A guy at the Ohio Valley Forge Council meet showed me his coal fire setup

I was at the council meet in Zanesville last fall, and this older smith had his whole coal fire banked up way higher than I ever did. He said, 'You're losing heat and time with that shallow fire, kid.' I tried his deep fire method the next week on a simple leaf project, and the steel moved like butter in half the usual time. Who else runs a deep coal fire, and how do you keep it from going out on you?

2 comments

2 Comments

susanr1517d ago

How deep is your fire pot?

emma_ramirez17d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, mine is ridiculously deep! I got one last year thinking it would be fine, but I can barely reach the bottom with my tongs. It holds a crazy amount of charcoal, which is great for long cooks but a total pain to clean out afterward. I have to let it cool for two days before I can even start digging the ashes out. Honestly, I kind of wish I'd gone for a more medium depth.