I can tell you what happens if you spill molten aluminum on concrete. It ain't pretty. It EXPLODES. When the moisture in the concrete boils, it goes BANG. It goes everywhere. It goes up in the air. In my case it came down on the top of my head. Yes, hot liquid metal burning into my head. I was wearing a face shield so I'm lucky I'm not blind. I'm lucky my scalp recovered and don't have a bald patch. I have scars on my legs as it shot through my clothing. It was a very bad day. That was on dry concrete. What you are doing on WET concrete is VERY dangerous. Don't do it. Do it on the lawn or in a pan filled with sand. I might be sounding dramatic, but that is what happens. Don't let it be you.
@@lundgrenbronzestudios Thanks for the reply. Watching this, I was cringing inside after what happened to me. Molten metal is a formidable thing and should be treated with respect. Sorry to put this horror story on your channel, but I had to say something. The bang was like a gun shot. Hopefully my experience will help those that read it. Many won't unfortunately. The risk is real. I don't want it to happen to others. Stay safe. Matt from Australia
Those 30 pound cylinders intended for RV use have an excess flow check valve for safety. Always open the valve very slowly, if too fast and your ear is close, the click can be heard. Great furnace, I have the 6 kg vevor and it works great.
Lucas, you have knocked it out of the park, again! This is a tremendous video, which is absolutely packed with practical and useful information. You never cease to amaze me!
Came here from your glacial gold channel! There is something about you ! I love your honesty and your ability to learn from mistakes and show us how to be better! Don't ever change!
i just got a very similar 2 burner 12kg furnace. i got it cause i was having trouble with melting bronze on my crappy single burner. now bronze is no problem! i got a little vevor metal lathe and have been casting my bar stock to practice with. I'm super impressed that you've melted cast iron in that little furnace! woah! i thought you'd need a cupola for that and a long wait! Thanks for running one of the most informative home metal casting channels. i learn a lot of great stuff from your videos
Well you not gonna with one of these !! Max temp is only about 2400 degrees and iron takes 2900 to 3000 continuous! Propane won't get there on these !! I've been smelting for 10 yrs now
@@lundgrenbronzestudios disc brake rotors are made from ductile cast iron which is good for many things, curious to see if it will melt that. Just looked it up: ''The melting point of ductile iron can range from 2100°F to 2250°F, depending on the grade of ductile iron: ASTM A536 Grade 80-55-06: Has a melting temperature of 2100°F '' Should do it
I've been thinking about getting into this and now that I've seen this video and this review I definitely am going to go this route. Thank you for putting it through its paces and always thank you for keeping it real. You're one of my favorite UA-camrs for that!
One thing to remember is that iron and carbon really like each other so if you melt too much iron containing metal eventually you'll dissolve the graphite crucible. Really need to go over to ceramic for iron. 😉
My wife purchased this exact model for me for Christmas. I have experience with coal/charcoal blacksmith forges, but no prior experience with propane forges, nor with melting furnaces of any kind. I found setting up and operation pretty straight forward. I can say that melting copper was very easy and I had no problems. I have to agree that the tongs that come with the kit are no good for lifting the or pouring the crucible. Please please, invest in a good set of lifting tongs and pouring tongs as was suggested in the video. As a side note in that vein, I used refractory cement on the inside of my furnace and put on a fairly thick layer. As a result, the lifting tongs do not fit inside with the crucible and I have to reline the furnace using a thinner layer. Just something to be aware of if you go the refractory cement route.
Thanks for the video. I get a lot of brass / zinc/aluminum alloy from locksmithing, I’ve been wanting to melt it into ingots for better storage but I can’t find anything large enough for the odd shapes and since I’m not a forge guy yet I didn’t want to make one I do know a little and I was glad to see you told everyone to coating the wool
One thing I need is total cost of accessories ie: tongs molds ect. And how much is the cost of propane vs the value of product by the pound. I have 5 large trash cans of crushed aluminun cans I would love to get the most out of. Plus a bunch of copper wire. Thanks, the cost of the Furnace after registering is $89.99 for the 6kg (gold) and $158.99 for the 12kg (gold) after becoming a member. Great video I plan on going back and watching more.
That stuff that you had next to the iron billet was slag. The next time you decide to smelt iron, make sure you use some flux or limestone powder to separate the slag from the malted metal.
I use a product called Satanite to cover the inside of the kaowool in my homemade furnace. It's not expensive and works really well. When correctly prepared it looks like the greenpatch you used. It takes a few days to dry after you apply it (I use a minimum of 2 coats, wait until the first is mostly dry then apply a second one) and after it's completely dry I fire it with an empty furnace for at least 30min. It has held very well for a few years.
