[TheForge] preheating forge blower air

[marilyn traber 011221]

> 
> I've often wondered about this as well.
> 
> >  With all the recuperative appliances the idea is that the hotter the 
> > combustion air, the hotter and more efficient the fuel conversion is.
> 
>          Or does it actually work against the combustion process because 
> hot air is less dense.  Dodge experimented with Intercooled aspirated car 
> engines on the principal that colder air is denser and will give more 
> oxygen for the same volume.  The HP did increase, so it worked for them.
>          Is there something else going on that makes preheating for forge 
> combustion good and bad for auto combustion?

Well, Grumpy Jenkins, of drag racing fame, is a family friend, and once, while 
visiting him at the track, I saw him adding ice cubes to his funny car, and 
asked him why. His explanation was that he was cooling the air because it 
became more dense, and thus had a much higher O2 content, thus burning 
in his engine more efficiently. I figure he must know what he was doing, 
because since he's retired from the track, he's building and selling high 
performance engines.

I suspect that this might be one of those things that people are going to 
have to try and compare results with. Just because it improves a high 
performance engine is no guarantee that it will improve a forge- but until we 
try, there's no guarantee it won't, either.

Phlip

Never a horse that cain't be rode, 
And never a rider who cain't be throwed.