Habitat has a HUGE steam heat boiler that needs to be cut into smaller pieces. A gas torch is out - the manager is a cautious one. Is there anything different about using a plasma cutter on cast iron? I wouldn't think so, but I've never done it. I guess that you would get a lot of soot in the cloud of vaporized iron.
Bob
We tried the sledge hammer route, scoring first with an abrasive blade. I wasn't surprised when we didn't get very far with too much work. The sections vary from 5/16 to 9/16 thick, with the occasional rib. At one spot I gave 4 mighty (!) blows with a 12 lb sledge & it didn't even crack.
But I did get the OK for the plasma cutter. I brought a couple of pieces home to try & it cuts pretty much the same as equal thickness of steel, as you would expect. My cutter is pretty much entry-level, so it will be pretty slow, but still faster & much easier than the sledge. With a 20% duty cycle, I figure that I can cut 6-1/2' of 5/16 thick per hour.
Now I gotta go find a portable compressor, or more, that will keep up with the torch. Maybe the torch's 20% duty cycle will help.
Bob
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