On Tue, 07 Jul 2015 15:19:03 -0500, Ignoramus11126
wrote:

On 2015-07-07, Terry Coombs wrote:
Ignoramus11126 wrote:
I wanted to melt copper and cast an ingot.

My question is, can I melt it in an iron tray and cast into a cast
iron pot?

Or will copper dissolve/stick to iron?

You need a real crucible (probably a clay/graphite at those temps) for those
temps , and green sand or oil bonded sand for the mold . What kind of heat
source and enclosure di you have in mind ? There are naturally aspirated
LPG/natgas burners that will put out that much heat , but forced air is
probably more efficient . I suggest you start with aluminum and work up to
the hotter melting metals ...


Right now, just for trying, I am using a small 2,400F electric heating
furnace. Melting copper in a steel box.

The biggest problems melting copper are dissolved oxygen and hydrogen.
They cause porosity and other problems. That's why they use
electrolytic refining for anything that requires clean copper.

--
Ed Huntress