Furnace for Melting Cast Ally

[Okeden]

Something for all you Scrappies to think about.

I need a furnace that I can melt cast ally so that the steel intrusions can be removed. The idea is to melt the ally and drop it from height into cold water to make shot. By doing this, shot, the scrap yard shouldn't be able to suggest you have put something heavy into like you could do with a large melted mass of ally.

I'm sure everyone of you has came across the problem of cast ally with steel bits you can't remove. Your talking about $1.10 compared to 40-50 cents for irony ally and the steel is mostly high grade. Better than double the value. I'd prefer something that runs on LPG or waste oil, both of which I can get for nothing. Burning wood etc is not a good method IMHO.

Cheers

[DavidD]

Not entirely sure if this is what you are after, but this is what I'm looking at for melting copper into bars. eWaste Ben has one and also BigStackD on youtube also have one.

http://devil-forge.com/14-gas-furnaces

If the particular furnace isn't of interest, you can purchase burner separately which connects to a gas tank. Have seen some very basic forges/furnaces on youtube where the furnace itself is made out of refractory bricks, normal bricks even old webber style bbq's.

[Okeden]

Thanks David. I've looked at Devil Forge and whilst it would be okay for smaller items, they are too small for the likes of a cylinder head.

What I need is something that is big enough to fit a cylinder head. Don't want something that needs a crucible. The melted aluminium need to be able to pour out from the bottom into a cold tank of water to try and form shot.

I've seen it on YouTube but haven't been able to find it again. I guess I could design and make something myself but was thinking if there was something around at a reasonable price, I could put my time to more profitable use. Anyway, I'll keep looking.

Thanks again David.

[WEEE Ben]

There's a guy here in victoria that is very clever when it comes to casting, he's a friend of mine who has dropped in a few times to trade stuff.
his youtube name is luckygen1001
You might want to look him up and ask his advice on what to build for casting larger items

[Okeden]

Thanks Ben, will have a look at his channel. Cheers

[Okeden]

Had a look at luckygen1001 Ben and picked up some simple ideas on making what I need. I had been looking at an oil burner but one of lucky's vids on propane burners really told me what I need.

And on another channel I found a vid on melting a head and it wasn't a forge as such and didn't use a crucible. It was set in something like a small rainwater tank with bricks as a backing and a hole through which the melt can flow. He was catching the melt in a dish but if I set the burner up at a higher level I could have a 44 gallon drum of water underneath it with the aim of producing shot.

Cheers mate