The Burner Challange

This is how I refer to this project now.

I am way over my head electrically, mathmatically, financially, and

any other ally that you can imagine.

It is amazingly fun at the same time. If you pray, pray that I don't blow myself up. Yesterday I finished attaching the Gas Valve (from a natural gas furnace) and blower assembly together. I started to rig the electrical together and blew the mini transformer! Arrrgh.

I hope to finish the electrical with help tomorrow, and then on to the gas line connection. Don't worry, I do have a safety shut off valve set up.

This is how it should work.

There is a gas grill starter that will lighting the pilot light after the blower is turned on low, and then the gas. If the pilot light goes out it will automatically shut the gas off in the valve, so that the furnace will not fill with gass fumes (which could create a bad bomb like effect). We don't want this! So once I finish the safety/ electrical connection, I will attach the gas and do a safety test. Hopefully this weekend. I hope this weekend to pour the castable refractory. This should take a few days to dry, and then on to the real fun of casting!!!!

I am in the middle of building the tongs to remove the crucible from the furnace, which I forgot to take a picture of. I am working on purchasing a high temperature thermocouple and reader so that I can read the temperature of the melted metal. I should have a gauge that will read up to 2300F degrees!

Shown below from left to right is the pilot light and thermocouple on the bottom and the blower/burner output pipe on top, the T section is the connection for the gas which plugs into the gas valve. The output pipe inserts into the blower (a vacuum motor) which has a control valve that allows more or less air depending on the pressure and mix of gas to air ratio required for the perfect output flame.

Below is a detail of all the wiring that is still in a jumble.

You can see the starter (the red button) and the transformer to power the 110 volts down to low voltage to run the gas valve.