.  (And I scrounge the bandsaw blade too)

[SinDoc]

The sad part Thomas is I HAD a nice old grill that did not work anymore that I junked last year that would have made a perfect JABOD. I have been keeping an eye out and have asked most people I know if they have seen any around I could snag. 

Also as a result of me talking to people about my new hobby, I have been given tons of random metals to tinker with. Only been doing this for a couple months and already have quite the little scrap pile to play with. Been trying to find an empty and discarded oxy tank to use for shaping. I would be some peoples best friend in the world if I could make them some skillets and camping cookware.

[ThomasPowers]

There is a place in Columbus area that does hydrotesting of tanks.  We took out 3 pickup loads of ones that failed, we had to cut them in two onsite but they gave us the gas for our torch!   (One of my friends was a friend of a feller who worked there.)  The tanks were cut into sections and used by SOFA for a gas forge building workshop.

[SinDoc]

Well I full on tried to use it this weekend and apparently I did not have enough dirt between the bottom of the fire pot and the bottom piece of plywood as it caught on fire . Thankfully I sort of anticipated it happening and had the hose next to me on standby. I also need to get a different blower. The one I have is just too strong and blows stuff everywhere. I nearly caught my beard on fire with a forge flea.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Been there done that, especially with a blower. I use a “T” and a ball valve to regulate the air supply from a bed inflator. 

[SinDoc]

I was using a bed inflator I got from Rural King, but boy no matter how I angle it, it puts out way too much pressure and blows stuff everywhere. Gets the fire super hot though.

[Frosty]

Mattress inflators are notorious for WAY too much blast, the one I use makes awesome bonfires. I can cover almost all the intake side of the impeller casing with tape and cardboard and I still have to angle it away from the air supply pipe. 

I usually like a small fire, if I can feel a little more than a breath of blast at the fire nozzle I'm good. 

You can improvise a valve by connecting the blower to a heater hose, then to the tuyere pipe and use a C clamp to pinch the heater hose as flow control. Hmmm?

Frosty The Lucky.

[Glenn]

Run the output of the blower into a T with one branch going to the fire and the other branch aimed at the blacksmith. Keeps one hot and the other cool that way.