I've got this same furnace. I used Stannite refractory coating. I had to do two applications because of cracking and things got pretty lumpy. The thin SS shell warped after a couple of firings so I have considerable leakage around the edge of the lid. Still works. I've only melted aluminum so far but intend to try copper & brass. I've got a larger fire brick lined furnace that I've been using for a few years. I tried the Vevor in forging mode but I'm not setup well for that. The blast coming out the front I partly blocked with fire bricks but then it was difficult to get the work in & out. Need a lot longer tongs. The cast iron melt was interesting. Didn't expect that. Will iron destroy that crucible? Safety! I agree get off the concrete, it will blow out. I invested in fire resistant chaps, boot covers & gloves plus a full face shield. Never wear synthetic clothes when casting! If the crucible breaks or you spatter molten metal it will eat right through you!
Good test. My Devil's forge is similar with one burner. I am not sure if it will reach to cast iron but other metals have been OK. It is a good idea to use a heat bath under the gas tank. My problem with the Winter work is the freezing gas. Must try this.
What do you think about making polystyrene foam molds for taxidermy, I could see these being good for shoulder mounts or decoys. My question is how well do you think this foam will hold up, also you could maybe strengthen the foam with fiberglass while keeping it lightweight. I’ve made foams using the polystyrene beads in making neck plugs for cryogenic dewars , but I think it could have some practicality for taxidermy and make taxidermy forms much cheaper. What are your thoughts ?
Just gpt tje 8k, looking at coating options, then a good tong design, so great timing. Going to make a larger one since I have most of the materials. Going to try using one propane burner and one used oil burner.
Aluminium cans are ultra pure aluminium as is aluminium cable. Most other “aluminium” is a copper magnesium aluminium alloy of varying composition. The ABS plastic coating on drink cans leaves a nasty soot when burnt.
I wish this existed 20 years ago. I've used propane, charcoal, oil, wood and coal in my home made furnaces. I currently use a huge electric kiln to fire my investment molds and melt aluminum.
I have those tongs that you pinch the side of the crucible with, but I only use them for a small melts. I don’t use them when I do large melts because I’ve seen a lot of accidents happen online and I don’t want that to happen when I do the 10 pounds That is with cast-iron and the poor temperature is a little different than it’s melting temperature and I know it says 2200° but you have to get it a lot hotter to do that like the pouring temperature is close to 3000° like 2800° to be able to get it hot enough to melt it and pour it and when it’s melted I’ve melted a lot like three or four times I’ve melted it less than a year actually maybe like two years I think and it’ll look like silver and it will be really really fluid and you’ll see your reflection in it too. Just giving some advice on if you decide to do it anymore you’ll know what it looks like
Dude try using Plaster Paris with a vermiculite mix and a little high heat cement play with the mix till you get a working mix. It's less expensive and can do the job.
I got one of these from Vevor. Not the exact same model. I haven't used it because I am nervous about lifting the hot crucible with that metal holser you said would be dangerous. I'm not sure where to get a proper lifter and I need a large crucible. I don't know where to get one of those either. This video is excellent. TY!
Ive been making homemade furnaces since the king of random made that mini metal foundry video like 10 years ago. I finally cracked down and bought a devils-Forge and I gotta say I couldn't belive how crappy my home made furnaces where compared to it, the damn thing can melt copper in 10 minutes, normally I'm pushing 25-35 minutes to melt as much as I did in my first go with it. Given that the FBM2B or whatever it was I bought the 10KG model only cost me $300 id absolutely recommend it to anyone who wants to get into the hobby or there smaller one for $220 Id guess the amount I was spending to build my own not even counting my time was around $200 and you'd sure as hell save a ton on the propane.
Thanks for the review. What would you think of their 16kg furnace? It claims to be made with 20% thicker steel and thicker insulation of 50mm. The two torches look the same on 16kg and 12kg models, if that's the case, I hope it can still melt cast iron just as well or better than the 12kg. I would love to know what you think.
Thank you for your reply! 16kg claims to have thicker insulation at 50mm, how thick is the 12kg furnace insulation? The burners appear the exact same, but it is hard to say for sure from the photos. I am hoping to melt cast iron, so it's exciting to see that it's possible. @@lundgrenbronzestudios
la ventaja de este horno es que esta construido con manta ceramica y este material refractario es muy efectivo para alcanzar la temperatura rapidamente, pero para utilizar frecuentemente no sirve. el roce con el util de sacar el crisol lo va rompiemdo y sufre un deterioro muy rapido. la tapa es aun de menos calidad y se deforma. los quemadores van bien, yo he construido un quemador igual para un horno vevor que compre solo para examinarlo, el horno que compre lleva solo un quemador y es con crisol de 7kg. los crisoles chinos no duran casi nada. a mi se me rompen rapido. yo compro crisoles de carburo de silicio, que son de un uso mas profesional, los hornos los fabrico con ladrillo refractario de alumina. para hornos pequeños utilizo quemadores de propano tipo venturi como estos, pero si el horno es un poco mas grande, construyo el quemador de propano con aire forzado por ventilador centrifugo. si el horno es de mas de 25kg de bronce, entonces los quemadores se los hago para funcionar con gasoil y aire forzado con ventilador centrifugo.. saludos
Seems to me that this is a perfect kit to build your own anyway. I'm not a fan of the thin wall stainless, or how thin they have the ceramic blanket. But if I were to make my own furnace, I'd much rather use the twin burners, valves and accessories that this comes with, so I don't have to source my own or possibly not build it correctly.
