On Thu, 18 May 2006 09:56:07 -0500, "Robert Swinney"
wrote:

Lloyd,

Your comments, please, on the feasibility of melting aluminum in a crucible
from the heat of an oxy-acet rosebud heater.

Thanks,

Bob Swinney

It works for small melts, but fuel cost is very high.

Make yourself one of the self-aspirated propane-air burners described
at
http://www.abana.org/ronreil/design1.shtml

These are very inexpensive to make out of plumbing parts and a $2 MIG
nozzle. You'll need a regulator capable of about 20 PSI and a 20 lb
propane bottle as from a gas grill. I also highly recommend the
stainless conical 1:12 flare nozzle from Larry Zoller for under 10
bux.

You'll also want a few firebricks to make a little housing to surround
your crucible. Such a setup will melt a pound or two of aluminum
in a few minutes. You can gather everything you need for less than
the cost of one oxy and acet refill, and propane refills are
comparatively very inexpensive.

There's a photo of the flame from my first Reil burner at
http://www.abana.org/ronreil/burner2.jpg

I later built a side-arm burner that works even better, probably
produces about a quarter million BTU/hr.

There are those who have melted iron with these burners in a
refractory enclosure.