Ash Dump confusion

J

jtphantom

Joined
Jul 10, 2007
Messages
10
Im building my own forge and Ive come to a bit of a standstill on how to attach the ash dump release.. I have galvanized steel pipe that make up the whole air flow system... and where I have the ash dump is the bottom of a T joint...Im a bit stuck on how to attach the plate that swivels or drops down to let the ash and small coal bits fall out, Im aware this seems a bit of a stupid question to ask but could u make some suggestions?

This is the ash dump peice and the troublesome cover for it
07-10-07_1243.jpg


This is the forge so far... yes its a little crooked
07-07-07_1607.jpg
 
Hi JT....and welcome to the forums.

A couple of things about your forge.
It is NOT a good idea to use pipe with galvanizing. When heated/burned it will release noxious fumes that can lead to your death!

That is the most important point.

The other thing was you will need to line that old grill with fire brick or mortar or else it will melt away.

Have you thought about making a propane forge instead?

Mace
 
ah thx for the tip on the pipe...sadly all my local store has is the galvanized fittings...

Yeah I was thinking about it ... but I lack the supplies... Im in a rather small area..

I do have powdered refractory cement Im going to line it with.. just not gotten that far as of yet.

any ideas on attaching that peice for the ash dump tho?
 
The only effective way to remove the galvanization it to heat the pipe to cherry red in a large fire, but if your in a restricted area this will be difficult. I suggest the use of charcoal or coke over the use of coal, the only bi-product of charcoal is ash which acts like a flux. If you were to make your forge side blast even a copper pipe would work, but this requires you to clean the ash out once in a while.

To keep the ash dump attached and closed you could use a small hinge welded on and use a spring to keep the trap closed. But the link Fred provided is far superior.
 
ok... tho I have the galvanized where it wont be heated ... I have it only protrusing about a inch inside the dish which I am going to fill with Fire brick to be about one inch deep...do you think that would still cause problems with the fumes? Ill be doing my forging outside under a big tree... I get lots of breeze since Im on a ridge... Not to sound idiotic but would that much ventilation cancel out the fume toxicity?

Oh and thanks for the link fred and ekibyougami for how to make the pipe safe
 
I believe that if you soak the parts in vinegar or something else acidic it will remove the zinc plating.
 
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