Went back to a coal forge after 2 years of propane and wow what a difference

I spent the last 2 years running a propane forge thinking it was just cleaner and easier. Then last weekend I fired up my old coal forge at a buddy's farm to work on some gate hinges and I couldn't believe how much faster the steel got to welding temp. The propane one took me about 15 minutes to get a billet hot enough, coal did it in like 5 or 6. Is there something I'm missing with propane or did I just get lazy with my burner setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

claireo671mo ago

Ngl, you saying the coal forge got steel to welding temp in 5 minutes vs 15 on propane really jumps out at me. That's a huge gap, makes me wonder if your propane burner is tuned right or if it's just undersized for the work you're doing. Honestly, what size burner and what kind of steel were you running in the propane forge?

cameron_webb1mo ago

What size burner and did you check the air mix with a potato?