Found Dreaming

I've started a new small furnace. It will run on propane mostly, I may use oil some to see if it will work. I using a Happy Time Helium Tank so it's pretty small. Should be about the size of my other little one that fell apart in the move. Using the Super Heatcrete 31 that I have left, I hope it will set up, I've tried to keep it dry. Typical build, Cut the top off the tank and will make a lid out of it. Drain hole in the bottom, and 1 1/2" tuyere through the side.
I'll get some pictures as I can. This tank is thicker metal than I thought, I think it's thicker than the Freon tank I used.
I haven't cut myself yet so that's a good sign.

We are awaiting pix.

The great thing about foundry furnaces is that they are simple. If your Heatcrete has died from old age you can just bust it out and put something else in with nothing lost but an evening's work.

Richard

Here's a couple pictures. I hope the refractory sets up alright.

Always good to start a new furnace, my next one will be a scrapping furnace

Mike

nice work Jammer, looks like your planning on trying out that new shed roof this summer.

I don't know how long you've had the refactory, but when I relined my big furnace I used stuff that I had bought like four or five years before. I called the place that I bought it and they told me that it would be ok as long as it would pour out of the bag,

David

I've had this bag left from about 6 years ago. Seems like it set up pretty good. I'll let it dry and fire it up next week. I got some Everdur today, can't wait to try it out. I've got a couple small castings to do and I'll keep some of the Brass for a heal to make some of my own. I still have some Manganese flakes I got from Rasper a couple years ago and some Silicon I got from 4cyl. about 6 years ago..!

sounds like it worked, if you need some I have some silicon thats like 99.5 % if you need I can send you some. stick a hundred watt light bulb in the thing put the lid on it and leave it for a couple days it will drive out most of the water.

DA

I've got the Silicon that 4cyl gto from Marietta, OH, about 4 pounds of it. It's the pure stuff. I also have some ferro-Silicon left like I sent you. It's just for Iron but I did add some to Aluminum once, didn't seem to hurt anything. I don't know what other alloys I have left, I know I have some Ferro-Manganese, Ferro-Vanadium and Ferro-Niobium. I'll use those if I ever get set up to do some crucible steel.

Jammer wrote:I've got the Silicon that 4cyl gto from Marietta, OH, about 4 pounds of it. It's the pure stuff. I also have some ferro-Silicon left like I sent you. It's just for Iron but I did add some to Aluminum once, didn't seem to hurt anything. I don't know what other alloys I have left, I know I have some Ferro-Manganese, Ferro-Vanadium and Ferro-Niobium. I'll use those if I ever get set up to do some crucible steel.

I bought some of the pure stuff from Mrietta. haven't put any in aluminum but have used it in Cast Iron without any noticeable difference in the iron. I was lucky and won an auction that someone had on ebay for some Cast Iron Inoculant, that seems to be working, but I have very little experience with using it as right after I did my last iron pour I lost a bearing in the vacuum cleaner motor that I was using as a furnace blower.

DA

Did a slow fire on the little furnace today. Brought it up to about 1000F and shut it off. The tank had some kind of coating on the inside so it smoked and stunk a little. It got me fired up so I set a crucible in it to dry out while the furnace cooled. Got the greensand out and wet it down, then mulled it by hand until I was happy with it. Molded up two little plaques, melted the Everdur I just got and cast them up, well on at least one. The other froze off. The one was a little rough, I really have to get some petrobond made up.
It was great to cast something after about a 2 year dry spell. I have to find my camera so I can post some pictures.