The Shop > Metal Stuff
Propane Tank Furnace/Forge
Will_D:
I have just picked up a 42 lb Propane tank. (I think it is a 19 Kg one and it is 830 mm tall.
Anyway its bigger than the normal 11 Kg ones that have been modded.
So applying a bit of lateral thought I came up with this mod:
It can be Coke/Charcoal fired or Propane fired for furnace use.
Pop in the grate and load up some coke, add the extension collar and its a forge. For serious forge welding pop on the lid. The various cutouts/holes in the extension are just to support long bits that need to be held in place without having to hold them! (Like long tongs!)
Mad or what?
All comments sugestions are VERY welcome before comitting
vtsteam:
Looks pretty good to me Will. The only thing that might be different in what I like, personally, for a small furnace this size is about 12" of internal bore height to fit in enough charcoal not to have to pull out the crucible and renew fuel when melting say 5 lbs of aluminum. There's plenty of room for a propane furnace, but solid fuel does take up space.
I shoot for 2" refractory in a 12" diam. shell and a bore of 8" seems to work well for me.
For my bigger oil burning Iron furnace and firebrick lining I went with 4" refractory thickness, and ended up with about 7 to 7-1/2" bore, as I remember it. It is a little tight getting tongs in there around an A-6 crucible, and I wished it was 8".
But your plan to use it for a forge, too seems like it would work fine.
RobWilson:
Hi Will
If your planning on coke firing , drop the blast hole to an inch from the bottom and have it come in parallel , also you will need a grate about 2" , 3" inches from the bottom . fill with coke and fire ,let burn down , this pre heats furnace . then pack with coke until crucible top is 1/2 inch bellow furnace top and pack round with coke , charge with metal (cast iron ) and give it plenty of blast . The charge of coke will burn down and the crucible sink down as the fuel is used , you may need to reposition the crucible form time to time (it may tilt a tad)
Rob
vtsteam:
iron? Will, were you planning to melt iron, or was it aluminum?
Will_D:
I didn't mention iron!
Aluminium first then maybe brasses and the like.
I may never get round to Iron - Its scary stuff!
But thanks for all the great suggestions.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version