Metal Casting Zone

Hello everybody,
I am going to be casting aluminium prototypes perhaps once or twice a month. Based on this small quantity which is more advisable, a charcoal furnace or a propane furnace?

Do you have any advice on using polystyrene molds?

Thank you for your help.

Charcoal: Pros- can be super cheap and duh-easy to build. Will melt aluminum with absolutely no problem. Cons- Messy, potentially smoky, less fine control of temperature, fuel can get pricy over the long run, difficulty placing crucible back in furnace for multiple pours. Did I mention messy?
Propane: Pros- ease of use. low mess, little if any smoke, nearly instant on and off. Fuel easily obtainable and everywhere, highly flexible as far as crucible choice is concerned. Cons- more pricy to set up correctly, burner design and build, a little more fussy about furnace materials, especially relating to efficiency, potential explosion hazard if used or plumbed incorrectly. Personal preference, when it comes down to it. A propane furnace will be a bit more difficult to build initially, but it will save time on the individual melts as far as setting up and shutting down. I'd go with propane if it were me.
By polystyrene, do you mean lost foam? Works like a champ, search for lost foam on this site and you will learn a lot. Too many variables to list in one short post.
Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Propane is so much easier and cleaner. Turn the valve and give it a light and it's melting in no time, easier to control the temp also.
I'm not sure what you mean by polystyrene molds. Are they patterns to use in sand or are they foam to do lost foam casting?

Well OddDuck got in ahead of me, I type too slow.

Yes welcome to the forum.

Propane is the way to go for anything more then a couple times. If you are just fooling around the charcoal is nice because it is easy to try the first time with little or no cost to begin with.

Basically I agree with all that was already said.

all that is left to say.... welcome to the forum from australia.

Thank you everybody for your advice and suggestions. I am going to go both ways.
First I will try the simple method with charcoal then move to Propane. As it happens I have a steel bladder tank which I can work on at leisure.

My first attempt will be to cast a base plate for a mini bowl vibrator which I have constructed from a old Braun Mixer which I was given 'free gratis'.

This I have made for deburring small and delicate machined aluminium parts and as a small model with the view to constructing a big one (2HP motor) at a later date.

One last question, has anybody cast aluminium rifle stocks?

when you are ready post a pic of the base so we can see what you are up against. rifle stocks??? i cant see why not but i havent cast any.