Metal Casting Zone

I have already burned throug 2 crucibles made from fire extinguishers. The second even had a coating of furnace cement on the outside. I hadn't seen that the base was a crimp connection, and the alum disolved it from the inside. I haven't yet emptied a propane cylinder but will use that next.
I also have a stainless steel utensil cup from Wally World I'm going to try, as per the previous post. I've coated the outside with furnace cement, and guess I should try coating the inside ,too!

Happy Turkey Day!

chuck in E. Tennessee

chucketn wrote:
I have already burned throug 2 crucibles made from fire extinguishers. The second even had a coating of furnace cement on the outside. I hadn't seen that the base was a crimp connection, and the alum disolved it from the inside. I haven't yet emptied a propane cylinder but will use that next.
I also have a stainless steel utensil cup from Wally World I'm going to try, as per the previous post. I've coated the outside with furnace cement, and guess I should try coating the inside ,too!

Happy Turkey Day!

chuck in E. Tennesseei made my melting pot from 100mm galv. pipe. im on my second pot now. my pots last for about 50 melts although i burnt out the weld i made on the the bottom plate the other day. what a mess lol i couldnt beleive it here i waiting for my melt and then when i looked my melt was gone!moral of my story. check the pot before using.lol

Same thing happened to me with the first fire extinguisher crucible. I kept feeding in scrap, but it wasn't filling up! finally saw the puddle of aluminum in the bottom of the coffee can furnace, and it had started running down the pipe toward my blower. Shut down just in time!
So far I've just cast ingots in a cup cake tin, but have a couple of patterns made. The one I posted on my site has been modified to remove the obvious undercut. Guess I should post a pic of the revision...

Chuck in E. Tennessee

we are busy casting model wheels and small farm toys at the moment with great success i too will need to update some pics.

chucketn wrote:
I have already burned throug 2 crucibles made from fire extinguishers. The second even had a coating of furnace cement on the outside. I hadn't seen that the base was a crimp connection, and the alum disolved it from the inside. I haven't yet emptied a propane cylinder but will use that next.
I also have a stainless steel utensil cup from Wally World I'm going to try, as per the previous post. I've coated the outside with furnace cement, and guess I should try coating the inside ,too!

Happy Turkey Day!

chuck in E. TennesseeIf your going to use a propane cylinder be EXTRA careful as the propane gas resides in the tanks metal. Before cutting or drilling on one I would fill with water and rinse this twice. Once empty and dry check for the gas smell. If still there I would use a quart of motor oil and roll tank with it in it to spread the oil. This should make it safe to cut or drill. If odor persiste repeat water and oil processes. P.S. I needed one for an air compressor tank so left outside for three years and the gas smell was still there. Had removed the fill valve assembly. Good Luck. Happy Bird Day too,Haha

To cut a small propane tank (14 or 16 oz size):
1: Remove the valve
2: Fill the cylinder with water
3: Cut with an angle grinder and a cut-off disc

Note: When the cut-off disc first penetrates the cylinder the water will leak out until it reaches the cut line. Wait a few moments until the leaking stops, then continue cutting. I've cut quite a few like this without any problem. I have even cut a 20 lb. propane cylinder using the same process.

I believe that the smell from one of these cylinders is NOT the smell of propane but is rather the smell of an odor agent mixed with the gas to act as a leakage warning. It is very persistent but can be reduced by washing the inside of the cylinder with soap and water.

Jack

Yea. When I cut mine, I did not even remove the valve. I left it hooked up to a lantern and open over night. Then I drilled a hole in it (no sparks are created from drilling). I did fill with water. Then i used a dremel to cut it.

when i cut my propane cylinder i drilled a hole first and then used a hacksaw slowly to cut around. the smell is a agent mixed with gas for saftey as lpg is odourless and hence would be very dangerous. after i cut my cylinder in half it still stunk for a week!!! obviously there wasnt any gas left. but better to be safe than sorry