https://www.toautotool.com/collecti...ace-smelting-furnace-gold-silver-smelter-110v This one I've seen on some Youtube videos, I don't have it myself as I have a DIY electric furnace which performs even better. It melts 500g copper and heats it to 1200 C in 50 minutes. They even sell propane furnaces. The only thing I do have interest in is an induction furnace, but they don't have it. Does anyone have experience with this ? I am just curious.
Myfordboy has a very similar looking set-up, however since he's in the U.K., his work be a 240v unit.
I've seen another Youtube guy using one of those (VOG). Thought crossed my mind to try one. But I just finished the first phase of a move and getting ready to build a new shop. Trying to be good and not order things that I can't use (and have nowhere to store) at the moment ....Really trying to keep the wife happy!
I picked up a "non-working" unit like that off Ebay a while back for less than $100. I got it working in under an hour by flipping 2 wires around, in DC polarity DOES matter. When I found out how easy it was to fix, I planned on getting a couple more, fixing them, and selling them on. Apparently THEY found out how easy to fix they were too, the next time I checked for the listing it was gone. This thing's SMALL!!! But it's a Jewelry furnace so you can't expect it to be big, it's really not much bigger than a crock-pot. They say it's got a 3Kg crucible, but that's 3Kg of gold. That doesn't translate into much volume. The graphite crucible has maybe a 50-60mm ID and maybe an 80-90mm depth. I plan on casting onesy-twosies of model RC truck parts with it, not production runs, so I don't need anything big. Don
These furnaces are supplied with cylindrical crucibles made from almost pure graphite, which wear much faster than the regular clay-graphite crucibles. My homemade electric furnace uses the latter ones, the same as I use in my propane furnaces. Crucibles are usually advertised in kilos and these are indeed usually kilos of gold. 3kg gold is $180000 .... I'd rather see contents in volume units like milliliters. A standard A4 crucible is about half a liter which equals 4kg copper, 3.5kg cast iron or 1.2kg aluminum. Lot of difference !
I've got one, or least the identical thing with a different badge. I've used it for bronze and AL and its done all I've asked of it. Being in a urban environment, my casting is limited to basement, investment flask vacuum style using wax, resin or filament as a pattern. The stuff is small to being with. i.e. the melter size is large enough for the size of stuff done in a vacuum caster and burnout flask. Below is a bracket I did recently, there'd be plenty of extra AL after the cast if you'd filled the large flask. Any larger than that and I'll need to make some special flasks that sit on the top of the vacuum chamber. This equipment makes casting indoors doable, but its basically re-purposing jewellery stuff so size is limited
I've been thinking of making some copper jewelry and have seen this type furnace online.. I was looking to see how much aluminum it would melt.. Now that I see the volume, I think I'll get one.. The carbon crucible would be a plus for copper.. I have a bunch of 1/3hp motors,. Here's a thread with some of some of the things I've made.. Hollow pouring cup in wax.. | The Home Foundry
