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I used to burn my coal way too fast until a guy at the Knoxville hammer-in showed me his trick.
For years I'd just pile fresh coal on and blast the air, wasting a ton of fuel. He told me to build a deep, compacted coke bed first, about six inches thick, before adding new coal on top. Now I start my fire with kindling on that coke base, add coal, and only give it air once the new stuff starts to coke over. My coal lasts twice as long and the heat is way more even. Anyone else use a method like this for a solid fuel forge?
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the_jessica5mo ago
Man, I was right there with you for the longest time... just dumping coal and cranking the blower. It felt so wasteful watching half of it just burn up into smoke. Building that proper coke bed changed everything for me, too. It's a night and day difference in fuel use and heat control. You don't realize how much you're fighting the fire until you get that solid foundation. Really glad that guy shared his trick with you.
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robert_jenkins825mo ago
Yeah, the depth is key. I messed up my first few tries by making it too thin. It just crumbled and I was back to burning raw coal. Now I go for a solid four inches minimum before I even think about adding fresh fuel. Lets that thermal mass really build up. What do you do when it's time to add more coal? Just sprinkle it on top, or do you bank it to one side first?
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