Old Water Heater

[StrawHat]

Having just replaced my hot water tank, I was getting ready to scrap the old one when I wondered if anyone has used the burner as a heat source for a smelter? Is this a doable idea or is the turkey fryer a better one?

[Mooseman]

It is usable...Most I have seen are Nice cast iron burners 6-8 inches in diameter.
If the temp sensing thermocouple is moved so doesn't get hot( as in the water temp) the burner will keep Burning with the gas valve assy it has now.

[Dan Cash]

I just scrapped a water heater and had the same idea. Upon examination, the burner on this one was stamped steel and not very heavy. Also, the air control for the burner was part of the tank cover. The whole thing went to the dump pit. I bought a cooker from crawfish.com http://www.crawfish.com/jet-cooker.html which is very functional and priced right at $54.00 to my door.

[Nobade]

They do work well, and the main bonus is they run on city gas instead of propane, so are quite a bit cheaper to run. If you have a gas tap somewhere outside your house you can build a good smelting setup near that for a source of fuel.

I also built a redneck hot tub once using one of those and a cast iron bath tub, but that's a little off topic...

[Hardcast416taylor]

There are hot water heaters that are set up to run on propane besides the type that run on natural gas. About the only difference between them is the gas orfice diameter. For all the work that is required to tear the burner unit out - buy a cheap turkey fryer!Robert

[mtnman31]

I used a gas burner from a water heater to make my smelter. I pieced together a few fittings to tie it into a gas output in the garage and ran the hose out my garage window. It worked great. Like was mentioned, it is cheaper than buying propane. The only downside to mine is that it is either on or off. There is no temperature control other than me turning the supply off and on. I know I could make it temperature controled but I only smelt every so often and it isn't worth the effort to make it any more complictaed than it has to be. Now that I've moved to a different place, I'll have to get some different fittings so I can hook it up to the natural gas outlet that the barbecue grill uses.

[Duckiller]

Cut the tank length way and turn it it to a goods BBQ.

[Freightman]

Great smoker can be made from it, it will last for years as it is glass lined, or at least mine was.

[a.squibload]

Dang, I have a new water heater in the basement,
was gonna toss the old one. Will check how bad it is
to strip down, wifey has been after me to get or make
a bigger smoker.
Have an empty 55-gal drum but don't know what was in it,
haven't opened it since I found it!