Making a DIY smelting furnace

hey guys so got a crazy idea for a computer build and I need more tools to do it, so first thing I am making is a smelting furnace from a 55 gallon drum. Food grade so no need to worry about cutting, and only fumes it will give off is if the paint cooks off, and with my intended design with double layer 5cm isowool and refractory cement not sure the outside will heat up that much.

anways here is a teaser while I finish my design and work on parts before I put it together





(figure this is the right sub-forum for this )

 

Arrg - there is only one place in the world where that's a 55 gallon drum (and this isn't it).
To the rest of the world it's a 44 gallon drum unless you happen to live somewhere metric where convention converts it to a 205l drum.

I'll watch the build with interest - good luck.

2.

 

Intense fire! I'm in and really keen to see how you cast

 

whadderyasmeltin?

 

It's a 44 gallon drum.

 

thats a BIG furnace!!!!


the king of DIY had a nice small one on his channel that worked pretty good

 

it could be a 55kg drum use to have them at work.

Good luck with the build, I've been tempted to make one myself but from a old gas bottle.

 

keen to see how this goes

 

This is a ridiculously large furnace.

 

Planning to smelt car doors and neighbourhood children.

 

probably going to make a different furnace for more practical melting of metal, but this furnace is so large so I can bake moulds for full mono block cooling solution for an XL-ATX mobo with 2 gtx x80 graphics cards for PLA lost wax style casting, the chamber of the furnace will be like a pill shape. (also yes it is a 205L or 44 gallon drum , my bad sorry)

here is a mock up of the size my moulds will be

 

Subbing to this, I worked in a Cast Iron Foundry for 10 yrs


Click to view full size!

 

So you actually aren't smelting at all, correct terms aside this is pretty cool, and big. What are you going to fuel it with?

 

did my concrete base last night, going to be a little while til I can get this fully going as total fire bans in Victoria most of this week




layer of refractory cement



dodgy mould for base support



mould in place



and filled, now to let it set overnight

 

so been a busy day



refractory cement set so I removed the mould pic is before I cut off the toilet paper roll and the plastic is a cut up 1.25l bottle



finished cutting out the hole with my dremel for the stainless steel pipe, and cut the 'ribbed' bottom of the stainless steel pipe with tin snips to be able to flare it out



so I have either made a very tall chimney for my 'kiln' or the world's most sturdy Lincoln hat



My super efficient drilling table (forgot to take a snap after bolting on the chimney, will pop that in tomorrow)

 

You are from NA - aren't you.

Still waiting with interest to see what is going to keep this beast warm.

2.

 

ISOWOOL time



setup and tracing my lid to get bottom size, (I am wearing a cheap dust mask and put the gloves on right after this pic, is a bitch popping one off all the time for pics but I love you guys )



isowool for bottom of my furnace



putting the torn up base of the cement mould on to line up basic cuts.



now to squeeze it in and hope it fits



was a tight squeeze and I forgot to take a pic, but for 2nd layer of isowool I opted to cut my circle in 4 to make putting it in easier, above is with 3 of the 4 inserted, and the bottom layer intact, I packed the small spaces around my supports with little bits of cut up isowool

 

last piece inserted and gaps mostly filled



level it



and more refractory cement



then ducked down to supa gas to refill bbq bottle and picked up this small torch, that I will hopefully use as the starting block for my burner, guy there said I should just skip a regulator so here's hoping I don't blow myself up when the burner is a shit load bigger and air forced. (down the road would love a dual fuel burner with lpg start and then swap onto my brother in law's moonshine )

 

nah, Aussie born and bred, was being silly with my 3 1/2 year old niece after I bolted the chimney on and was wearing the thing as a hat

will see how my crappy burner goes but plan on doing one of the homemade jet type ones, (and in true computer modder style thinking of using a coolermaster jetflo instead of a blower and 3D printing the mount for it )

 

Great updates so far mate, keep them coming!