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Switched from coal to propane in my forge 8 months ago and my flux costs went from $40 a month to $9
I ran bituminous coal in a rivet forge for six years out here in Council Bluffs and last October I finally put in a two burner propane setup. The reason was simple math, I was burning through about 20 pounds of coal a week at $14 a bag and chasing clinker out of my firepot every 45 minutes. First month on gas my borax use fell off a cliff, because I was no longer fighting a dirty oxidizing fire that ate my welds alive. Same 1084 and 15N20 billets, same hammer, same anvil, but the forge welds grabbed on the first heat instead of the third or fourth. My scale loss on a 2 pound billet dropped enough that I'm getting maybe a third more blade blanks per bar. The tradeoff is the forge is quieter and the neighbors quit complaining about the sulfur smell, which I'll take. Anyone else here make the switch and did your quench oil temps end up running different because the heats come up faster?
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drew_west11d ago
Coal's way cheaper, gas just makes you lazy.
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