Resizing 55 gallon 200L Drum

Cart in process: metal cut, corners welded, and wheels welded to bottom. I will need to start figuring out how to attach the mechanism to lid and mechansim to cart...and whether to attach mechanism to main body or let the body 'float' on the cart.

 

I welded small 3 or 4 tabs to the base (cart) and then used #10 screws to attach the furnace bady. Works fine.

All it took to support the fixed upright lift tube was to weld it into a corner and then used two 3/4x3/4x1/8 angle braces at 90 degrees apart and attached to the base frame. That has been good and solid. Might work fine for you too.

Denis

 

Thanks Denis. The 3/4" sides x 1/8" thick angled braces sound good.
PS I went and had another look. My upright is about 12.5" too long and it still looks like I can get an inch of lift.

 

Not much progress today. Cut off the extra and it seems to fit. Wondering about tacking a 1" flat bar to the collars to help line them up while getting them banded to the shell, etc. The 3/4" angle iron should work.

 

I suspect the added straps are not truly needed. There should be little reason for the furnace to shift on the base and just using tabs to attach it to the base ought to solve that. The secured upright pipe of the lift mechanism will be very stiffly held by the base weld and two braces. So, between the two, all should be good. If somehow you feel they are needed later on, welding them on will take only a few mins. I’d go simple for now and add later if needed.

FWIW,

Denis

 

Yes, probably overworking it in plan at this point. Will try simple and done first!

 

Lower collar dowel pinned to the main column and welded to base. Body is tack welded to base until brackets are made.
I went to start figuring out the lid and was tripped up by the mismatches in diameter and waviness of the cuts between the lid and the body extension.
I am now thinking I should have split the body and added the extension in the middle so body and lid diameters would still match.
Trying to decide if I can 'let it ride' and finish as-is and use the Kast-o-Lite surfaces to cover my sins or if I should put in the effort to get the lid/body join more fair by major surgery ...if I did not have the 2600 degree F IFB's already in place I would consider scrapping this and taking my lumps.

A penny for your thoughts...

 

That mismatch isn’t enough to cause a functional issue. I’d center it best you can and proceed. If you’re concerned about the steel’s alignment not being perfect you could complete your refractory placement on the lid and body separately and then weld the lid to the lifting tube as your last step.

 

Basically, I would offer similar advice to Pete's. There does not have to be perfectalignment of the shells. In my furnace the lid is 2" smaller in diameter than the furnace itself But, a layer of wool (compensates for a lot of "sins") between the body and lid provides a good seal and it works fine. You are almost there! I'd weld the lift mechanism, set the lid shaell and then put the refractroy in to compensate for any wonky tilt.

Denis

 

Thanks Pete, thanks Denis.
It's just a furnace,
It's just a furnace,
It's just a furnace ...

 

What I do to get a good fit, once the mortar is in place, spin the lid around and it will grind itself flat.

 

That sounds good. Do you do that when it is semi-cured or after it is fully cured?

 

Try it both ways and report back.

 

If it makes you feel any better here is how ugly the lid to furnace fit is on my furnace. But, the main thing is....It Works!

Yes, that is maybe three successive layers of 1" wool. I put on a layer once the prior layer starts to leak. This is on melt 41 after reline of the furnace.

I like Bonz idea. I've not tried it.

Denis

 

Thanks. I went after it tonight, with the encouragement of the forum. Action shots enclosed. Even the empty lid pulls on the upright and twists the one long angle iron in the base. The bracing suggested by Denis will really help, and I think I'll need a little more on the lid itself.

 

I added the angles per Denis' suggestion. I took the middle collar and shimmed it out and added a bit of angle iron to allow the braces to miss the barrel and be welded relatively flat to the frame (would have not needed the shims if I had planned better...) I also added a 3rd short piece to the cart as a brace that catches both the interior quadrant of the bottom of the barrel and the middle cross brace. In a moment of clarity, I checked that the back cross brace would not interfere with the burner tube and had to cut it 2" (5cm) shorter to allow for this.

 

Starting to think about castable refractory...
Would there be a way to pre-cast the inner lid and chimney and then attach it to / hang it from the lid after filling the void with ceramic fiber insulation?

 

I trimmed the plasma-cut metal lid hole with a saber saw to allow better clearance for the cast insert from this thread:
https://forums.thehomefoundry.org/i...tolite-using-styrofoam.2504/page-2#post-50422

 

I worked on this a little over the last couple days.
The machine shop at work CNC'd the steel to catch the bottom of the cast refractory.
I cut the 6 pieces to attach it to the outside of the shell (a departure from picture above).
The concept is that refractory will be able to float and self-level independently of the lid itself and that it would be wasy to break down and repair if needed.

I used a Mylar (thin plastic, cardboard would work too) template to guide a permanent marker for layout. I cut the 1" (2.5cm) ceramic fiber blanket aka Kaowool easily with an inexpensive serrated steak knife. The material seems thicker than 1" and is taking up about 1.5" (3.8cm) effectively pushing the refractory out of my lid shell.

Wondering if I should pare it down a bit or leave it under its own compression until it fits? Design was for 2" fiber and .75" refractory in the lid and the same in the main body. This could be a Winnie-the-Pooh Bear stuck in Rabbit's hole situation...



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“Then would you read a Sustaining Book, such as would help and comfort a Wedged Bear in Great Tightness.”
— A. A. Milne

 

I trimmed the fiber from around the chimney opening. It dropped another 1/2"(13mm) so the refractory is just starting to engage inside the shell.