Just read that a single coal forge can produce over 200 pounds of slag in a year

I was looking through an old trade journal from the Pittsburgh steel mills and saw that figure. It really made me think about how much gunk builds up if you're not cleaning the firepot regularly. Has anyone else had issues with slag affecting their forge's air flow?

2 comments

2 Comments

anthonyy551d agoMost Upvoted

That slag will choke your fire out fast. Gotta clean the pot after every session or you'll be fighting it.

felix_perry61d ago

Wait, is that 200 pounds from a big industrial forge or a small shop one? anthonyy55 is right that slag chokes the fire, but cleaning after every single session seems like overkill for a hobbyist. I only clean mine when the air flow starts to drop, maybe every few weeks. If you dig out the big clinkers each day, the fine stuff doesn't build up fast enough to matter.