6660 buffalo forge venting question

[SBV]

Hi all, I recently pulled my g. Grandpa’s forge out of an old storage building at our farm in Northern California. Would like to put it into an old 2 1/2 story mill house (steel building) on the ground level floor (concrete). Thinking of putting a motorized wall fan to receive the 10” to 12” ducting from the forge about 4’ from the wall. Maybe 1, or 2’ above the forge outlet then 90 degree elbo to the wall. I don’t really want to vent 30’ up the side of the building. I need the experience of the forum for help on this. Mark Scribner SBV

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome from the Ozark Mountains.

There are several threads about the 660 &6660 downdraft forges. Here are a couple.

https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/41869-how-do-i-vent-this-buffalo-forge/

https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/70074-buffalo-660-down-draft-forge/

It would help to have some pictures of the forge and area where you want to locate it. (we love pictures). How complete is the forge? A blower in the duct work should solve your problem, don't blame ya for not wanting to run that long of a stack.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

 

[George N. M.]

Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to hsve you.

As Irondragon says, pictures or a diagram would be a big help.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[BillyBones]

What do you mean a motorized wall fan? If you mean like an exhaust fan for garages and shops, then have the the smoke blown into the fan out of the stack? If that is your thinking, it will work... for about a day. The heat alone coming out of your stack will melt the fan, trust me i know this from experience. Then if you are burning coal the soot will clog up the air intakes on the motor and it will burn up. 

Regardless of what you want to do, you need to check the local building codes and see what you can do. 

[Latticino]

As Billy noted, the codes are the critical point.  In particular, pay attention to the local mechanical code for proper penetration of your shop wall or roof as well as the one for minimum height of termination above an adjacent roof.  Remember that if you install a system that is not code compliant, you may have difficulties with your insurance in the unfortunate case of an incident.  A building inspector could also ding you.  Also, don't forget that you need makeup air for any exhaust.  Fortunately an open window or door is usually enough for that.

I am not a big fan of motorized exhaust for forge flues, unless there is no other choice.  With a 2 story rise, you should have more than enough draft under proper circumstances.

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Mark, glad to have you. If you put your general location in the header you'll have a much better chance of meeting up with a member living within visiting distance.

There are ways to do what you want without getting a fan or motor in the smoke but more important you REALLY need to talk to the local fire chief. They may not know code but will steer you in the right direction but local code is the final arbiter.

What you want to do is move a large volume at low velocity and pressure but ideally not put a motor or fan directly in the snoke. There is a simple device for inducing large volumes of gas with a small investment of energy. The simple mechanism is to put a stove pipe T somewhere in the stove pipe at a 90* bend. The T replaces the elbow, the leg of the T comes from the forge, one arm going out the wall. Put a cap on the other arm with a fan or small blower in it aimed out the other arm. 

If you check out the "Side Arm" burner you'll recognize the configuration. A small mattress inflater sized blower is ideal. The blower's stream of air WILL create a low pressure zone in the T's leg and evacuate the hood on your forge. Nothing but stove pipe contacts smoke or other combustion products from the fire and believe me there are some pretty corrosive products from a coal fire.

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

The shop at the Philadelphia College of Art where I first learned smithing had a substantial flue system that Jack Andrews had built some years previously. If memory serves, it had an in-line fan powered by a belt running from an externally mounted motor, so that the motor wasn't anywhere near the smoke or soot. It worked REALLY well, as we found out one morning when someone lit the fire without remembering to turn the fan on. 

[Latticino]

Yes, an inline, belt driven fan like the Greenheck BSQ (below) will certainly work to exhaust a significant amount of air.  Needs to be correctly sized to match hood and stack configuration.  However, with a 30' rise you shouldn't need one.  A fan powered system does work nicely for  a school setting where you want to combine multiple exhaust flues for a single roof penetration.

[SBV]

Thanks to all who have taken the time to respond. I’m leaning towards biting the bulletand running the flue straight up to the roof. 2 6” flues snapped together (12”). My building is open from floor to ceiling plus I own a 60’ boom lift which would come in very handy. The Buffalo 6660 does not have a blower with it and I need advice on what model came with that forge. Any suggestions would be most appreciative as I’m a 82 year old grandfather who wants to get his grandson interested in working with iron. I have never forged but as a retired farmer I’ve worked with torches and welders all my life. 
I still live on the farm which is located in the Sacramento, California Delta. 
sorry for the bad picture no light in old storage building. Forge has not been used for around 100 years. My grandfather used it in the teens and great grandfather before him, so my dad told me long ago.

[Goods]

There are several good threads here on this forge. I believe JLP has one of the better ones. To get this setup to its fullest potential, you may need an original blow and that may be hard to find. Just to get it functional there are a lot of options. Do you have electricity in your shop? An easy solution is a combustion air blower from a scrapped gas furnace with an inexpensive speed controller and aluminum flex tube for clothes dryer vent.

Keep it fun,

David

[BillyBones]

SBV, that is some real history. Hope it stays in the family and future generations get to relate the story. 

My post vise was my great grandfathers. My grandfather was a carpenter and i have a lot of his old tools. I see them as family heirlooms.  

[Frosty]

Unless I'm mistaken Jennifer and John have both posted blowers that were offered with or for that model. Jennifer has one in operation I believe.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

I've seen adds for them and they came with a hand cranked Buffalo 200 blower.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus