Switched from coal to propane last summer and my welds got way cleaner

I spent 10 years using a hand-crank coal forge I built from an old brake drum. The heat was never even and I'd get cold spots right when I needed to upset a tenon. Then I bought a rusty propane forge off Craigslist for 60 bucks and spent a weekend cleaning the nozzles. First fire up I got a steady blue flame that held 2100 degrees for 20 minutes straight. No more fighting with wet coal or chasing temperature. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a big difference in how consistent your heats are?

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robert27513h ago

Oh man that's awesome! A buddy of mine had this old coal forge that he swore by, but every time we tried to do a project together he'd spend half the time fiddling with the fire and the other half trying to get an even heat. Then he found a used propane setup at a garage sale for like 40 bucks and it was night and day difference. The first time he fired it up he called me over and we just stood there watching this perfect steady flame, he kept saying "I can't believe I didn't do this years ago." His welds definitely got way more consistent too, and he stopped having to reheat stuff three times just to get a decent bend.