Warning: I dropped $180 on a Champion 3018 gas forge and it saved my whole summer, but not how I planned

Paul West · 2026-10-17T01:40:03.679168+00:00

So I mostly run solid fuel, right? Coal and lump charcoal, whatever I can get. But last June my neighbor's shed burned down (nobody hurt, thank god) and the fire marshal came around telling everyone to quit burning anything outdoors while it was so dry. So I'm sitting there with a coal forge and a pile of jobs half done. I panic-bought a little Champion 3018 gas forge on sale for $180. Figured it'd be a toy. It fit on my bench, it got to welding heat in about 8 minutes, and I ended up doing every hook, rail, and gate hinge order I had on the books out of that thing for 10 weeks straight. Here's the funny part: I still can't get coal back in my head. The gas is quieter, no clinker, no smoke in my face, and my neighbor quit giving me the stink eye. I feel like a traitor to the old ways. Any of you run gas full time and miss the coal at all, or am I just being sentimental?

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Warning: I dropped $180 on a Champion 3018 gas forge and it saved my whole summer, but not how I planned | Blacksmiths - Free To Speak