Switched from coal to propane in my forge last month and the difference surprised me
Ran coal in my little rivet forge for 3 years. Always fought the fire, clinker would choke it out halfway through a project. Last month a guy in Cleveland sold me his old propane forge for $180. First session I did a set of tongs in one heat with no babysitting the fire. The steel heated cleaner too, way less scale and no sulfur smell in my garage. I miss the look of a coal fire but my neighbors stopped complaining. Anyone else make the switch and end up going back to coal anyway?
Three years of fighting clinker sounds rough, especially when it cuts your project in half every time. I get why you miss the coal fire though, there is something about watching the coals that propane just can't copy. Sounds like you made the right call for your shop and your neighbors, and I bet those tongs came out nice.