Fuel for a coffe can furnace

If it will be uses outdoors, I'd suggest a good propane torch. If you don't need to control the fuel flow, a BernzOmatic TS4000T will do nicely, for about $40.

If you need to work inside and your working temperatures are low enough, you might consider an electric furnace. Both construction and operating costs will be considerably higher, though.

Propane is clean, widely available, inexpensive and relatively safe. It's hard to spill. MAPP shares all these advantages except cost, but it does burn hotter. If you insulate your furnace well, propane should serve just as well, but at a significantly lower operating expense.

Electricity is clean, readily available and safe (no poisonous CO to worry about), but its expensive.

White gas doesn't smell as bad, but it's more expensive. Both present greater storage hazards than propane.

You might benefit from my coffee can forge page.

It's a different but similar application. For a propane furnace, you would not remove the bottom of the can, and would mount it in the "normal" position. Inject the burner into the side just above the insulated bottom, at a tangential angle. You'd also need to make an insulated lid, etc., as usual with furnaces. If you're doing melts, be sure to use it over a sand pit.

Cheers!

Jim

Although true at face value, not having the gas pouring through the unit really gives effciency a kick in the nards! You can melt say four pounds of aluminum in around two hours (from a cold start) with just 1kW of power, so about 2kWh energy. (I made a small model once which burned 600W and melted

2 pounds in 2 hours.) Even if you're being gouged at $.10/kWh, that's 20 cents per melt. (A typical computer burning 300W plus 100W monitor costs $0.64/day if you turn it on when you wake up and off when you go to bed.) A propane-fired furnace may melt in 15 to 30 minutes, consuming enough to burn a 20lbs. tank in 30 melts, which costs anywhere from 8 to $30 depending on where you get it refilled. That goes from 26 to 100 cents per melt.

Tim

-- "I have misplaced my pants." - Homer Simpson | Electronics,

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --+ Metalcasting and Games:

Propane is a winner. You would do well to look at Ron Reil's site.

Ted

Thanks everyone for great advice and the web site John.

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Thanks, John.

I used a regular propane torch for mine. I would get about 3 melts from a 14 oz. tank