Home / Series / Primitive Technology / Aired Order / Season 2024 / Episode 9

Water Bellows smelt

I tested the water bellows with a smelt and it produced a small amount of iron from the ore. The concept has a lot of potential but is having some issues. The valve was attached with clay and it comes off when wet so I ended up plugging the hole up and letting the bellows suck and push air through the spout only. Hole may be made either side of the valve to thread string through to hold it on better. The bellows prototype is also shallow and does not hold a large volume of air with each stroke so the the next one will be taller or wider. Another thought is that two used at once may give more airflow and do so more consistently. I attempted to make two other designs of water bellows this month (one double acting) but both designs broke before use due to their size.

English
  • Originally Aired September 5, 2024
  • Runtime 11 minutes
  • Created April 5, 2024 by
    Ago1896
  • Modified May 23, 2026 by
    Budorah