I have this furnace at home and I am very satisfied, but never try cast iron. I have seen plenty of videos a there said everywhere it cant be melted. So I never tried.I cant wait try it myself
How about melting down battery plates? The plate filler has always been a question for me to get to melt down into pure lead, but I've never had a proper furnace to melt my lead.
I would not use that much heat to melt lead, I've melted a lot of lead in my life and toxicity is overrated when working with metallic lead. Batteries on the other hand have some other additives and lead oxides and I don't think I would melt one. I've heard of people doing it chemically.
useful stuff. I was surprised at the cast iron too. I have a second hand smaller vevor one that has the same warp in the lid, so I am thinking its just a thing...I'm not using the casing I bought it for the burners and the refractory because it was such a good buy. Who ever used it before me didnt coat the ceramic wool so who knows what happened. I actually made my own rigidiser and was able to soak the ceramic fibre but I still went ahead and coated it with fire cement just to be sure (an extra £30 is worth my lungs) Did you flux the crucible? thanks for sharing
@@lundgrenbronzestudios I have a couple of similar crucibles and I wasn't sure but it seems like doing it is just a better idea than not doing and won't cause any problems but could stop a few. As far as I can tell fluxing is usually to stop precious metals from sticking to crucibles but stopping copper or bronze sticking seems like a good idea too. Thanks for answering
The tank gets cold from the propane changing from a liquid to a vapor. It's not usually a problem when using it in a low flow environment, but when pulling large amounts of gas like this it is. What the tank needs is heat from the environment to vaporize the liquid. Once propane gets to around -42 (Celsius or Fahrenheit, either works) it will just stay a liquid and you can pour it into a cup.
@@lundgrenbronzestudios i think it can make molten steel with a single upgrade. burners get plenty hot. im 90 percent sure the 2700f is cuz the refractory is rated for that. i got 3000f refractory blanket that ive used to line my home maid blast furnace. thats the same thickness this uses. nice review of the product. shows me what i needed to know. good job! and dry sand you should be putting hot items on. bad things happen other wize.
Yes only to 2000F deg Sodium silicates are stable in neutral and alkaline solutions. In acidic solutions, the silicate ions react with hydrogen ions to form silicic acids, which tend to decompose into hydrated silicon dioxide gel.[citation needed] Heated to drive off the water, the result is a hard translucent substance called silica gel, widely used as a desiccant. It can withstand temperatures up to 1100 °C.
the iron was impressive for what it is... my approach to aluminium is use old castings only... extrusion never really makes for nice pours. drink cans? aluminium oxidises. a can has lots of surface and almost no material, along with the plastic coating to filth things up. just make piles of dross. get a sand pit. work with molten metals, do it on a floor of sand...
Thank you very interesting video, i also recomend not to breathe ceramic fibers they can cause cancer. Very good advise to cover them. Also every refractory dust is not healthy because of silicon dust. Be careful use respirator mask and change clothes when working with refractory materials.
UA-cam creator luckygen1001 melts a lot of cast iron. If I recall, he always cuts and analyzes sprues to make sure alloy has proper carbon matrix for best properties. So many antiques are made from cast iron. Remember when I was a kid having an elaborate large toy bank made from CI. They are quite valuable now, unfortunately mine was stolen. Cast Iron is very fluid - great for thin wall castings.
@@lundgrenbronzestudios Frankly, I think a furnace with a heavy cast slurry 1-2" 3000F materials inner lining with an Koa-wool outer blanket will hold up longer, especially with cast iron. Just an uneducated guess though - time will tell, I guess. Also surprised only one layer of wool, not two? Wonder what the wool's tmp rating is? Nice score on both the furnace/forge and the GreenPatch - sweet! Looking forward to more cast iron projects.😊
Great ! But it's not difficult at all to make it yourself ; with 2 burners the heat is better distributed, this is hard to find refratory with enough high grade of temperature resistance for melting steel; but y have foud a yellow clay aroud a spring in the forest that can do that ! It vitrifer a little but with a furnace well designed that can do the job ...for free !
@@lundgrenbronzestudiosThanks for your answer , You think his superiority is especially provided by the 2 good burners installed tangentially ? Y think that the heat exhaust can be reused in an heat exchanger made of stainless steel tubing in an additionnal chamber, for preheating the air intake of the burners, at hundreds of degrees , to make an extremely high temperature flame, ad so an economy and power gain, this is by that way of preheating the primary air supply that coal power plant and blast furnaces work, i am extremely curious to test this ! 🤗
That regulator reminds me of the one that was on my RV. If it was cold I would go to take a shower or cook dinner and the burner would light but then immediately run down and go out. I would have to light the pilot light on the stove and it would stay lit. After a while it would finally give me back its full flow. Absolute pain in the dick.
