Pottery kilns

[ref1ection]

I was wondering if electric pottery kilns could be used to melt aluminum and if so are there any major pitfalls?

Ray

 

[flyinghospital]

yes they can , mine reaches 1300 c just about (nabertherm 100) , only problem is the sheer time and the electric bill !
and of course remember to switch off the kiln before removing and loading the Crucible , becomes problematic if you want to do more than one melt, due to the heat and of course being careful not to knock the elements .

electric with metal and flesh dont fair well in a fight .

Dave

 

[Journeyman]

My other half has a pottery kiln that lives in my workshop. I don't think it would be suitable for melting aluminium as:-

• the elements are fully exposed although the power is turned off if you lift the lid
• the refactory is very lightweight and quite flimsy
• it takes a long time to get up to temperature

Cheers
John

 

[shred]

I've done it in my little Neycraft kiln (goes to 2000'F, so they say), but as the others have said, it's awkward, especially in a little side-loader like the Neycraft-- skimming dross is a pain and getting the crucible in and out safely is difficult.

 

[ref1ection]

I've never had any experience with pottery kilns but have seen them for sale quite cheap in my area and thought it might be an easier option. Finding supplies to make a kiln has not been easy. Thanks guys for the replies. You've saved me some time trying this on my own.

Ray

 

[shred]

Well, if a nice smallish one with a controller comes by for a good price, think hard about snagging it anyway. It won't be great for melting metal, but they are nice to have for other things-- heat-treating steel, curing paint and powdercoat, melting glass, burning out wax and so on.

 

[ShedBoy]

I built my foundry from stuff I have found at the tip. I did purchase a decent castable refractory cement. It has been well worth the effort. Check it out here http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=14941.0

The original gas burner was not hot or quick enough so I made a simple dribble waste oil burner. It can melt 3kg of ali from cold in about 15 minutes. The only thing that cost money was the cement.
We used a kiln at school and it was PITA to use as stated above. But as SHred said they are handy for alot of other things. My 5 cents worth.

Brock

 

[Swede]

Some really good points. I like electric for anything EXCEPT melting metal. Electricity gives you very fine control when equipped with a good PID controller, and you can do some really nice heat treatment with it, including heat treating aluminum that you've just cast - which calls for temps close to melting.

But for foundry, it's hard to argue with the speed & convenience of gas. I read somewhere that a high-flow propane regulator yields up it's energy somewhere in the 200 hp range, meaning you're getting 140 kilowatts out of it while it's on high.