"Master-Blaster" Melting Furnace

"Master-Blaster" Melting Furnace

Part #2 - Refractory Packing

This installment is the progress that's been made in the evenings after dinner.

The burner tube is fitted one last time before the welding begins.

There has been a considerable amount of positioning of the tank, with the burner pointing in all possible directions and out the front seems to really be the only choice.

My constant companion and apprentice welder, Stephanie has the mask on her head to see if the old man did the job to her exacting specifications...

This is one kid that will be well equipped for life, given the skills she has acquired here at the workshop.ca...

She has seen every failure and been able to share in the satisfaction of sticking it out until success comes our way.

The Sono-tube will be the base form and the blue foam noodle will make the spiral flame trough in the Refractory.

The tank is bolted to the mower deck through the original motor mount with short lengths of 3/8ths threaded rod.

The excess is cut off so that it can still be wheeled about.

The base of the tank fits perfectly over the circular ridge of the inverted deck. Originally I was going to weld it into place, but I think this will be fine.

This is pretty standard stuff for home built furnaces, creating a matrix of wire to help keep the refractory together.

I did it the exact same way with the "FatBoy Blast Furnace" and have not had a moments grief with regard to the lid cracking or trying to separate from the lid.

The lid has a series of equally spaced 1/8th" holes drilled and 2" screws turned in. A length of #12 gauge wire is simply wrapped over the screws as shown.

The base also has the wire treatment...

I doubt that it really is required, but for the sake of an extra half hour, what is it going to hurt.

This is it!!! The "Mother-Lode" !!!

Pure Castable Refractory, the real thing, rated to 3,000 degrees F.

This has been squirreled away for almost year for this very purpose... This product is the last of the load that was banned from use since the wet castable became available in tubs.

Regardless of cost I will always use the real thing, the Fatboy's lining has withstood well over a hundred burns, and is exactly like the day it was poured.

I did exercise proper handling procedures, ie; canister type breathing mask, little to no skin contact...

Well what's the point of making a cement mixer if your never gonna use it?

And use it I did...

I can't say that it worked better than I thought, since I did expect it to mix. I was going to bolt 3 lengths of angle iron inside the bucket, but was glad that I didn't...

It just took a couple of scrapes of the trowel at the back to bring the dry material forward and once all was wet it was on it's own.

Stephanie is inspecting the lid that has cured over the last 24 hours. It must weight in at close to 100lbs.

The blue pool noodle has been ripped in half on the bandsaw and wrapped in a spiral around the 8" Sono-Tube. The end near the ground will actually be placed into the burner tube so that the flame trough that will be left in the refractory starts from there.

It is held to the Sono-Tube by 2 drywall screws.

Here is the Tube & Noodle encased in the refractory lining.

The tank is approx 16" in Diameter and the Sono-Tube is 8", so that makes for a full 4" of refractory lining.

I hope that the tube will just slide out but doubt it as the noodle is screwed to it. Since both are just paper and foam It will likely be burnt out.

The base is definitely over 100lbs, I would guess closer to 200 as it's so wet.

My concerns about the burner tipping the tank forward are now put to rest.

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