Had no idea I needed to coat the insulation!? Thanks! Back when I was using propane a lot and the tank would freeze I would use a weed burner to heat the tank up. Looks crazy but works good. No recommended for the faint of heart, but neither is casting. On a pipe like that, probably whats burning off is poopoo, ha ha. I look forward to the after 6 mos review.
@@lundgrenbronzestudios Relatively speaking. If you let it cool slowly, it will have better physical properties/less brittle. Don't take my word though,, ask the almighty OZ. The all-knowing Great Oz recommends leaving the cast in the mold until cool.
Don't need to buy expensive (or even cheap) burners. Following great 'Luckygen1001", I use just a thin (~8mm) pipe squashed at the end and force feed air from old vacum cleaner. Melts Cast Iron in 12min from cold.
Yep I just ordered one, definitely want to try some cast iron. Based on this and other youtube videos the common issue seems to be the lid warps, might try to set a large discarded disc brake rotor atop to act as a heat sink. Or possibly make a new lid out of solid refractory with stainless steel mesh for reinforcement
It’s not dangerous. I was just doing it for a test. I have a crucible for each metal when I do my sculptures. Mixing al with copper simply makes aluminum bronze. Mixing iron with bronze is simply another alloy of bronze.
Be careful not to overheat, whats really needed is a gauge in between the tank and the regulator to monitor tank pressure, should keep it below 200 psi.
I can tell you what happens if you spill molten aluminum on concrete. It ain't pretty. It EXPLODES. When the moisture in the concrete boils, it goes BANG. It goes everywhere. It goes up in the air. In my case it came down on the top of my head. Yes, hot liquid metal burning into my head. I was wearing a face shield so I'm lucky I'm not blind. I'm lucky my scalp recovered and don't have a bald patch. I have scars on my legs as it shot through my clothing. It was a very bad day. That was on dry concrete. What you are doing on WET concrete is VERY dangerous. Don't do it. Do it on the lawn or in a pan filled with sand. I might be sounding dramatic, but that is what happens. Don't let it be you.
Sand would be better you are right.
@@lundgrenbronzestudios Thanks for the reply. Watching this, I was cringing inside after what happened to me. Molten metal is a formidable thing and should be treated with respect. Sorry to put this horror story on your channel, but I had to say something. The bang was like a gun shot. Hopefully my experience will help those that read it. Many won't unfortunately. The risk is real. I don't want it to happen to others. Stay safe. Matt from Australia
@ no it’s good to share that kind of thing.
@@lundgrenbronzestudios Yeah i guess. Its only a matter of time before some thing bad happens.
Are you able to pin my comment so it stays at the top ?
Those 30 pound cylinders intended for RV use have an excess flow check valve for safety. Always open the valve very slowly, if too fast and your ear is close, the click can be heard. Great furnace, I have the 6 kg vevor and it works great.
i assume this is plain ol propane and propane accessories, not like LNG or something else
Lucas, you have knocked it out of the park, again! This is a tremendous video, which is absolutely packed with practical and useful information. You never cease to amaze me!
Brilliant review! Thorough, precise, and hit every bullet point. No fluff or fat.
Came here from your glacial gold channel! There is something about you ! I love your honesty and your ability to learn from mistakes and show us how to be better! Don't ever change!
I appreciate that!
Same.
lol I just found his small channel but he often post videos there🤣
i just got a very similar 2 burner 12kg furnace. i got it cause i was having trouble with melting bronze on my crappy single burner. now bronze is no problem! i got a little vevor metal lathe and have been casting my bar stock to practice with.
I'm super impressed that you've melted cast iron in that little furnace! woah! i thought you'd need a cupola for that and a long wait!
Thanks for running one of the most informative home metal casting channels. i learn a lot of great stuff from your videos
I tried smelting my own iron and melting it and I was not able to get that to melt. So it seems that it’s very alloy dependent.
Well you not gonna with one of these !! Max temp is only about 2400 degrees and iron takes 2900 to 3000 continuous! Propane won't get there on these !! I've been smelting for 10 yrs now
@ did you watch the video?
@@lundgrenbronzestudios disc brake rotors are made from ductile cast iron which is good for many things, curious to see if it will melt that. Just looked it up:
''The melting point of ductile iron can range from 2100°F to 2250°F, depending on the grade of ductile iron:
ASTM A536 Grade 80-55-06: Has a melting temperature of 2100°F ''
Should do it
I've been thinking about getting into this and now that I've seen this video and this review I definitely am going to go this route. Thank you for putting it through its paces and always thank you for keeping it real. You're one of my favorite UA-camrs for that!
I always keep it real.
One thing to remember is that iron and carbon really like each other so if you melt too much iron containing metal eventually you'll dissolve the graphite crucible. Really need to go over to ceramic for iron. 😉
Good to know.
