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Started letting my forge cool naturally instead of dousing it.
My firebrick lasts way longer now (no more cracks from thermal shock). Plus, the shop stays cleaner without all that steam.
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ivan_murphy807d ago
Funny enough, the slow cool-down actually helps the next heat-up go faster. The refractory lining settles into a better state, so it takes less gas to get back to temp. It's like the forge 'remembers' being hot.
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the_piper1mo ago
But what about when you need the forge hot again for the next job? Dousing it saves a ton of time when you're busy.
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hugos461mo ago
That's a perfect example of how rushing the end of a process can mess up the whole result. So much stuff breaks because we're impatient for the cool-down. It's like pulling bread out of the oven too fast and it collapses, or pouring cold water into a hot glass pan. Letting things settle at their own pace just works better. Your forge is just another case of that. Good lesson for a lot of little jobs around the house too.
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