New furnace build

[b4dyc]

Well this is going to be a slow build I guess But I should post what I am doing so that someone can point out that I am doing it wrong
So I started with a red calor gas bottle and vented what was left of the gas. More of a fart than a hiss but the bottle was now at atmospheric pressure
I then had to remove the tap on the top. So to do this I used a short piece of 4 x 2 box section steel over the valve this allowed me to get a pair of stillsons on to undo the brass connector.
Next I filled the bottle up with tap water until it was overflowing and left it a few days until the stinky stuff had mostly washed away. This ensures that the heavier than air gas has been purged from the bottle
So I added some tape around my cut lines and prepared to cut the bottle
Simples with my 9 inch grinder. Didnt even use a whole disc for all the cuts
This was when I took the first picture Next to it is the steel crucible I plan to use. The mate that made this up for me said he would do so as long as I wasn`t making a pipe bomb

Made a few hinges from some of the bottle metal and welded them on and reused part of the handle from the top to make a lid lifting handle

I welded a bit of scrap metal grid into the top in preparation for putting the fire cement/ perlite in.

[ETC57]

OOOOBoy, I love furnace builds!

b4dyc,
Keep us posted, looks good so far.

Jerry.

[Mayhem]

Looking good there Andy. I have had to put mine on hold, as I really want to get my mill up and running. I will need to cast a new part for the quill feed but will need the mill to machine it.

What are you going to use as a heat source?

[Bill Gruby]

Excuse my complete ignorance here but how did you vent the bottle? I am alwas afraid it will blow up so I have never done one.

"Billy G"

[Highpower]

(06-28-2012, 04:10 PM)b4dyc Wrote: Next I filled the bottle up with tap water until it was overflowing and left it a few days until the stinky stuff had mostly washed away. This ensures that the heavier than air gas has been purged from the bottle

I would not have thought of that, and probably would have wasted half a cylinder of Argon to do the purge.

Back in the day, in order to do fuel tank repairs on vehicles we would connect a hose between the tank filler neck and the tailpipe of another vehicle while it sat idling for a couple of hours.

[ETC57]

(06-29-2012, 07:20 AM)Highpower Wrote:

(06-28-2012, 04:10 PM)b4dyc Wrote: Next I filled the bottle up with tap water until it was overflowing and left it a few days until the stinky stuff had mostly washed away. This ensures that the heavier than air gas has been purged from the bottle

I would not have thought of that, and probably would have wasted half a cylinder of Argon to do the purge.

Back in the day, in order to do fuel tank repairs on vehicles we would connect a hose between the tank filler neck and the tailpipe of another vehicle while it sat idling for a couple of hours.

Yes Willie,

so have you ever seen that go poorly?

I was wrenchen on my simi back in the day and my dad was across the lot doing just that,only decommissioning it. He had a hose running from the torch truck to a 15,000 gallon gas tank. Turns out there was about 1 or maybe 2 gallons left in it, all was going well he was 80% done torching out one end and 1/2 way through the other when a gust of wind came up and filled the tank with air. Talk about a noise, fortunately just the end gave out and the cylinder stayed intact! Big fire ball! and no one heart!

Jerry.

[Highpower]

(06-29-2012, 08:35 AM)ETC57 Wrote: Yes Willie,

so have you ever seen that go poorly?

Jerry.

No Jerry, fortunately we were only working on passenger vehicles for the most part. Probably 20 gallon tanks at most.

I do know of one incident though that will always stick with me. Back when I was wrenching on jets during my time in the USAF, we had one poor soul that had the job of crawling into the wing tank of a cargo plane to change out a booster pump. The tanks were emptied and purged according to the proper procedures and he was properly dressed in an anti-static protective suit. The investigation revealed that unfortunately he had carried a non-authorized flashlight into the tank with him. (No explosion-proof rating.) He was killed instantly.

[Mayhem]

Some one was killed over here last year cutting the top off of a 44 gallon drum with an angle grinder. If I ever have to cut a container that has held a flammable liquid/gas, I fill it with water first.

[b4dyc]

Hi all
Thanks for taking time to respond
I was a diesel mechanic for a few years when I was a youngster and always had to solder and weld tanks up. I never had a single problem with gas soldering tanks I think the water fully purging the tank that was taught to me has always removed the gases remaining in any tank. But if you do not feel happy doing this, then don`t!

Anyways, had a bit of shop time today as it was raining, again.
First I drilled the hole for the burner (going to be gas powered) I used one of those metal hole saws for the job.



Next up was filling that lid with perlite/fire clay.
Mixed both together dry and then added water to it so it bound together


Then filled the lid and compacted and smoothed the lid off. I left a hole in the top for a vent

Same process for the furnace body. Needed to put a tub in there so i could ram the mixture down.

I also left a hole in the bottom for a safety measure if the crucible splits etc. It will be the weak link. Also shaped the hole for the burner

Put them in waste bags so that they dont dry out too quick.

[RobWilson]

Hi Andy

Looking good


What you planning on casting?



Rob