Forge coating question

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Dixieblade57

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Jun 20, 2007
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I am about to order refractory coating for my new forge. It is lined with two
1" layers of inswool. Here is a couple of pics of the forge.





I am thinking of putting on a base coat of ITC 100.
Specs as follows:
ITC-100:
Refractory Coating for Forge Efficiency.

ITC-100 is known for its ability to reduce fuel costs and help your forge reach higher temperatures in a quicker time frame. ITC-100 is also more impervious to flux than Satanite alone and can help prolong the lifetime of your forge lining, though, for a highly flux resistant coating, check out our Bubble Alumina refractory.

Now here is the question if I am going to forge weld would it be best to top coat over the ITC 100, say the bottom 2/3 of the forge with Bubble Alumina? Specs as follows:

Bubble Alumina Refractory Coating:

Highly flux resistant! This material works really well for coating an Inswool lined forge for protection against flux when forge welding. This is one of the most flux resistant coatings we have found to date!

- 3300 degree temperature rating

Any advice here on this subject????????????
 
Nice looking forge.
If you are going to weld, use the bubble alumina. You didn't mention using a Satanite coating, but you should have a 1/4" of Satanite covering the wool.
For a welding forge,I use two inches of Hi-Z wool, followed by a rigidizer on the wool to stiffen it ,then use satanite, then coat with ITC-100, Bubble Alumina on the floor and up the sides about 3".
Stacy
 
bladsmth said:
Nice looking forge.
If you are going to weld, use the bubble alumina. You didn't mention using a Satanite coating, but you should have a 1/4" of Satanite covering the wool.
For a welding forge,I use two inches of Hi-Z wool, followed by a rigidizer on the wool to stiffen it ,then use satanite, then coat with ITC-100, Bubble Alumina on the floor and up the sides about 3".
Stacy
Click to expand...

Thanks Stacy, I appreciate the advice! I must admit I was a little surprised that you named all four products. I had thought about the rigidizer but this being my first forge I wasn't sure if it was neccesary or not.

Can you explain why the advantage of the satanite prior the ITC-100?
 
A forge consists of several parts.
The outer part is the shell, and its only purpose is to hold the liner. While the norm is a piece of pipe, it can be far less robust.
The liner is made in layers. The first is the insulation, which is there to keep the heat inside the forge chamber from transferring to the shell. Most folks use insuwool or a similar products.1" is sufficient for a light duty forge, but 2" is better. However, the mineral wool is soft and friable ( creates loose fibers), so using a rigidizer will help prevent it from crushing down in the installation of the refractory layer ( and keeps the fibers out of your lungs). Next is the refractory coating. This is a hard, fireproof layer that absorbs the heat and radiates it back into the chamber. A 1/4" coating of Statanite works well. The ITC-100 layer on the inside is a high temperature reflective coating that reflects a large amount of the heat directly back into the chamber. You need all of these parts to have a safe and efficient forge.

Even a 1" thick ,poured refractory liner, will still need the outer shell, an insulation layer, and the ITC reflective coating.

If the forge will be used to do welding, the flux will quickly corrode the refractory lining. This is slowed down by using a hard, replaceable floor ( fire brick) ,a poured floor ( poured refractory ,like Mizzou), or a coating of something that resists the acid of the flux - like Bubble Alumina.
Stacy
 
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