The Shop > Metal Stuff
Oil fired crucible furnace
AdeV:
Are there any nice'n'simple plans for a high-output oil burner out there anywhere? I see lots of these things on Youtube & the like, but rarely a set of plans or easy to follow instructions...
I've acquired a barrel full of old motor engine oil, I was planning to centrifuge it and use it as fuel for the old Lister CS engine, but with winter approaching & not having started on the centrifuge yet, I wondered if I couldn't make an oil-burning stove to help keep me warm while I slave over a cold Jag engine...
Fortunately, my dockside location means I'm not in a smoke-free zone, and I could (in theory at least) put the burner unit outside & use a heat-exchanger to extract the heat without having to vent the fumes.
(PS: Sorry for the thread hijack, just seemed that anyone who was interested in oil burners are probably tagging along here.... pls feel free to reply via PM rather than pollute this thread - ESPECIALLY if you are warning me about fumes, the legality of burning old motor oil, etc.)
vtsteam:
--- Quote from: unc1esteve on November 04, 2013, 04:34:03 PM ---Vtsteam,
Have you seen this burner?
Comments.
--- End quote ---
Hi unc1esteve,
1.) I believe what he melted was pot metal, which you can do over even a wood fire -- considerably lower melting point than even aluminum. The door handles he melted were, I believe brass plated over the pot metal. They are cheap and widely available.
2.) oil is overkill for that purpose -- though it can be done. But charcoal briquets would have worked as well and been less dangerous than his particular setup.
3.) The oil delivery pipe was huge, and plastic, and the gate valve oversized and difficult to control. 1/4" copper pipe with a needle valve would have been more appropriate.
4.) No shutoff valve at the oil reservoir. His control valve is his shutoff valve. A fire in this area would prevent interrupting the flow, which is gravity feed instead of siphon.
5.) Oil reservoir located too close to burner.
6.) Furnace looks to be cement -- inadequate for brass melting temps. Okay maybe for pot metal.
7.) water and waste motor oil have very different viscosity, so something that atomizes water may not do well with that kind of oil -- also dependent on temperature. Diesel fuel is more like water in viscosity, if a burner does not work well for waste oil.
The style of burner is standard blown oil pipe. Ironman was one of the earliest users I'm aware of to develop this for small furnaces like ours. Lionel of backyard metalcasting /alloyavenue was a much later popularizer. WC Amen in his book shows earlier incarnations. Steve Chastain gives good engineering info on flares for oil burning, etc, but I think Ironman's is by far the simplest and best developed of these. His pressurizes the oil line, I believe.
The type of burner I use (Kwiky) is also requires a source of pressure, not just a blower. The difference is that the oil is atomized by a air jet -- like a spray gun -- before being mixed with the blower air. I have never tried any other burner so I can't fairly compare mine with any other. It does work, though, and melts iron.
I would like to see the above list of problems corrected by anyone contemplating an oil burner. I don't think it is hard to accomplish a safer system than the one shown, at minimal expense. The most expensive part for doing brass work will probably be the furnace itself, not the burner. Inexpensive hi temp refractories are a challenge to find nowadays. I happened to have firebrick on hand, but also needed fireclay, and good refractory sand. A lot of our local sand has shale and other sedimentary rock in it so isn't very refractory.
vtsteam:
--- Quote from: AdeV on November 04, 2013, 08:25:23 PM ---Are there any nice'n'simple plans for a high-output oil burner out there anywhere? I see lots of these things on Youtube & the like, but rarely a set of plans or easy to follow instructions...
--- End quote ---
Adev, here's an oldie that I've always like the looks of:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/renewable-energy/free-heat-zmaz70sozgoe.aspx
vtsteam:
unc1steve -- a few more thoughts about that video:
He wasn't prepared with an ingot mold to pour the remainder of his metal into after the mold pour.
His crucible was very tall for its diameter, and so therefore difficult to pour from.
He was pouring what looked like a lost foam pattern in loose sand, not a conventional removable pattern (like your wooden plaque) in a greensand filled flask. That's quite a different process.
He seemed like a person who had not done any reading outside of some internet or youtube dabbling. I strongly suggest that anyone contemplating casting read David Gingery's furnace book(s) and or Terry Aspin's books. Reading both will give a good background in all aspects of molding and casting in an easy to read format. They are all inexpensive paperbacks.
unc1esteve:
When I first saw the video I thought it
was a joke. This guy could have easily
set himself on fire when the 'furnace'
flamed over. His clothing looked like
the flammable synthetic type.
What I am interested in is the simplicity
of the burner. Will continue on today.
Need to set up outside.
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