Am I the only one who picked a coal forge over propane?

I had to choose between a coal forge and a propane setup when I upgraded my shop last fall. Went with coal because I hate relying on gas deliveries and like the control over the fire. First few weeks were rough with clinkers and figuring out the air flow, but after about 30 hours of messing around I can get a welding heat faster than any propane rig I've used. Has anyone else regretted going one way or the other down the road?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessica_hall491mo ago

Are you kidding me propane is way cleaner and just as fast once you dial it in?

evan_burns951mo ago

Are you saying you've never had issues with wet coal and clinkers slowing you down at all?

-1

thompson.nathan1mo ago

Yeah I used to be a total coal guy, thought propane was for people who couldn't handle a real fire. Then I had a run where we got three straight days of rain and the coal was basically mud coming in. Spent more time cleaning clinkers than actually running the stove, felt like I was fighting it every step of the way. A buddy lent me his propane setup for a weekend and I was shocked, no wet fuel headaches, no chipping out junk every few hours. It changed my mind completely, still miss the smell of coal sometimes but not the work.