HammerDance Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 I’ve got cheap/free access to small electric blowers from time to time that I think would be (close to) ideal for use as a forge blower. However, these will all have a little bit too much oomph (scientific term), so I’ll have to dump some of the air with some sort of bypass so that the high static pressure doesn’t burn out my motor. Simple enough. My question is, is there something useful that I can do with that excess airflow, besides just dumping it back out into the open air? Would it serve any sort of purpose in inducing draft in the flue? Or should I just use it to keep the stink away from my boots? I’ll be able to ramp these down quite a bit, but there will still be extra air to get rid of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Direct any excess air onto the blacksmith. He should enjoy it as summer arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Check out this thread about a homemade gate valve I made for an earlier version of my solid fuel forge: Glenn is absolutely right: directing the excess air at the blacksmith is a really good idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammerDance Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 That was my first thought, but then I came across a thread (somewhere in here, I believe) about gasses finding their way into idle bellows/blowers, and then igniting and creating a bit of a blowout. Didn’t want to aim that at my face, but a simple backflow/check would prevent that, I guess. Scared myself out of that option at first, but now air conditioning doesn’t sound half bad. Cool! As a chronic over-engineer-of-everything, JABOD is still my favorite concept. It keeps me from trying to reinvent the wheel (in most cases). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 A blowback valve would definitely be over-engineering: if the blower is running, no gasses will back up. If the blower is off, shut the gate valve, and no gasses will back up. Since there is no direct connection from the tuyere to the waste air vent, there is no possibility of a blowback coming at you anyway. Gasses backing up are only a problem with blowers or bellows that are used intermittently (i.e., standing idle between heats). If you're running an electric blower with a gate valve, all you have to do is keep the blower running all the time and adjust the valve as needed, depending on whether you are heating or hammering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 What part of an idle bellows and a electric powered blower spilling excess air did you somehow connect together? They are two entirely different systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammerDance Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 I guess I see an idle blower and an idle bellows as the same empty chamber when not in use. BUT leaving the electric blower on at a whisper makes sense anyway, so I suppose my concern was moot anyway. Thanks for the input, I was overthinking it. AC it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 If you're using a gate valve with a waste air port, the blower is going to be on at full speed all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Why fuss with the electric blower speed controls all the time? Set them for the way the blower runs best, direct what air the forge needs to the forge and direct the remainder toward the blacksmith. Not directly toward or on the blacksmith, but provide a stream of air not aimed at the anvil (would cool the metal) but so the blacksmith can take a half step back and be in the air stream. Summer was the operative word in my comment as it will be 31*F Saturday with a low of 10*f Saturday night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammerDance Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 That sounds like the plan. I don’t want to mess with speeds, but instead just redirect the air as needed. we got a few inches of snow last night, summer is too far off to tease myself with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 A cooling stream of air can be beneficial even in the wintertime. If it's a problem, add a moveable baffle to redirect the exhaust away from the smith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammerDance Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 I was a tin-knocker in a previous life, so this should be an easy one. Thanks again for all of your input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 The smoke from smoldering solid fuel, coal most notably is flammable. If it builds up in a pocket it MIGHT ignite when a fresh blast of air hits it and bring it into a flammable mixture. The easiest way to avoid this is to mount your bellows or blower above the fire IF you're using a bottom blast forge. If it's a side blast the unburned gasses don't seem to flow into the bellows or blower. I don't know why not but I don't hear about side blast forges popping. Mine only produces little hardly noticeable pops and loud pops rarely. I THINK that's because the ash trap section of my tuyere is deep compared to the vertical section between the horizontal supply and the air grate. Any burning coals or HOT clinker falls well below the air supply so any unburned gasses don't have an ignition source when fresh air hits the system. Fresh air goes UP, not DOWN to the out of flammable range gasses and HOT debris below it. Mine is similar to Bob Patrick's but is made from exhaust pipe and has a clamp on exhaust flap cap for the ash dump. The couple times it's popped loudly it just opened the ash dump and cleared the ash into the water bucket underneath. A little puff of flame came up through the fire but nothing disruptive, the audience didn't notice a thing. That however is just how I do it, your mileage may vary. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammerDance Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 I knew I read that in a thread somewhere. Perfect, I feel much better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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