My forge went from cold black to orange in 10 minutes and the fix was a $3 bag of cat litter

Parker Kelly · 2026-10-08T00:10:03.277913+00:00

I keep my coal forge in the garage here in Wichita and last month it started taking forever to get lit, like 25 minutes of fighting it before I got anywhere. I finally looked at the old coal I had sitting in a plastic tub since fall and it was damp and clumped up, so I dumped it out and mixed in a scoop of cheap clay cat litter to soak up the moisture. Ten minutes later the fire was up to heat and staying there. I felt pretty dumb standing over a bag of cat litter in my shop apron. Has anyone else had to dry out their coal stash, or do you just buy fresh every time?

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My forge went from cold black to orange in 10 minutes and the fix was a $3 bag of cat litter | Blacksmiths - Rigidtalk