My wife purchased this exact model for me for Christmas. I have experience with coal/charcoal blacksmith forges, but no prior experience with propane forges, nor with melting furnaces of any kind. I found setting up and operation pretty straight forward. I can say that melting copper was very easy and I had no problems. I have to agree that the tongs that come with the kit are no good for lifting the or pouring the crucible. Please please, invest in a good set of lifting tongs and pouring tongs as was suggested in the video. As a side note in that vein, I used refractory cement on the inside of my furnace and put on a fairly thick layer. As a result, the lifting tongs do not fit inside with the crucible and I have to reline the furnace using a thinner layer. Just something to be aware of if you go the refractory cement route.
Another great video. Thanks again. Its worth buying for the crucible, tongs, fire bricks and burners, and chuck the rest!
vevor is really going places with their assortment!
Seems like they make everything now.
Thanks for the video.
I get a lot of brass / zinc/aluminum alloy
from locksmithing, I’ve been wanting to melt it into ingots for better storage but I can’t find anything large enough for the odd shapes and since I’m not a forge guy yet I didn’t want to make one
I do know a little and I was glad to see you told everyone to coating the wool
One thing I need is total cost of accessories ie: tongs molds ect. And how much is the cost of propane vs the value of product by the pound. I have 5 large trash cans of crushed aluminun cans I would love to get the most out of. Plus a bunch of copper wire. Thanks, the cost of the Furnace after registering is $89.99 for the 6kg (gold) and $158.99 for the 12kg (gold) after becoming a member. Great video I plan on going back and watching more.
Glad to hear about this. Been looking at it for a while
Great Review.
This video and the comments will help me decide which propane forge I buy.
Maybe Devil Forge will send me one to review.
happy you are back.
A reasonably well made product at a low cost to satisfy your diy needs. Excellent review with a good window -shopping- making experience❤👍👍
I like the cardboard under the crucible trick. I've had the fire brick come up with the crucible.
I coat my plinth in Satanite, that avoids any stickiness and have never had a problem with it
Thanks for the review. Definitely going to consider this for a starter melting furnace.
The fact you were able to melt cast iron is a win in my book.
I was surprised.
That stuff that you had next to the iron billet was slag. The next time you decide to smelt iron, make sure you use some flux or limestone powder to separate the slag from the malted metal.
Outstanding review. Best on UA-cam 👏👏👍😀
I use a product called Satanite to cover the inside of the kaowool in my homemade furnace. It's not expensive and works really well. When correctly prepared it looks like the greenpatch you used. It takes a few days to dry after you apply it (I use a minimum of 2 coats, wait until the first is mostly dry then apply a second one) and after it's completely dry I fire it with an empty furnace for at least 30min. It has held very well for a few years.
I actually have used that as well. I didn’t like it as much because it cracked so badly.
I was just looking for something like this, thanks for the recommendation.
6:50 For all my survivalist buddies, this why you have/carry more than one flame source. Bics struggle in the cold.
Truth! 😆
I've got this same furnace. I used Stannite refractory coating. I had to do two applications because of cracking and things got pretty lumpy. The thin SS shell warped after a couple of firings so I have considerable leakage around the edge of the lid. Still works. I've only melted aluminum so far but intend to try copper & brass. I've got a larger fire brick lined furnace that I've been using for a few years. I tried the Vevor in forging mode but I'm not setup well for that. The blast coming out the front I partly blocked with fire bricks but then it was difficult to get the work in & out. Need a lot longer tongs.
The cast iron melt was interesting. Didn't expect that. Will iron destroy that crucible?
Safety! I agree get off the concrete, it will blow out. I invested in fire resistant chaps, boot covers & gloves plus a full face shield. Never wear synthetic clothes when casting! If the crucible breaks or you spatter molten metal it will eat right through you!
That looks significantly nicer and cheaper than the pre-fab 10kg furnace I bought a few years ago. I couldn't make that furnace for twice that price.
Winter melting tip, use multiple bottles of gas with a crossover. That way you have a smaller draw from each bottle and they don't freeze as easily.
keep them warm ;)
This has more details than other review videos
Been thinking of getting one.
Great review, Amazon price is a lot higher than if you buy direct from vevor
Good test. My Devil's forge is similar with one burner. I am not sure if it will reach to cast iron but other metals have been OK. It is a good idea to use a heat bath under the gas tank. My problem with the Winter work is the freezing gas. Must try this.
I haven’t tried a devil forge. They look nice though.
What do you think about making polystyrene foam molds for taxidermy, I could see these being good for shoulder mounts or decoys. My question is how well do you think this foam will hold up, also you could maybe strengthen the foam with fiberglass while keeping it lightweight. I’ve made foams using the polystyrene beads in making neck plugs for cryogenic dewars , but I think it could have some practicality for taxidermy and make taxidermy forms much cheaper. What are your thoughts ?
Very neat demonstration, thanks.
Just gpt tje 8k, looking at coating options, then a good tong design, so great timing. Going to make a larger one since I have most of the materials. Going to try using one propane burner and one used oil burner.
