Gassifier as forge?

[chuck172]

So as not to hi-jack a previous thread "Check out my new tool". I wonder if anyone has ever used their gassifier as a forge?
Some people go to great extremes building propane fired furnaces to be used as such.

 

[Eric Johnson]

I think Joe Brown at one point was talking about manufacturing a gasifier-fired forge for hobbyists.

You can do the same thing with a regular wood-fired boiler (and presumably a wood stove or furnace) by getting a good bed of coals, then poking a piece of steel into the middle and letting it sit for a few minutes. Better yet, open the ash cleanout door and let 'er rip.

 

[Duetech]

Never thought of a gasifier forge but that is a great idea. I have thought of using a stirling engine generator to produce electricity from the heat though. Stirling motor generators can produce a lot of energy but have required a minimum of around 400*f for even the smaller units. The gasifiers put out enough heat to run some fairly large stirling generator set ups (6-8kw). The greatest obstruction is the price of the stirling motors. But I have thought about it.

 

[chuck172]

Just kidding around, I put in a piece of 1/4" round stock. Only had the steel in the stove for a short time. Pulled it out cherry red. I'm sure it can work as a forge.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

I've never done it, but I've probably mentioned it as a possibility.

I did just have a comment last night from someone who was looking over a gasifier that had just been fired up, saying that he figured he would try and use it to heat treat some tools, someday...

Joe

 

[chuck172]

It works and it works well. You can bring tool steel up to temp and case-harden it quite easily. We must have some amateur blacksmiths on this site. They go to great lengths building propane forges.

 

[AndrewChurchill]

I've thought about the Stirling engine idea as well. I remember seeing an article online about some college in the midwest that had created a pellet boiler with an attached stirling engine. I'll see if I can find the link.

 

[webbie]

If the economy continues to run down the dumper, we are soon gonna be back to that ole water power and forge to make our daily lives better. Wonder if they can forge some silicone with that, so we can continue to have our computers. Then we can forge out those fiber optic strands........like corning does.

Down and down she goes, where she stops no one knows.
(forgive me, I took a walk into a mall today and went into Sears and saw dozens of sales people standing around talking chit, and no customers...I bought a cheap drill bit, and the cashier even made a joke about how that was not gonna keep the till filled for long!)