kimr10•15d ago

Coal vs propane debate had me stubborn for way too long

I spent 2 years insisting coal was the only real way to forge until I borrowed a friend's propane setup for a weekend project and got cleaner welds with half the smoke, so has anyone else been surprised by a switch they resisted?

3 comments

3 Comments

riveradams15d ago

Two years is a long time to be stubborn about something that minor. Coal has its fans but I've seen guys go back and forth on this and it's not like either one is life changing. A buddy of mine swore by charcoal for grilling until he tried gas and now he won't touch the stuff. So you got cleaner welds and less smoke, cool. Doesn't mean coal is dead just that propane works for some stuff. People act like choosing a fuel is a personality trait or something.

hugoh559d ago

...alright but i gotta push back on this. two years is nothing if you're dialed in with your setup and know exactly how it handles different jobs. i've been running propane for a solid three years now on my mobile rig and i wouldn't trade it for coal on anything thinner than 1/4 inch. the consistency is a big deal when you're doing repair work on rusty farm equipment and you need clean starts every time without chasing the puddle around. your grilling buddy analogy falls apart because charcoal vs gas for burgers is mostly about flavor and convenience, not about whether you can lay a decent bead on a windy day in a gravel lot. coal gives you that raw heat control on thick stuff sure, but for the kind of work i do day in and out propane just saves me headaches and time wasted on setup. maybe it's a personality thing for some guys but for me it's just practical. what kind of work are you mostly running on coal that propane can't handle?

oliver_morgan15d ago

Oh come on, you're telling me two years of sticking with a choice that works for you is stubborn? I get what you're saying about propane being fine for some jobs, but I've been using coal for my custom gate work and it gives me better control on thicker steel. Your buddy switching from charcoal to gas for grilling is not the same thing as welding - propane burns cleaner sure, but on a windy day I'm not fighting with gas regulators like I am with coal. And yeah people make it a personality thing but isn't that just how guys talk about their tools? It's like saying a framing hammer vs a finish hammer is just a preference, but we both know you grab the right one for the job.