Aluminium cans are ultra pure aluminium as is aluminium cable. Most other “aluminium” is a copper magnesium aluminium alloy of varying composition.
The ABS plastic coating on drink cans leaves a nasty soot when burnt.
I wish this existed 20 years ago. I've used propane, charcoal, oil, wood and coal in my home made furnaces. I currently use a huge electric kiln to fire my investment molds and melt aluminum.
I have those tongs that you pinch the side of the crucible with, but I only use them for a small melts. I don’t use them when I do large melts because I’ve seen a lot of accidents happen online and I don’t want that to happen when I do the 10 pounds That is with cast-iron and the poor temperature is a little different than it’s melting temperature and I know it says 2200° but you have to get it a lot hotter to do that like the pouring temperature is close to 3000° like 2800° to be able to get it hot enough to melt it and pour it and when it’s melted I’ve melted a lot like three or four times I’ve melted it less than a year actually maybe like two years I think and it’ll look like silver and it will be really really fluid and you’ll see your reflection in it too. Just giving some advice on if you decide to do it anymore you’ll know what it looks like
What type of burner do you use for that?
Dude try using Plaster Paris with a vermiculite mix and a little high heat cement play with the mix till you get a working mix. It's less expensive and can do the job.
Nicely done!
I got one of these from Vevor. Not the exact same model. I haven't used it because I am nervous about lifting the hot crucible with that metal holser you said would be dangerous. I'm not sure where to get a proper lifter and I need a large crucible. I don't know where to get one of those either. This video is excellent. TY!
I made my own lifting tongs. I haven’t perfected them yet so I haven’t made a video.
I baught a kit of crucibles on amizon . They were pretty cheap.
Ive been making homemade furnaces since the king of random made that mini metal foundry video like 10 years ago. I finally cracked down and bought a devils-Forge and I gotta say I couldn't belive how crappy my home made furnaces where compared to it, the damn thing can melt copper in 10 minutes, normally I'm pushing 25-35 minutes to melt as much as I did in my first go with it. Given that the FBM2B or whatever it was I bought the 10KG model only cost me $300 id absolutely recommend it to anyone who wants to get into the hobby or there smaller one for $220 Id guess the amount I was spending to build my own not even counting my time was around $200 and you'd sure as hell save a ton on the propane.
I would love for you to test if you can DIY ceramic slurry out of some wild clay.
The ancient way. That would be a fun test.
the trick is finding the ideal wild clay...
Thanks for the review. What would you think of their 16kg furnace? It claims to be made with 20% thicker steel and thicker insulation of 50mm. The two torches look the same on 16kg and 12kg models, if that's the case, I hope it can still melt cast iron just as well or better than the 12kg. I would love to know what you think.
Bigger chambers are harder to heat. Unless they have bigger burners it’s probably not going to preform as well.
Thank you for your reply! 16kg claims to have thicker insulation at 50mm, how thick is the 12kg furnace insulation? The burners appear the exact same, but it is hard to say for sure from the photos. I am hoping to melt cast iron, so it's exciting to see that it's possible. @@lundgrenbronzestudios
Yes. Thanks dude
Iv got yhat one. Also got there small forge. It works but im going to upgrade this year.
What are you going to get instead?
Very interesting thankyou !
la ventaja de este horno es que esta construido con manta ceramica y este material refractario es muy efectivo para alcanzar la temperatura rapidamente, pero para utilizar frecuentemente no sirve. el roce con el util de sacar el crisol lo va rompiemdo y sufre un deterioro muy rapido. la tapa es aun de menos calidad y se deforma. los quemadores van bien, yo he construido un quemador igual para un horno vevor que compre solo para examinarlo, el horno que compre lleva solo un quemador y es con crisol de 7kg. los crisoles chinos no duran casi nada. a mi se me rompen rapido. yo compro crisoles de carburo de silicio, que son de un uso mas profesional, los hornos los fabrico con ladrillo refractario de alumina. para hornos pequeños utilizo quemadores de propano tipo venturi como estos, pero si el horno es un poco mas grande, construyo el quemador de propano con aire forzado por ventilador centrifugo. si el horno es de mas de 25kg de bronce, entonces los quemadores se los hago para funcionar con gasoil y aire forzado con ventilador centrifugo.. saludos
Seems to me that this is a perfect kit to build your own anyway. I'm not a fan of the thin wall stainless, or how thin they have the ceramic blanket. But if I were to make my own furnace, I'd much rather use the twin burners, valves and accessories that this comes with, so I don't have to source my own or possibly not build it correctly.
The blanked is inset so it is actually thicker than it looks. It’s an inch thick.
Do you live near Minneapolis because like you got the top the tater and the Smith sharpe fire brick supply
You must be a detective. Yes I live in Minnesota.
Great video cheers, it looks good.
great info thanks for the share! stay awesome!
Wooowww !
You can't go taking the Mick out of our TV.
