Water heater tank furnace

Hey all!

Remember that water heater I took all the foam off of not too long ago? Well, here's the project I had in mind for it. Had some second thoughts about using it, but I've been melting away all week with it and it's working better than I thought it would.

My goal was to make a furnace that would melt copper in under 15 minutes. My first melt took 22 minutes, but after a little bit of tweaking and pressure settings, I got the second melt in just over 13 minutes.

That's what happens when you give a redneck access to tool and the internet!

https://youtu.be/HvVSQ9RqhPk

Shoot, give me some youtube videos and I can do just about anything. That and some duct tape.

Handyman's secret weapon.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jimicrk

Shoot, give me some youtube videos and I can do just about anything. That and some duct tape.

Handyman's secret weapon.

---

Watch - The Red Green Show

I think this show was only a Canadian thing, but...That's this guy's catch phrase. Grew up watching this guy hehehe

Impressive build. Could you share any info on the burner you are using? I am in the middle of a foundry build starting with a compressor tank.

Thanks

I could make a quick video to show my burner build - I havn't really seen anything else like it, it's a mish-mash of different styles. I went with a side entry so I could make the screw-on choke. Will try to get something done tonight.

Basically, .035 welding tip into some brass couplers and plugs. A 1.5" mechanical coupler is the outer housing, with the threaded rod and a 1.5" washer with a nut welded to it as the choke. The rod is inserted into one end of the brass coupling and loctited in there. Using an acetylene regulator on this one, and the outlet is a 3/4" pipe. If you're just melting aluminium, a regular propane 5-10 lbs regulator and an .025 tip works great.

I've been getting alot less slag and dross since I started using this setup (noticeable with my alum and brass mostly). I have a theory that this choke set up limits the air flow so it creates less oxidation of the media being melted. I'm no scientologist though, so that's just me spitballing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WhiteSquirrel

Watch - The Red Green Show

I think this show was only a Canadian thing, but...That's this guy's catch phrase. Grew up watching this guy hehehe

---

They showed it here in the states also. Watched it every week.