That pretty much sums it up any recommendations.. anyone do you right anyone do you wrong... Im looking for an A14 or 16... probably get a 20 in if I pushed it... 10 inch bore furnace Thanks in advance V/r HT1
I buy the Morgan Salamander Super clay graphite on fleabay; whoever has the lowest price. That is the only crucible type that I use. They seem to work well for a variety of metals.
I've only used budget graphite from Legend. I have accumulated 2 each of their #8 #10 and #18 for respective use with aluminum and bronze. The #18 I bought for bronze may never get used for that purpose because I burn oil in a 10" bore so the crucible (7.25" dia) may be oversized for the furnace given the heat required. I melt the #18 full of aluminum with no problem though. My first budget graphite was a #10 which has been used for dozens of heats and has seen charcoal, anthracite, oil, and propane. No complaints. It looks nasty and has lost some exterior surface chunks but still has a good "ring" when I thump it, but it think it's time is short. I had a couple of highly oxidizing episodes where my inexperience burning anthracite coal took a toll on it. Altogether I think they are a good fit for my low to moderate usage. Pete
I searched the forums before I bought. I concluded clay graphite would be the best all around value for me. Though I found plenty of good reports on low cost crucibles I also found many who reported bad experiences, and often from the same sources where others were happy, so seemed to be a bit of a crap shoot for what you got. On the other hand, I couldn't find anyone that was unhappy with Morgan Super Salamanders. That's what I bought. My A-10 has >100 melts on it and looks new other than fading from black to grey. All I did was season it on first heat and common sense handling after that. Granted, those are all aluminum melts in a electric resistive furnace, have often seen fluxes, but still a pretty easy life as far as crucibles go. The other thought I had was relative size/shape consistency for replacement in hopes handling tools would fit with minimal tweaking....haven't had to put that aspect to the test yet. One other caution about eBay purchases, don't pay Morgan prices unless your sure you're getting a Morgan Crucible. Counterfeits abound on eBay even to the point of authentic looking printed labels. Through correspondence and a little online research I concluded this seller was an authorized Morgan dealer. I'm sure there are others. If you search "Morgan Super Salamanders" there are a bunch of hits. https://www.ebay.com/itm/MORGANITE-...hash=item1e7dcafba0:m:myy6sXwLPY10rZ5TNtKpyZQ https://www.ebay.com/itm/MORGANITE-...hash=item41758ba511:m:m0RVrMB8W4_HTGnTwrzOx4w I bought my A60 from Canfield & Joseph. http://www.canfieldjoseph.com/foundry-crucibles.php Best, Kelly
YUP! I think that's the seller I used. It was cheap and so far has been working great! For what I paid for it, who cares if it's a knockoff. I try to treat it right, I don't use flux and when it starts to degrade, I'll order another one. I just wish I could get a cool photo of it glowing with the little spots on it. By then, it's back in the closed up furnace cooling slowly for the next 6hrs. I find it interesting the silicon carbide crucibles have a lower max temp and cost twice as much. Does it simply come down to lifespan?
I understand the silicon carbide crucibles do last longer and are a stronger material, that said they go soft at iron temperatures. I have a clay graphite bought as a sample (their min purchase is 10 crucibles) from Tennry Carbon Co. for AUD $26 plus about $140 air freight. It was a bit shorter and wider than an A20 and has no pouring spout, there may be something lost in translation as they assured me it was 30% silicon carbide when it's really 35% graphite. So far it's had about 6 melts on it with no obvious signs of wear. Tennry make graphite product for the metals processing industry if their website is anything to go by and they have what look like degassing lances too. http://www.tennry.com/En/Prodetail.aspx?id=349#
I use Starrbide. They are a silicon carbide crucible made by Morgan. I have a #8 that I have been melting bronze in for at least five years and it looks little different from the day I bought it. Well worth the extra price. Beware of Chinese crucibles. I have had three. Two cracked on just a few melts. The other (a #30 that was sold as a #40) has lasted well. As Kelly said above, "It's a crap shoot." In more ways than one. I remember back in the days of the Apollo program. Someone asked one of the astronauts, "What do you think about as you sit up there strapped into that tiny capsule on the very tip of the most powerful rocket ever made?" The astronaut said, "I'm thinking that every piece of this thing, down to every nut and every bolt, was made by the lowest bidder." If you have ever lifted and poured a #30 crucible containing 90 pounds of molten bronze, you know what he means. Richard
I've lifted #70 Bought by the Navy from the lowest bidder, I remember when we got 20 for a six month deployment, and they all had about 4 inches of water in the bottom... we put them in the oven ordered 20 more, and prayed more then normal til the new ones came in V/r HT1