Why do you think that I am watching UA-cam 😂😂
I’m not sure what you mean?
Great review. The whole Vevor thing will not be as cheap once tariffs are introduced I gather.
I guess we will see how it all plays out. Interesting times.
I have this furnace at home and I am very satisfied, but never try cast iron. I have seen plenty of videos a there said everywhere it cant be melted. So I never tried.I cant wait try it myself
I may have just had an alloy that worked. There seems to be a lot of different mixes of cast iron.
They have an electric one as well, it would be good to see a review of it.
Maybe they will send me one of those next?
i is itc for my furnces works great gaind about 15 percent more heat.
I’m not sure what that means.
How about melting down battery plates? The plate filler has always been a question for me to get to melt down into pure lead, but I've never had a proper furnace to melt my lead.
I don’t want to handle lead. It’s too toxic.
I would not use that much heat to melt lead, I've melted a lot of lead in my life and toxicity is overrated when working with metallic lead. Batteries on the other hand have some other additives and lead oxides and I don't think I would melt one. I've heard of people doing it chemically.
useful stuff. I was surprised at the cast iron too. I have a second hand smaller vevor one that has the same warp in the lid, so I am thinking its just a thing...I'm not using the casing I bought it for the burners and the refractory because it was such a good buy. Who ever used it before me didnt coat the ceramic wool so who knows what happened. I actually made my own rigidiser and was able to soak the ceramic fibre but I still went ahead and coated it with fire cement just to be sure (an extra £30 is worth my lungs)
Did you flux the crucible?
thanks for sharing
I did not flux the crucible. My past crucibles I didn’t need to, this one though I think maybe should be.
@@lundgrenbronzestudios I have a couple of similar crucibles and I wasn't sure but it seems like doing it is just a better idea than not doing and won't cause any problems but could stop a few. As far as I can tell fluxing is usually to stop precious metals from sticking to crucibles but stopping copper or bronze sticking seems like a good idea too.
Thanks for answering
Do more Vevor stuffs!
I’ll do their electric furnace next.
Would wrapping an electric blanket around the tank set on low prevent freezing?
Possibly. I’ve never tried that one. I just go with the hot water.
@lundgrenbronzestudios Ok, thanks.
The tank gets cold from the propane changing from a liquid to a vapor. It's not usually a problem when using it in a low flow environment, but when pulling large amounts of gas like this it is. What the tank needs is heat from the environment to vaporize the liquid. Once propane gets to around -42 (Celsius or Fahrenheit, either works) it will just stay a liquid and you can pour it into a cup.
i wonder if i could make wrght iron spung with it hmm.
I’m not sure.
@@lundgrenbronzestudios i think it can make molten steel with a single upgrade. burners get plenty hot. im 90 percent sure the 2700f is cuz the refractory is rated for that. i got 3000f refractory blanket that ive used to line my home maid blast furnace. thats the same thickness this uses. nice review of the product. shows me what i needed to know. good job! and dry sand you should be putting hot items on. bad things happen other wize.
Can you use Water Glass , used also to seal eggs to preserve?
Sodium Silicate I think is the real
Name.
I’m not sure. I’ve never heard of that being used but silica is not really made for temperatures that high.
Yes only to 2000F deg
Sodium silicates are stable in neutral and alkaline solutions. In acidic solutions, the silicate ions react with hydrogen ions to form silicic acids, which tend to decompose into hydrated silicon dioxide gel.[citation needed] Heated to drive off the water, the result is a hard translucent substance called silica gel, widely used as a desiccant. It can withstand temperatures up to 1100 °C.
Cool, thanks Man.
the iron was impressive for what it is...
my approach to aluminium is use old castings only... extrusion never really makes for nice pours.
drink cans? aluminium oxidises. a can has lots of surface and almost no material, along with the plastic coating to filth things up. just make piles of dross.
get a sand pit. work with molten metals, do it on a floor of sand...
Can you use this as a Pizza oven?
Not recommended. 🍕
Thank you very interesting video, i also recomend not to breathe ceramic fibers they can cause cancer. Very good advise to cover them. Also every refractory dust is not healthy because of silicon dust. Be careful use respirator mask and change clothes when working with refractory materials.
Bravo........alwise pre heat metal......no snow.....cheers
UA-cam creator luckygen1001 melts a lot of cast iron. If I recall, he always cuts and analyzes sprues to make sure alloy has proper carbon matrix for best properties. So many antiques are made from cast iron. Remember when I was a kid having an elaborate large toy bank made from CI. They are quite valuable now, unfortunately mine was stolen. Cast Iron is very fluid - great for thin wall castings.
Yeah luckgen1001 is a metal master. He really knows his stuff.
@@lundgrenbronzestudios Frankly, I think a furnace with a heavy cast slurry 1-2" 3000F materials inner lining with an Koa-wool outer blanket will hold up longer, especially with cast iron. Just an uneducated guess though - time will tell, I guess. Also surprised only one layer of wool, not two? Wonder what the wool's tmp rating is?
