Hi all, yesterday I introduced myself today I thought I would share what I have done so far with furnace build. In my intro I did admit to stealing other peoples ideas, so I must pay credit to MelterSkelter http://forums.thehomefoundry.org/index.php?members/melterskelter.50/
Nice job on the furnace and lifting hardware. That's a good sized furnace. What are the internal dimension's and what are you planning to cast with that beast? I presume there is a beast of a burner somewhere in the plan. Couldn't help but notice the chunk missing from the crucible. Shipping damage or an accident? Best, Kelly
The inside measures 350mm x 500mm, I was aiming at it taking an A4o but I think it might be a bit tight for retrieval so I think A30 might be it. The chunks out of that crucible happened in shipping, its in dispute as I write this! It is rather big but I would rather be over size than under size, my ambition is to make bells, just for fun, I have no idea how big I can make them if at all but I am sure going to try. I am not sure about a burner yet, I have only done a little research so far. Here is a pic of it so far
Also dependent on the clearance required for your lifting apparatus. I have a 10" and 14" bore furnace and they can accommodate an A20 and A60 respectively, but they are lift-off furnaces so the crucible is completely exposed for lifting. There is another forum member that also just received a similar size crucible damaged in shipping. Hope that resolves favorably for you. I hadn't appreciated it was cut brick. What would you estimate the total mass of refractory in the furnace to be? I asked about mass, because you're going to need a high energy burner for that beast. What are you considering for fuel? Best, Kelly
Refractory mass probably around 300 kg /660pound, but that's a guess! I finished the inside with a coat of Super3000 I have thought I might run it on diesel or a mix of diesel and waste oil, whats your thoughts on that?
Wow, that's quite massive, probably between 5x to2x most hobby furnaces of the same size. It will take a long time to bring it to temp and consume a lot of energy to do so but once there will stay hot for a very long time and I'd imagine quite durable. It sort of depends on what and how often you will melt. Based on your stated goals, I suspect it will be occasional use for a single or several castings. I think diesel is a good fuel, but not sure how price sensitive you may be. Most here with a furnace that size would heat for the better part of an hour or more for high melt temp metals, but at you mass, that may be several times that, or a big burner, but either way, the burn rate would likely be several gallons/hr. Would you be OK with the cost of say 10gal of diesel per session? If so, diesel is a good choice. If not, and you have access to free waste oils like motor or vegetable/cooking oils, that may be a better choice, but in any case, you'll need a very high energy burner. Best, Kelly
I am not to fussed about how much fuel I use, I live in a agricultural district and I would think it is pretty easy to get hold of waste oil. I have bought a cheap Chinese brass waste oil burner nozzle 1mm but I am starting to think it is too small. I am in the middle of making the touch now, so if it is I will just have to get a bigger nozzle. When I first decide to build a furnace, I promised myself I will not have to replace it in my life time. LOL
