Yea, I'm worried about the flying sparks. I may try out coke as well. That sounds like it could be a better option than charcoal. I'll have to work outside. One thing with charcoal was not really being able to work on a windy day because of the flying sparks. I'm guessing that wouldn't be an issue with coke?

What exactly do you mean by its hard to light? Are we talking 30 mins? I wonder if I could mix charcoal in with it to get it initially lit and then switch back to just coke once it is going.

Thanks for the input Jim!

Added 2 days later:

Well I should be picking up a bag of coke on Saturday. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before I can try it. I need to do a few things to my forge before it's fully operational. Thanks again for the tip Jim!