Nice score on both the furnace/forge and the GreenPatch - sweet! Looking forward to more cast iron projects.😊
Great ! But it's not difficult at all to make it yourself ; with 2 burners the heat is better distributed, this is hard to find refratory with enough high grade of temperature resistance for melting steel; but y have foud a yellow clay aroud a spring in the forest that can do that ! It vitrifer a little but with a furnace well designed that can do the job ...for free !
I’ve made several furnaces. You learn with each one which is valuable. But I’ve never been able to make one as good as this one.
@@lundgrenbronzestudiosThanks for your answer ,
You think his superiority is especially provided by the 2 good burners installed tangentially ?
Y think that the heat exhaust can be reused in an heat exchanger made of stainless steel tubing in an additionnal chamber, for preheating the air intake of the burners, at hundreds of degrees , to make an extremely high temperature flame, ad so an economy and power gain, this is by that way of preheating the primary air supply that coal power plant and blast furnaces work, i am extremely curious to test this ! 🤗
That regulator reminds me of the one that was on my RV. If it was cold I would go to take a shower or cook dinner and the burner would light but then immediately run down and go out. I would have to light the pilot light on the stove and it would stay lit. After a while it would finally give me back its full flow. Absolute pain in the dick.
Yeah. That’s the one.
Had no idea I needed to coat the insulation!? Thanks! Back when I was using propane a lot and the tank would freeze I would use a weed burner to heat the tank up. Looks crazy but works good. No recommended for the faint of heart, but neither is casting. On a pipe like that, probably whats burning off is poopoo, ha ha. I look forward to the after 6 mos review.
I’ll keep you posted.
Yes coat the insulation. It's extremely dangerous to your long term health not to.
I don't think cast iron should be quenched after casting else will be brittle.
Cast iron is always brittle.
@@lundgrenbronzestudios Relatively speaking. If you let it cool slowly, it will have better physical properties/less brittle. Don't take my word though,, ask the almighty OZ. The all-knowing Great Oz recommends leaving the cast in the mold until cool.
I’ve noticed that Chinese instructions will use the word iron for steel.
Ah that makes sense too.
Love your videos mate, so informative.. Now I just have to get of my ass and do some casting.
That manual said "... iron and manganese... " not magnesium!
Oh. I’m dyslexic. 😆
😀
Don't need to buy expensive (or even cheap) burners. Following great 'Luckygen1001", I use just a thin (~8mm) pipe squashed at the end and force feed air from old vacum cleaner. Melts Cast Iron in 12min from cold.
I’ll have to look at that. That guy is a metal master.
I saw this guy did not upload the videos for over 5 months, is there any other channel from him?
@ not for metal casting but I have a gold panning channel called the glacial gold hunter.
@@ryans6982 don't think he has another channel, as u see, he have tons of his experiences here
@ I think ryan was referring to luckygen1001
if I buy one i'll use your link/.
Yep I just ordered one, definitely want to try some cast iron. Based on this and other youtube videos the common issue seems to be the lid warps, might try to set a large discarded disc brake rotor atop to act as a heat sink. Or possibly make a new lid out of solid refractory with stainless steel mesh for reinforcement
When I see Vevor, I run the other way.
It’s entry level equipment. But this thing works pretty well.
Please make sure the cans are empty and dry. If not they will explode your furnace when the liquid is submerged. It’s very dangerous
12:39 lmao 🤣
Hey there is a second channel
2:33 that's what she said 😂
Tried to buy. Coupon doesn’t work😂
It seems like you need to try to enter the code again and then it would work😂
@ I think it’s bc I have a pro account.
Uh oh. I’m not sure how to fix that.
"Two in at once" lol
Twice the fire.
The hell? I swear I just bought a nut splitter and a flywheel puller from them.
They make everything it’s amazing.
DEVIL FORGES ARE THE BEST YOU CAN BUY !
They seem good. I’ve never tried one. Probably thicker steel.
Never, ever use the same crucible for different metals!
It’s not dangerous. I was just doing it for a test. I have a crucible for each metal when I do my sculptures. Mixing al with copper simply makes aluminum bronze. Mixing iron with bronze is simply another alloy of bronze.
Man, I need to quit watching these kinds of videos. I have too many hobbies as it is. 😂
😆
Ese horno es un juguete, para utilizar frecuentemente no sirve
Does it not last?
I have found if I put a 1200W halogen lamp RIGHT next to the propane tank, it's usually good enough to keep pressure at down to -8C..
I’ve never tried that. Good tip!
Lol I know the look you had on your face all too well! That omfg I need long johns now look
Be careful not to overheat, whats really needed is a gauge in between the tank and the regulator to monitor tank pressure, should keep it below 200 psi.
This entire thing is dangerous and probably not a good idea for most
Every furnace is dangerous.
ua-cam.com/users/shortsNlZ16J1rV6w?si=KVtbK2ly9w81BXJb