An early siphon-nozzle burner design

I know the siphon nozzle atomization makes starting a burner on diesel very easy.
For me, I drop a rag with diesel on it in the furnace, turn on the oil and compressed air, and then the blower, and I have full output in a few seconds.

But ironsides and others routinely melt iron with a drip-style burner, so it makes me think that the siphon nozzle atomization is only important at startup and when warming up the furnace (as mentioned by others here).

A siphon nozzle burner with 5 psi on the fuel tank will give rock-solid performance that does not vary from start to finish, and I never have to touch the controls after I start the burner.
That being said, it would not be a big deal if you did have to tweek a drip-style burner during operation occasionally, but I would prefer to start the burner and not have to adjust it again during the melt.

 

I think once you have a functioning siphon-nozzle or drip-style oil burner, melting iron is just a matter of getting the burner adjusted correctly, using a 3,000 F rated crucible, and knowing when to scrap off slag should it start to form.

My first oil burner made from a welding tip nozzle did melt iron, but it took much longer than it should have, and it used far more compressed air than it should have, and used far more compressed air than a Delavan nozzle would use.

And I noticed another guy on y-tube the other day who melted iron, and he made the same mistake I did, which was to let the slag harden on top, and so like me, he finally got tired of waiting, and he poured, and the molten iron broke through the slag cap.
I had no idea that iron could form a solid and hard cap on top of the melt, and I did not know when to skim, and how much to skim.

After watching porositymaster melt and skim iron, I think I understand what to do.
Porositymaster lets the initial charge melt, then he adds a few pieces to bring the melt up to the amount he wants, and he sort of skims a bit as things progress, perhaps once a minute when all the iron is melted and is in the heating phase to bring it up to pour temperature.

Ironsides has said he does not have to skim slag and I assume he must be using clean iron, but I know porositymaster uses some very dirty rusty iron, and thus the slag formation.
Much to my surprise, dirty rusty iron produces excellent castings though, but does require skimming of the slag.

 

This is a really good fuel nozzle white paper by E.O. Olson, an engineer at Delavan.
http://beckwithheating.com/ebook/Boiler111/Fuel_Nozzles_for_Burners.PDF

Keep in mind that up to and including most of page 9 he is referring to a pumped nozzle (not a siphon nozzle).

On page 9 and 10, he mentions variable flow nozzles, and one type of variable flow nozzle is the siphon nozzle or "air atomization" nozzle as he calls it.
Another type of variable flow nozzle is the bypass or return flow nozzle, which uses an oil pump.






Here is a diagram for the bypass or return flow nozzle, used with a pump.
(I think this is the right diagram for a variable flow pumped system).
As I understand the bypass system (I have not operated one of these), the fuel flow is varied by varying the amount of fuel that is allowed to flow back to the fuel tank.

 

That slinging oil cup concept would be neat to see. Hope we get a build thread on that one.

 

Pat do you remember the name of that youtube video?

 

I just saw it the other day; it is under iron pours......something or another.
I will look for it.

Edit:
I don't think this is the right guy, but he has some interesting videos and pours iron:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2a1UWJZvr-axaWt8E1TqHg
He says he uses crushed limestone to help congeal slag, but I think it also acts as a flux.
I bought some but have not tired it.
He also uses ferrosilicon.


Here is the guy I mentioned with the slag cap (go to y-tube and read his comments):
Looks like you have run across him before; I see one of your comments on his video.
Casting Iron At Home in 'Ferrous Bueller'



He casts a plane in this video: