Resurrection of a CFEI 100 KVA Induction Furnace

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awemawson:
Today I completed the wiring in the Electrical Enclosure - apart from running the thermistors for the temperature indicators to their relevant pipe on the heat exchanger where they will be Ty-Wrapped with a bit of thermal compound for good contact. But I don't want to do that until I've leak tested and proved the plumbing.

Also got the SWA cable run to the pump house and wired giving a pair of 13 amp sockets - one for the pump and the other probably for trace heating to prevent freezing.

A temporary roof comprising a pig herding board will have to suffice until tomorrow night when Andy brings the slab he has cast.

awemawson:
First thing this morning I finalised all the plumbing for the house water input, tank overflow, and the flow and return to the furnace including the end terminations on the rubber hose that joins the chiller to the furnace driver. Fittings are sealed with Loctite 542 that is handle-able in 15 minutes but really needs 24 hours for a full cure.

So now the unit is functionally completed (it may get some mesh panels at some time) but it needs leak testing - due to the Loctite 542 this will have to be tomorrow.

I turned my attention to outside works. A trench is needed through the goose field to take the flow and return between the foundry and the bore hole. There was a fence running parallel to the foundry that pre-dates it's building (where it is was just a fence enclosed yard outside the workshop) - fence no longer needed and posts rather rotten so it had to be grubbed out first, along with an Alder tree that had self seeded behind it.

Then I scraped the ground clear of various piles of earth and weeds that had accumulated followed by digging a trench for the pipes going through the gate opening and running practically to the south end of the foundry. This means that there is only about 15-20 foot of trench to dig to complete the run, but will have to been done by hand as there is no room to get the JCB803 in there.

. . . .getting there . . . :thumbup:

awemawson:
This morning having linked both sides of the chiller into one continuous loop for testing I filled the new chiller tank and started leak tests - all good EXCEPT for the plastic feed from the tank to the Grundfos pump that has a slight drip. I'm not entirely surprised as I wasn't particularly satisfied with this pipe run - it is of course rather a pain to sort out. I did try a crude bandage of self amalgamating tape squashed with a Jubilee clip as a temporary fix but it wasn't having it. Of course when the pump is running, as it's under suction, it doesn't leak, but I'll have to re-work it somehow.

But the good news is that all the rest of the pipework is sound and good to go :thumbup:

Then I started on the pump from the bore hole, making up a weighted suction hose using one of those house bricks that has holes rather than a frog, as this allows it to be securely tied to a safety rope. Weighted as otherwise it curls all over the place.

Once this was secured on the pump and lowered down the well, it was a case of a few alterations to the existing 25 mm MDPE plumbing feeding the horticultural area, and running 32 mm MDPE from the pump to a Tee junction feeding this modified pipework. The 32 mm will continue in the trenches to the foundry but currently just goes to a stop cock for testing.

The pump control unit has a male 1" BSP plastic spigot at the bottom for feed from the pump, and at the top for flow out. Both gave horrendous problems getting a good seal, having to be re-made several times - I loath plastic screwed fittings! But we got there in the end.

The final flow rate, although I've not yet measured it, seems excellent.

mattinker:
That's really coming together!!

hermetic:
Watch that suction pipe, the corrugations caused me no end of trouble to get it sealed! It was stopping the pump lifting on my rainwater recycling rig, and I eventually use ptfe and two jubilee clips to get it to seal! It was leaking where it joined the foot valve, and allowing the pipe to drain out!
Phil

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