[Jewelry making - Article 01049] - Re: [Orchid] Electric melt furnace comparison

[LEESSILVER]

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    The following information is for those of you on the list who might
    be considering buying an electric metal melting furnace in the
    future. 

    I normally do not get involved in evaluating a product on the
    jewelry supply market but I feel I must comment on a newer furnace on
    the market. 

    The newer METAL MELTING FURNACE 3KG uses a graphite crucible that
    has a molded recessed ring in the upper portion of the crucible. The
    furnace comes with tongs that are designed to grab the crucible at
    the groove and lift it out of the furnace to pour the metal into the
    mold. 

    In comparison the Kerr 100 gram electro melt furnace has a larger
    crucible that remains in the muffle when pouring the metal. 

    Things to be considered when looking at this new electric melt
    furnace. The comments about the grooved crucible are noted by XA. The
    comments about the Kerr unit is noted by XB: 

    1A. The crucible must be removed from the furnace by tongs. 

    1B. The crucible remains in the Kerr unit. 

    2A. The crucible will cool down rapidly when it is removed from the
    muffle to pour the metal. It will have to be reheated when
    reinstalled in the muffle. Considerable amount of reheating after the
    pour will have to take place with the grooved unit as compared to the
    Kerr furnace. 

    2B. The crucible in the Kerr unit does not cool down as rapidly when
    pouring metal. 

    3A. The crucible will deteriorate more rapidly when it is exposed to
    air while being out of the muffle. 

    3B. The crucible in the Kerr unit is not exposed to air and
    therefore will not deteriorate as rapidly. 

    4A. The inside diameter of the grooved crucible unit is 1 7/8
    inches. 

    4B. The inside diameter of the Kerr crucible is 2 1/5 inches. The
    larger diameter of the Kerr unit makes it easier to load big sprues. 

    5A. Pouring the metal from a crucible held by tongs that are around
    12 inches long is not precise. There is a great possibility the
    crucible might be dropped or the metal not poured exactly where you
    want it to pour. 

    5B. Pouring metal from the Kerr unit is as easy as pouring coffee
    from a cup. 

    6. While pouring the upper ring of both crucibles will cool. The
    upper ring must be reheated before pouring another load. The upper
    ring of the grooved crucible is much bigger that the Kerr crucible
    and therefore will require more heating between pours. 

    7. The grooved ring of the crucible will deteriorate. Grabbing it
    with the tongs becomes more risky. 

    8. An advantage of the grooved crucible unit is that it is cheaper.
    Being less expensive does not compensate for its disadvantages. If
    one is to buy the groove crucible unit I strongly recommend adding a
    heat shield and a handle so that the metal can be poured directly
    from the unit similar to the Kerr unit. 

    In my humble opinion if one is to buy an electric melting furnace
    they should stick with the KERR model. 

    I have no connection to KERR. 

Lee Epperson

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