gobinu Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 G'day all, So, it occurs to me to ask this question as I've not found a good solution to both preserve coke/coal and "quickly" get my fire put out for the night so I'm sure there won't be a problem. I have to return my forge inside each night in case of rain and such.... Starting a forge fire is easy now, thanks everyone, but how do you put your fire out at the end of the day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Roy Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Shut off the air flow and dig out the glowing coals to expose them; the fire will be out in a couple of minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Gobinu, all you have to do is spread the fire out. Open it up with a rake, or such, and spread the red coal out. It will go out in just a few minutes. What ever you do, DO NOT pour water on it. This was done to a small rivet forge that I have, before I got it. It WILL crack the forge. You will be able to see the coals grow darker as the extinguish. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 I rake the fire out of the fire pot and onto the forge table. While I put away tools the fire usually goes out on it's own in short order. Before I leave the forge I then put the material I raked out of the fire pot into a 5 gallon bucket of water. I use a separate bucket of water for the ash dump and the material (ash clinker etc). That way I sleep very well knowing that anything that used to be hot is now covered with 2 inches or more of water. When the forge bucket gets full, I pour it out and collect the unburned coal and coke, let it dry, and use that to start other forge fires. It can also be used when you just need a little extra heat at the end of a forge session but do not want to put more green coal on the fire and wait for it to coke up. I also use this reclaimed coal and coke for demos where some folks are looking for a reason to complain about smoke from a forge, as it produces very little smoke when burned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Bly Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Glenn, as I see it, that is very sound advice. I'm guessing what real damage can the water do to the coal? At worst it washes off any ash that is of no use, and once left to dry, it will easily be reuseable. Meanwhile use your last dried out batch, or new, or whatever is at hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobinu Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 Gobinu, all you have to do is spread the fire out. Open it up with a rake, or such, and spread the red coal out. It will go out in just a few minutes. What ever you do, DO NOT pour water on it. This was done to a small rivet forge that I have, before I got it. It WILL crack the forge. You will be able to see the coals grow darker as the extinguish. Good luck. There is another issue with water, sulfuric acid (leached from the coal itself)will age your forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unkle spike Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 I just scoop my fire pot out and let it go out. I take 45 minutes or so to clean and straighten up or plot out my next project so the shop is "cold" when I leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Bly Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 There is another issue with water, sulfuric acid (leached from the coal itself)will age your forge. But is it an issue once the coal has thoroughly dried out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 By putting the fire pot contents in a container of water, the ash rinses off the coal and coke and settles to the bottom as a sludge. The coal and coke can be recovered (now washed), dried and reused. The coal and coke does not have to be dry, as many blacksmiths sprinkle it with water to help control the size of the fire anyway. You can screen the coal / coke through a piece of hard wear cloth to eliminate any of the dust or small stuff. This can be combined with a water rinse and all the dust and small stuff falls through leaving only damp coal and coke as it exits the hard wear cloth. They ship coal in open rail cars, open barges, and store it open to the elements on the ground in multiple ton quantities at power plants and loading docks. Some coal seams naturally open to the outside of the mountain in nature. Sulfuric acid is not present in coal to leach out, sulfur is present and forms (some one correct me if I am wrong) sulfide dioxide which combined with water forms sulfuric acid (acid rain). Wet ashes will corrode metal if allowed to get wet and stay in contact with the metal. But wood ashes with do the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slouis Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 G'day all, So, it occurs to me to ask this question as I've not found a good solution to both preserve coke/coal and "quickly" get my fire put out for the night so I'm sure there won't be a problem. I have to return my forge inside each night in case of rain and such.... Starting a forge fire is easy now, thanks everyone, but how do you put your fire out at the end of the day? I'm like you in that I cannot afford to lock up with a hot forge inside. I pull the fire apart like others have suggested and if it is not dead cold ( test with hand above coals) before I flip the main electrical disconnect switch to the whole workshop, I scoop up the embers into a steel bucket and leave it outside. Before final exit from shop I do this check 1.Fire cold 2.Gas to 2nd forge off 3. Gas to all other bottles, 3 of them - oxy, acetylene, argon- off 4.mains elect off. best wishes Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ten Hammers Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 (edited) Having a system to shut the shop down is just that. Your system. You can choose to use it or ignore it once you have made it. My system is in a circle on the way out the door. Argon, acetelyne, oxygen, door locked ( winter, 20 lb bottle off), solid fuel forge cold, other door locked, 100 lb lp bottle off, hot circuit lights off ( 1500 watt tank heater on this circuit to keep the slack tub from freezin ), compressor ball valve off and on the way out the door. i might also add that if I have done anything else hot in the shop ( torch, plasma, Mig ) I will wait a while before I do the shutdown. In this fashion I can smell a bit of rag or towel or leaf blown in or anything else that might be smoldering. Good idea to turn the radio off for a while to just listen to the shop. I simply drag the coal or charcoal fire out to the forge table. BTW I also say a quick prayer on the way in the shop and the way out. I NEVER leave any bottles on when I go into the house ( 150' ) or the compressor ball valve on. I might stray outside to chat the neighbor but I'm on a short leash. Be safe. Edited March 6, 2009 by Ten Hammers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce wilcock Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 coke is no problem just shut of the fan . Coal can re light if the wind gets up during the night ,i same as Glenn dump in water ,the contaner is sq and i have made a weld mesh basket to fit inside that reaches to the bottom with a lifting handle . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobinu Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 Sulfuric acid is not present in coal to leach out, sulfur is present and forms (some one correct me if I am wrong) sulfide dioxide which combined with water forms sulfuric acid (acid rain). Well, I wasn't going to get all technical about the words I choose but yea, what you said. If you add too much water(sprinking on the fire for effect isn't enough but over do it and I understand it does) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 (edited) I do as the others have stated and break the fire by pulling out the coke and exposing the fire. After the color is gone, I sprinkle a bit of water on it but stay away from the firepot. I can also relate an anecdote on this subject you may find interesting. About 20 years ago, I had a forge in my first shop that was an angle iron frame with fire bricks laid in a single layer to form the hearth. The angle iron also held the firepot, and the sides of the hearth had 1x6 pine boards bolted on all sides to keep the coal contained. The whole hearth was 4 feet square so the wood was a long way from the fire. One night, I put out the fire (or thought I had) and went home. I came back a few days later and smelled a sweet, burnt smell upon entering the shop. I didn't find anything at first so dismissed it as something in the neighborhood. A few minutes later, I noticed that the side of every board was burnt through - with dead embers and ashes on the floor. Apparently, the fine coal dust that collected over the years had ignited and burned ever so slowly across the hearth - and it kept burning from natural draft coming up between the bricks. Neither the boards or the rest of the raw coal broke out in blazes, but there was a fine layer of ash under the coal and on top of the bricks, which reached across the hearth from pot to sides. Fortunately, the floor was dirt so nothing in the shop caught fire. I doubt anyone could recreate this incident on purpose but it goes to show that fire can be persistent and linger for days under the right conditions. The Europeans also have a habit of laying their fire tools across the fire pot so they can easily see that someone looked at the forge before leaving. It's a good visual tool to remind you that the fire may still need attention. Edited March 7, 2009 by HWooldridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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