KELTOI Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I have just recently rebuilt my forge, and I am running into the problem of my stock melting off in the fire and slagging in the fire pot. So my question, Would putting an air control valve in the blower pipe that could regulate the input of the air solve the problem of over heating. I am using a two setting hairdryer as a blower and am using it on the low setting. I have plans to build myself a blower, but until then this is what i have. Would reducing the air input by way of a control valve help fix my slagging problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveh Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 it sounds like you are leaving the steel in the fire too long and burning it.less air will definitely slow the heating prcess down.welcome to IFI,good to have you aboard,steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasper Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Simple home made gate valve between the hair dryer and forge would work for the time being.......GOOD LUCK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belargehair Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 (edited) What i did to "dump" some of the air from my blower (converted Shark Vacuum) was just to drill some holes in the pipe leading to the fire pot. I also slit the pipe and slid a little piece of tin into the pipe to act as a gate valve. Edited January 13, 2009 by belargehair wow, I can't spell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy seale Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 i believe most valves are on the intake side...but on a hair dryer..it may burn it up because of over heating the motor.that being said, you may cut a slit across the pipe and use tin to gate the flow of air,but as said above, pay attention and don't leave the metal in the fire too long, have fun and hope this helps,jimmy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I thought it was best to reduce the air before going into the intake? As in not blocking the air after its left the blower. Also you can remove the element in the hair dryer ? at your own risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I am running into the problem of my stock melting off in the fire and slagging in the fire pot Are you using coal? The "slagging" might simply be clinker. This is going to be a continual occurance in a coal forge. Several factors can make it worse: dirty coal, allowing the iron to scale excessively in the fire, and welding flux... any or all of these will cause more clinker. A coal fire will naturally need to be cleaned out after a while. Again, how often depends on all of the above factors. When the fire cools, clinker will look like a gob of ash and melted iron, usually brown or reddish. Hope this helps, Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KELTOI Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 Thanks for all the input. I actually use charcoal, co I don't think that is the problem, and as to leaving it ion too long, I find that is a relative term. Some of the stock I have put in has been drawn out it is 5mm or so, and it is defiantly burned off, throwing sparks and jagged when i remove it from the fire even after a few seconds (10-15 sometimes). As to the hairdryer, I have it running on it's cool setting, so it shouldn't over heat. So, This being the case, I am assuming that it is a problem of the fire getting too hot. So, I will try regulating it some how. If anyone else has any tps, feel free to let me know, Thanks again Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 LB0007 Seeing colors If you watch for the same color each time, you can get real close to the same temperature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveh Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 when you are making sparklers it is being left in too long no matter if it is 10 seconds.i always end up burning more stuff when i use an electric blower,that is why i prefer my hand crank blower.lots of time when the stock is thin i will let it soak in the fire with little or no air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Yeah, you have too much air going to your fire. Over heating the blower has nothing to do with the heat element, it's a matter of blocking the air to the motor. Hairdryer motors rely on air they draw in for cooling so blocking the intake will damage them. Of course they're pretty cheap at Sally Annes but still. A simple way to control the blast when using a blower that can't safely be adjusted is to mount them so you can slide them away from the pipe leading to the tuyere. If you weld or heck, duct tape two rods on the bottom of the air pipe so the blow dryer will rest on them you can slide it back and forth to adjust the air blast. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KELTOI Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 okay thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelbuck24 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I have ran into the same problem with my first and second setup(one 4 hour session). I melted my grill body and brake rotor. (pics are coming) I'm using a converted vacume cleaner motor now. I started over and put in a ball valve with a t joint and plug in the open t for bleeding off pressure. I haven't fired it up yet, but between the plug in the t-joint and ball valve i can either slowly send air barely enough to feel with your hand or blow pieces of charcoal about 18" in the air out of my fire pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KELTOI Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 that is another problem with mine, I am faced with little pieces of charcoal being launched around my forge whenever one or more decides to fall down the blower pipe.which, when they get down your gloves doesn't feel too good, not to mention it is a fire hazard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 How deep are you building your fire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 that is another problem with mine, I am faced with little pieces of charcoal being launched around my forge whenever one or more decides to fall down the blower pipe.which, when they get down your gloves doesn't feel too good, not to mention it is a fire hazard. If your air blast is blowing the fuel out of the forge it's too much. Don't sweat it, experiment, think logically, ask questions, etc. there's no magic to this, logic and common sense applies to all of it. And, we're here for ya for those things that are counter intuitive. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KELTOI Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 My fire is probably round five to six inches deep... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 What Frosty said. If you are launching charcoal airborne in a 6" deep fire, you got waaayyy too much air. Listen, I know a lot of folks condemn the use of a dimmer switch on anything with an AC motor, but I ran an old vacuum cleaner off a cheap light dimmer switch for years and it still works if I need it. I'm talking about one of the two or three dollar switches you use for overhead lights. When you get some control of your air, try the minimal approach and see how little you can use to get up to forging heat. Like it has already been said, watch your colors and be patient. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KELTOI Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 How would I go about hooking a dimmer switch up to it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 (edited) Seperate the two wires in the cord. Cut the hot lead. Strip both ends. Attach either end to the posts on the switch. You can splice more wire in, if necessary. If none of this makes any sense to you, you probably don't need to mess with it. Save your $$$ for a decent hand-crank and everything else will take care of itself.Edit for safety sake: Remember, you are already dealing with fire... dangerous enough. When you add electricity to the equation, you only have more safety concerns. Even a blow dryer runs on 120v and will most likely feed through a 15 or possibly 20A breaker. There's plenty there to get hurt with if you don't know what you're doing. Be careful with stuff! Edited January 15, 2009 by Don A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 My advice would be to, as mentioned before, reduce your airflow. Wood charcoal doesn't need much air at all to get very hot. You might look around and try to find a new blower, too. As for the melting steel: even if your fire is way too hot, proper timing and attention to the steel's heat will fix your problem. After a while I started to notice I didn't even have to watch my steel/fire because I started to get used to the timing. You'll probably figure something similar out, too. 5mm steel is gonna heat up REAL quick in any fire, you won't even have to put the steel down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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