Depending on what kinf o burner you have its entirely possible to melt cast iron in the back yard type foundry furnace. I would not recomend it if you used home brew refractory, as its too undependable, but I routinley do cast iron melts for some stuff that needs to be cast iron and not alum or bronzes without a problem. I use a modified Monster burner, and 3200 castable refractory. 3200 deg ref is not a necessity , but when you get it for free why not use it..
I buiilt a small coupla and it was more of a hassle than it was worth just for a small ocassional pour of cast iron.....May e fine for larger pours but I certianly did not need anayhting any larger than my furnace already provided.
On Sun, 04 Dec 2005 17:28:05 GMT, "David Anderson" wrote: I've been pouring aluminum and brass for years, using natural gas or propane fired melt furnaces. Now, I want to try some small cast-iron pours - say under 5 pounds. Any words of wisdom from the group? Building a cupola is a last resort. TIA, Dave.