Disused (small) Weber kettle, to address foundry-withdrawal?

I have a small (roughly 14 inch across) charcoal Weber kettle, bought years ago. It is currently gathering dust. Could this thing be turned into a (low-temperature, i.e. zamak) furnace?

Rationale:
1) good/excellent camouflage.
2) enamel finish - real baked-on, glassy enamel, not paint. Should keep the rust down - less maintenance, I hope.
3) I already have it. I'm largely unable to do much scrounging.
4) possible conversion to propane.
5) talk of "firing up the barbie" among the people I (normally) do foundry with would have a new and cogent meaning.

 

Technically, yes. People have used holes dug into the earth to melt metals, so it *can* work, at least for a little while. The two biggest issues I forsee are getting airflow, as I don't think the draft of a grill will be nearly enough, and secondly, said grill will likely rapidly decompose due to the heat if you manage to get enough airflow to get to melting temeratures.

So in short, it'd probably work for a little while, but you'll need to be diligent in checking it frequently for imminent failure and accept that failure, when it happens, has a significant chance of catastrophic failure. The idea of a crucible of molten metal dropping through the weakened bottom of a grill puts images of devastation in my mind I don't want. *I* wouldn't do it and I know the dumb stuff I've done.

 

Zamak melts around 725F. So, if you were able to run it around 1000F you could probably melt the Zamak and still not damage the steel shell. The paint might fail and the aluminum legs might fail though. My propane Weber gets up to around 650 on occasion without damaging the paint. Steel does not really start to scale until about 1100 to 1150. You'd want to keep the flame off the shell by perhaps lining it with ceramic wool and satanite. If lined, the shell might never get much over 600. Lining it would be pretty easy using flat laid wool and painted on Satanite. The dome shape is in your favor and the Satanite would provide adequate strength to support the wool. It just might work OK.

Denis

 

If it were me I'd try a gas burner and small iron saucepan. For extra safety you could rig a sheet metal pan to prevent spills hitting the gas cylinder directly.

 

The plan was to put 1-1.5 inches of castable in the bottom of the shell, a thin shell of the same of 7.5 inch bore, and then a top-plate of castable, with Super-Wool stuffed in between the metal shell for added insulation.

The lid would have wool, rigidized, and then coated with Satanite.

Here's a crude drawing:

 

That diagram should work well, you could even stick an iron ring burner at the bottom and with that much insulation, molten aluminium temperatures may be reachable.

 

Ring burner? Is this a bit like the earlier picture showing a burner perched atop a refillable propane cylinder?

Addendum to drawing: replace flimsy factory legs with 3/4 inch square steel tubing, and connect the three legs together.

 

Dennis, I could be wrong, but I think you could do what you need to do with a simple wool/satanite shell in the top and bottom of the kettle. It would be super easy to build. The temps you are trying for would be easy to hit and there would be no need to fool with castable etc. Just 1 to 2 inches of wool in the bottom and top. You don't need anything more. My uninsulated Weber accidentlally hits 600+ with simple ribbon burners. Think simple, simple , simple. And cheap, cheap, cheap. Not to mention quick and it would be very low mass.

Denis

 

This is a ring burner, I'm using a larger one to melt about half a bucket of scrap zinc at a time in open air.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/gasmate-cast-iron-burner-2-ring-burner_p3170720

 

You could use it just like it is and burn charcoal. Lining the lid with wool and coating it with satanite would be helpful to retain heat. You'd get enough of it from hightemptools.com for about $15 plus shipping. Pipe a very gentle breeze into the bottom vent and you'd have no trouble melting zamack in a steel or ceramic crucible. It doesn't have to get crazy hot and it would probably do little or no damage to the grill. Obviously cant use it for food anymore, but tossing in a bit of beef or pork would keep the neighbors fooled.

Pete

 

Uh, want to get away from charcoal *anyway.*

This is so much the case that I had been gathering up the supplies for a D.I.Y. gas BBQ - some black iron pipe fittings, and an old Freon canister.

As for "fooling" people - would a small bit of chicken serve? (As a burnt offering to, say, The Sand-Man...)

 

Perhaps castable just for the bottom and plinth, then?

Does sodium silicate work passably for gluing wool?

 

Bucket? Are you using a bucket to melt in, or to store your (lovely! I want some!) Anodes in prior to melting?

I'd planned on using a sho'-nuff A4 salamander for a pot. I'd heard/read Zamak isn't fond of iron contamination.

Then, Za-12/27 is a good use for Dead Cans/Candemonium...

 

Another crude drawing:

I can get 1 inch thick Super-Wool locally, and I think I know someone who has some, uh, Mizzou for the "cup" and the plinth. Failing that, I can get all of these - save, perhaps, Satanite - at high-temp, inc.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...0QFnoECAsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0F9300gmzEa43TI3fcPRl6


Oh, my. Seems they have something a bit like Satanite:

https://hightempinc.net/product/super-32-high-temperature-mortar/

 

Sodium silicate foams up and expands when hot and later absorbs atmospheric moisture and liquifies again.

 

Not Hightempinc, it's Hightemptools
https://www.hightemptools.com/refractorycoatings.html

 

True. That's the one in, uh, Alabama. They have real Satanite. (I need to get some, full stop. I've also got an eight-brick forge (for heating metal to bend it/heat-treat it) to build, also.)

The other place, *High-Temp, Inc,* is local to Me. Saves on shipping costs when the place is *that* close to where you live, and you've become somewhat accustomed to riding with 55+ lb of groceries in the bike trailer...

 

Satanite works well as a glue for wool. I use it to glue down the wool I use as a gasket between my lid and furnace body. And I used it to glue the wool to the shell of my wool/Satanite furnace.

Used as a glue between the lid and wool along with a shell of Satanite on the wool would be all you need to keep the dome in place. I’d use an angle grinder to clean the inside of the lid to bare metal first.

Denis

 

This thing is lined with a glassy-type enamel - the kind that needs kiln-type temperatures to fuse to the iron/steel/?. (Like an old enamelware metal cup...)

Grinding it off is likely to be *obnoxious.* It's like glass for hard. It is not paint.