I actually switched to using a borrowed gas forge over my coal one

I found some data from the Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America that said coal forges put out way more particulate matter than gas ones per hour of use. I always thought coal was the 'real' way to blacksmith, but after reading a 2021 study from Purdue on forge emissions, I changed my mind. Been using a gas forge for 3 months now and my shop air is noticeably cleaner. Anybody else ever look into the actual numbers on this?

2 comments

2 Comments

blairj5521d ago

The particulate numbers are pretty wild when you actually dig into them. A friend of mine runs a shop with both setups and his air quality monitor readings dropped by about 70% after he switched to gas full time. Makes you wonder how many old time smiths had lung issues we just chalked up to "old age.

harper_owens21d ago

Did your friend happen to test on a day with decent airflow in both shops, cause that can skew things too? I've seen guys swear by their gas setups but then they're running it in a drafty pole barn while the coal forge is tucked in a corner with no ventilation. Was the 70% drop consistent across multiple days or just that one reading? Would be interesting to know if he ran the test with the door open vs closed, cause coal smoke hangs around way differently than gas exhaust.