Coke vs Coal vs Charcoal?

R

redbate

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Sep 20, 2015
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Hey guys building my first solid fuel forge and wondering what would be the best solid fuel of choice for me. I can find coal and coke very readily where I live for a very good price but charcoal not so much. My problem with coal would be the fact that it produces a lot of smoke and even though I will be working with the door open and the hood in place I worry. Coke is a potential problem because I will be running a hand cranked blower (Fuigo) and I've heard that it needs constant air flow to keep alight. Lastly problem with charcoal is that it is stupid expensive about 2x the price of coal or coke, and it's hard to come by.

Thank you!
 
Charcoal is my favourite, it burns cleanly with no clinkers. Before we moved i used to make it but unless you have the space it probably isn't an option. Regardless of grade i would aviod bitumous coal, particularly if you are in the suburbs at is produces a pretty confronting smell.
 
Charcoal is very nice to forge with (except for the shower of sparks), but you will need A LOT of it. So much, in fact, that I've found it gets both expensive and excessively time consuming. I forge with coke here in Japan, but I use an electric blower. I don't know if it would work with a handcrank blower... I suspect a traditional box fuigo would be less effective - they're really meant for charcoal. Do you have no electricity in your shop?
 
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I can run power but I was trying to keep power out of the forging shed, I would love to use charcoal but it's twice the price of coal or coke here and I'm far from made of money... Perhaps I should try and find a electric blower, I didn't like the loud noise it made personally.
 
I hope someone who has experience with hand crank blowers will chime in. They might work with all-coke fire; I just don't know.

My blower isn't too loud, just kind of annoying. I forge now with hearing protection, though, so the noise doesn't bother me at all.


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Never used coal coke. My experience with petroleum coke it needs constant air. In a typical firepot size fire, It will go out in about 5 sec. without air. Even then, its pretty much full air or none. Cant just throttle down, its lit or its not.
Hard Anthracite is not much better.

Good metalworking coal is sort of a rarity around here.
Normally, I burn a bagged product "Cumberland" Its real good stuff. But expensive at about 850$/ton.
 
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