[TheForge] Water on your coal forge fire?

[Bruce Freeman]

Dave,

I've been doing so little forging recently that I can hardly say I do
anything one way or another.

I HAVE used water liberally on coal, and in my opinion it SAVES coal,
not wastes it.  That's because it extinguishes the fire where you don't
need it. 

 It may also help form coke - I remain neutral on that point.  

It does help when working with powdered coal.

It may form coke gas (CO + H2) but I doubt this really helps much. 
More than likely that just goes up as a flame, doing little to heat the
metal.  Maybe it helps heat the green coal on its way out...

One big down side to using water on fires is the potential of cracking
a cast iron fire pot.  Another is that coke gas can blow back into the
bellow and explode.  Can ruin a real bellows.  More just a nuisance with
a blower.

Bruce
NJ


>>> davesmucker at hotmail.com 5/29/2004 5:19:05 PM >>>
I am looking for information on the subject of using water on your
coal
forge fire for a future article for the AACB Newsletter.



Many folks do not use water or at most just a little bit - while others
use
quite a bit.  Why?  In our part of the country smiths who spent time
with
Francis during their formative years seem to use quite a bit of water
to
control their fire while many others I have watch do not.



I have read statements by some self-appointed blacksmith experts that
putting water on your fire is stupid because it just wastes BTUs.  Is
this
really the case?  I don't think it is a waste of BTUs because I feel it
aids
in the production of coke.  Coke is what we really want to burn in our
forge
because of its high local BTU output and clean fire.  (If forming coke
were
just a waste of BTUs the steel industry would not go to all of the
trouble
of making coke - they would just use coal.)



I am also interested in the chemical reaction of water on hot /
burning
coal.  It generates CO as a gas (blue flame) and at one time was used
as a
production method for "town gas" before the wide spread availability
of
natural gas (methane).



How many of you use water on your fire and how much.  Why?



And I all ready know that most of you don't use much water in your
propane
forges.



Dave Smucker

Editor, AACB newsletter




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