mine_forging Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 I have made a foundry very similar to the one depicted in this video. Video removed due to advertising. I often see people using hair/blow dryers as sources of air to bring the fire and coals to maximum heat, i am pretty sure hair/blow dryers cant be turned on for extended amounts of time or they will simply burn out. As a substitute would a 70L/min 145psi air compressor work just fine for a simple forge such as this on. This is the link to the air compressor i am looking to purchase Quote
Jimw3326 Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 You're more likely to burn up that compressor before a hair dryer. I don't believe it's rated for continuous use. Also, if that one has oil lubricated cylinders, there will be a certain amount of carbon monoxide that will tend to choke down the flame. Quote
timgunn1962 Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 Compressors make a tiny volume of high-pressure air and use a huge amount of power to do it. This is not what you need. You need a fairly large volume of low-pressure air. 70 l/min is about 2 CFM and it'll refer to the displacement of the pump running at maximum speed. Actual air delivered during its intended use is unlikely to be much more than half that. You'd be better off with an airbed inflator. Bunnings show a mains-powered one, but you should have no problem sourcing a 12V version if that's what you need. 440 l/min is about 15 CFM, which would provide enough air to burn about 6 lb/hr of charcoal to CO2 or 12 lb/hr to CO. You can expect to burn to a mixture of CO and CO2 with primary air, mostly CO, with the CO mostly burning to CO2 with secondary air above the coals. Quote
LeeJustice Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 Hair dryers often have heat settings, low, hot and no heat. You ought to have longer life with it running on no heat. The heating elements don't turn on and it only runs the fan. Quote
The Jeff Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 I use a air mattress pump starting my charcoal grill sometimes. It gets a good flame going pretty quick. Quote
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