Jump to content
I Forge Iron

"egg coals" for blacksmithing


Recommended Posts

Hi all, 

Today I picked up about 300kg of coal from a friend of mine who wanted to get rid of it fast. Completely free. Now, the coal is two types mixed, one of which I think is bituminous, the other chunks are called "egg coals" (translated). Now I looked up what that meant and it is said that these are coal fines pressed together. They break up easy, and I don't know if there is stuff added to keep them in shape. Do any of you have experience using this type of coal? Should I bother using it? I'm gonna try them out tomorrow, so I will of course also update this thread with my findings, as I couldn't find any other discussion on egg coals.

Attached some pictures of what they look like.

IMG_20220227_162523.thumb.jpg.d04dd5994659f2b783f69071e9fb7f6d.jpg

The egg coals:

IMG_20220227_162531.thumb.jpg.a5d7e6b8a12fe1e756195102de9748c6.jpg

~Jobtiel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They probably have some sort of binders in them to hold the shape but I don't think it is the same as charcoal briquets used in a BBQ as that has binders that can be seen. I would say it will probably work fine if you crack it up a little smaller.

This from dictionary dot com.

 
Quote

anthracite in sizes ranging from 2.44 to 3.25 inches (6.2 to 8.3 centimeters), intermediate between broken coal and stove coal.

bituminous coal in sizes ranging from 1.5 to 4 inches (4 to 10 centimeters).
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They look like what is called briquettes here. The additives in briquettes are mainly used to hold the materials together in order to achieve clean little blocks that are often roundish-squarish in shape which makes them easier to stack.  Although briquettes burn longer, they do not burn as hot as lump charcoal. 

I would suggest that you sift or sort them apart and learn to use each by itself.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found this while searching for "Binders in pressed egg coal. Seems it isn't the same as charcoal briquettes. An interesting read. A caution it will lead to several rabbit holes to explore. A little exert from the Seward's coal journal is briquets burn a little hotter than lump coal.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwivju39xKD2AhWOEEQIHY_wAqUQFnoECAQQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpubs.usgs.gov%2Fbul%2F0343%2Freport.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3QpOY9vUndxN4FN9-_Vafx

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glenn, they indeed look similar to the charcoal briquettes, but they are significantly smaller, and often only sold by coal dealers. Its quite easy now for smallish amounts to be taken out and tested separately. the most important to me is to see if I can forge weld with it, if not, I have to go get some more bags of proper smithing coal to use when forge welding.

Thanks for the info Irondragon, glancing over the report it seems to me these things are just a somewhat inferior coal with a binder, just to be able to sell the fines too. 

I test it out tomorrow and I'll share the results.

~Jobtiel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is an interesting read, thanks John. 

Unlike charcoal briquettes, coal ones don't contain lime to slow combustion speed and lower temperature. Most of the binders other than the mineral ones are perfectly flammable. Seeing as coal briquettes are made from slack it shouldn't have significantly different properties than the lump coal from the same mine.

I'd be mighty tempted to find out which mine and grade is produced by the coal company supplying it and give a bucket a try. I'm pretty sure one of the yard men loading it wouldn't hate the idea of filling a bucket for a nominal . . . tip.

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, I've been using them for a day now, and they seem to work really well, upside is that there is a lot less smell and smoke compared to bituminous. There is however a lot more ash and fireflies compared to bituminous, and the whole workpiece was completely covered everytime. The eggs also have a tendency to block the airway as a lump. Some heavy poking to break up the eggs is also needed. I've got steel yellow hot and a little sparkling here and there, but I haven't tried to forge weld. It seems that the eggs have no trouble to reach that temperature though. I think lighting them might be a bit more trouble than with using coke from the previous day. We'll see about lighting them the next time. 

All in all, I think they work pretty well. And I can definitely use them to forge!

~Jobtiel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spending some more time with the stuff and there is a big issue, its the ash. after about an hour or two there is so much pent up ash that the fire becomes nearly to small to heat stuff up. I do remove it regularly with the rake but I don't have a good way to remove it all efficiently without disturbing the fire too much. I guess I can use the bags to practice working with dirty fuel more. 

~Jobtiel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't recall, what kind of forge do you use? 

If it's a bottom blast it needs an easy to access ash dump. A round bar or two laid across the air grate should keep the eggs from blocking the blast so much.

If it's a side blast constant cleaning might be the only thing that works, the raking would keep the air blast clear too. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use a bottom blast with the Bob Patrick firepot, so there is just a small slot for that air to go through, some round bar with a few tack weld might work to allow the ash to get through the slot easier, I'll try it out, thank for the tip!

~Jobtiel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My bottom blast coal forge is very similar though I used exhaust pipe rather than schd 40. I like a bar grate as described by Glenn. Basically 1/2" or 3/8" round bar spaced maybe 3/8" apart over a large opening. 

The vertical pipe on mine is 3" exhaust pipe and the hole in the plate that screws to the bottom of the forge is 2". I tried various grates over the hole till Glenn described the bar grate and that's been my go to since.

Ash, clinker and whatever falls through the gaps easily and if clinker sticks to the grate or is too large to pass it rakes through easily. 

My first one had an ash dump like Patrick's but I have since changed over to an exhaust flap cap, they clamp on and work beautifully. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

At risk of this thread crossing over into forge design. (BTW, moderators on this site do an excellent job)

Jobtiel1 - you've probably solved your problem already, but if you haven't, this may help. My first forge bought from an antique dealer had a three sided lump stuck in the middle of the tuyere on a rod that stuck out the side. It was a clinker breaker that heaved and stirred the fire from below. I made one for my current drum-top forge by using an old trailer hitch ball (no chrome) and piling up weld beads in three locations and grinding flat the areas between the beads. It does a great job of stirring things up and rejuvenating air ways from the bottom. The coal I'm using now doesn't make a lot of big clinker rings, even when welding, but I still use it to stir things up when I need the fire hotter. It allows ash to fall freely into a dump that works much like Frosty described.

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...