rhubarb
03-19-2009, 10:32 PM
Hello all.
This is my first post, but I've been reading a few months. I started casting two months ago. Thank you all for the information. I need a lot more, though. I'll ask in due time.
For now, I thought I'd share my waste oil powered smelter. Its origins trace back to the Mother Earth News waste oil heater found on the internets.
This is just a 12" cube from 1/8" steel plate. The air inlet and exhaust are 4" pipe. The pot is a 6" long piece of 6" pipe that's removable for cleaning. I have a tank a few feet away with a needle valve to control flow. The fuel tube is run around the exhaust stack to preheat the oil so that when it hits the combustion chamber it comes out as liquid fire. Other similar designs from which I borrowed have varying degrees of complexity for the burner where the oil drips to improve burning. I let it drip on the floor of the box and run across it until it burns up.
The fuel is used oil. I've only used motor oil from oil changes so far (keeps you motivated to keep those oil change intervals short), but it should run on used vegetable oil as well. I mix about 10% gas into the oil more to thin it than to make it burn better. Gas by itself burns too fast to put much heat in the smelter. It's not real smoky, but it is noticeable. I have a 5' long piece of vent pipe on the exhaust to get it out of my face.
I don't know how hot it gets, but if I really crank open the valve, I can get the sides of the box red. That's hot. On a moderate setting, it'll used a quart and a half to two quarts of oil per hour. It takes around 20 minutes to get up to heat and start melting lead.
I'd guess the pot holds around 60 lbs of lead. I've never had it full, though. I get too excited when I see the silver soup and start ladling.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12356&stc=1&d=1237516053
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12357&stc=1&d=1237516076
This is my first post, but I've been reading a few months. I started casting two months ago. Thank you all for the information. I need a lot more, though. I'll ask in due time.
For now, I thought I'd share my waste oil powered smelter. Its origins trace back to the Mother Earth News waste oil heater found on the internets.
This is just a 12" cube from 1/8" steel plate. The air inlet and exhaust are 4" pipe. The pot is a 6" long piece of 6" pipe that's removable for cleaning. I have a tank a few feet away with a needle valve to control flow. The fuel tube is run around the exhaust stack to preheat the oil so that when it hits the combustion chamber it comes out as liquid fire. Other similar designs from which I borrowed have varying degrees of complexity for the burner where the oil drips to improve burning. I let it drip on the floor of the box and run across it until it burns up.
The fuel is used oil. I've only used motor oil from oil changes so far (keeps you motivated to keep those oil change intervals short), but it should run on used vegetable oil as well. I mix about 10% gas into the oil more to thin it than to make it burn better. Gas by itself burns too fast to put much heat in the smelter. It's not real smoky, but it is noticeable. I have a 5' long piece of vent pipe on the exhaust to get it out of my face.
I don't know how hot it gets, but if I really crank open the valve, I can get the sides of the box red. That's hot. On a moderate setting, it'll used a quart and a half to two quarts of oil per hour. It takes around 20 minutes to get up to heat and start melting lead.
I'd guess the pot holds around 60 lbs of lead. I've never had it full, though. I get too excited when I see the silver soup and start ladling.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12356&stc=1&d=1237516053
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12357&stc=1&d=1237516076