Cutting Heating Costs

Proper furnace care and smart purchases can help you reduce the high costs of heating your home. That’s good news considering that energy bills-which are already historically high-are expected to continue to climb. In fact, a recent article in USA Today reported that homeowners on average will see a 25.7 percent increase in heating costs compared to a year ago.

To reduce heating costs, experts say that the energy efficiency of your furnace is extremely important. According to Jim Miller of Amana brand furnaces, "Homeowners don’t have much control over the price of natural gas, but they can take steps to minimize the impact of home heating costs." He offers these tips:

1. Have Your Furnace Checked. "If you haven’t already done so this year, have a licensed HVAC contractor inspect your furnace now," Miller emphasized. "He can perform a safety inspection and clean your furnace so that it runs as efficiently as possible."

2. When Buying a New Furnace, Choose High-Efficiency. A furnace’s efficiency is indicated by its Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency percentage, or "AFUE," a measurement developed by the U.S. Department of Energy. The higher a furnace’s AFUE, the more efficient it is. "Furnaces older than 15 years operate at efficiencies of approximately 60% AFUE. This means that for every dollar spent on heating costs, only 60 cents actually helps warm your home, while the remaining 40 cents is wasted.

"If you were to replace that 60% AFUE furnace with a high-efficiency unit, such as the Amana brand AMV9 96% AFUE Variable-Speed Furnace, you would get 96 cents worth of warmth for every dollar you spend toward heating your home," said Miller.

He added that furnaces with a variable-speed blower are even more efficient because the blowers typically require up to 75 percent less electricity than a standard motor. In addition, a furnace’s blower also works with the home’s cooling system, meaning consumers experience increased efficiency year-round.

3. Investigate Tax Credits for High-Efficiency Furnace Purchases. Thanks to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT), homeowners who purchase furnaces with an AFUE of 95% or higher in 2006 and 2007 may qualify for a tax credit of $150. And if that furnace uses a variable-speed blower, they may qualify for an additional $50 tax credit.

By: Trevor Russell

For more information and tips on minimizing your utility bill, visit www.amana-hac.com or call (888) 292-6262. Some energy-efficient furnaces can cut heating costs-and provide a tax deduction.

Metal Casting Torches And Furnace Torches Described

Oxy-fuel cutting and oxy-fuel welding can be described as the processes of using oxygen and fuel gases to either cut or weld metals. There are some striking differences between these two processes. In the first process, a cutting torch is made use of for heating ferrous metal to a temperature of around 980 degree Celsius. An oxygen stream is being trained on a hot metal that combines with iron chemically which later flows from the kerfs, or cut in the form of slag of iron oxide. In the second process, a ‘welding torch’ is made use of for welding metals.

Torches that burn the inside fuel with air (atmosphere) cannot be termed as oxy-fuel torches. They stand out owing to the use of single tank. This is because oxy-fuel cutting/welding requires oxygen, fuel, and two tanks. It’s not possible to melt some of the metals with single-tank torches. Hence, these torches can be used for brazing and soldering, but not for welding. A metal-cutting torch is better known as hot blue spanner, blue wrench, hot wrench, smoke wrench, and gas-axe.

Types of Torches: The torch can be defined as the part held and manipulated by the welder to get the weld made. It possesses a valve and connection for oxygen and the same things for fuel gas, a handle to obtain the grip, an integrating chamber (angularly set) where there occurs a mixing of oxygen and fuel gas, with a tip where formation of flame takes place. The fuel gases used along with oxygen include propylene, propane, hydrogen gas, MAPP gas, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), and the most widely used is acetylene.

Injector Torch: It can be defined as an archetypal oxy-fuel torch, also known as an equal-pressure torch. It carries out the mixing of mere two gases. The injector torch operates in such a way that high pressure oxygen comes out of the tiny nozzle present in the torch head, and the fuel gas gets dragged towards it via the venturi effect.

Rose-bud Torch: The use of this torch is to carry out the heating of metals for straightening, bending, etc. It is generally used where a huge area requires heating. It produces a rose-bud shaped flame at the end, hence the name. This torch can carry out the function of heating small areas like rusted bolts and nuts as well. However, here, filler rod won’t be used with torch.

Cutting Torch: The head of the cutting torch is used for cutting metal. Its identification details are as follows: The inside of the torch consists of a combination of oxygen and acetylene. It helps in producing flame of a high temperature. It consists of 3 pipes going to a nozzle at 90 degree. It also contains an oxygen-blast trigger which blasts away the material during its cutting by the way of providing oxygen.

Welding Torch: The welding torch consists of either 1 or 2 pipes running towards the nozzle without oxygen-blast trigger. As the name suggests, it performs the function of welding.

Go to Metal Casting Zone to get your free ebook on Metal Casting at Metal Casting. Metal Casting Zone also has Sand Casting Information, Spin Casting Information and a Metal Casting Blog with daily news on Metal Casting.

Cupola Casting Information

A Cupola is a type of furnace that is very much alike to blast furnace. The Cupola furnace is refractory lined, stack of steel that is around 20 to 35 feet high. It rests on a base plate that is made of cast iron and has four legs. The casting that is obtained from the cupola furnace is known as a cupola casting.

Cupola Furnace: The Cupola furnace is one of the oldest forms of furnace that have been used by the iron and metal foundries. The Cupola furnace is the crudest and the simplest furnace that has been used by the industries. However, the cupola’s use is declining and the furnace is fast being extinct.

Merits of the Cupola Furnace: Though the electric or the blast furnace has started replacing the Cupola Furnace, it has some special benefits of its own. The Cupola furnace can always remain continuously in action. The furnace also offers a very high melting rate. The most important merit of the furnace is that it has relatively very low melting cost. The furnace has also permits a lot of ease of operation.

However, due to the invention and development of the electric furnace, the use of Cupola furnaces has substantially declined. The electric furnace melts a much larger amount of metal. The operation cost of the electric furnace is also very low. The electric furnace also emits a much smaller level of smoke heat and also pollutants.

Construction of the Cupola furnace: The Cupola furnace is constructed in a crude and simple manner. The Cupola furnace is a vertical structure like a steel shell. The steel is lined with refractory bricks from the inside. The furnace has an opening half way in the vertical shaft. The charge is introduced through the opening. The charge is divided into different layers. It contains the metal that is to be melted. The metal is mixed with coke, fuel, and lime stone flux. The fuel is burnt directly into the air and is introduced in to the furnace through the tuyeres which are positioned above the hearth. The hot gases that have been produced ascend and pre heat the charge.

The cupolas in majority of the cases have drop down doors. The bottoms can be dropped down to facilitate the cleaning and the repairs. At bottom in front of the furnace is a tap hole. The molten metal is removed from the tap hole. At the rear there is also another slag hole. The top of the stag is covered with a spark or fume arrester.

Usually the cupola has a diameter of 405 to 2000 mm. It is operated on varying fuels for different metal ratios. The molten metal that can be produced in the copula of this size at a speed of 1 to 30 tones per hour.

Continuity of process: After the process of melting has ended, the charging is halted. However, the blast of hot air is always maintained till all the metal has been melted and has been taken out from the tap hole. When the air cools down, the doors at the bottom are opened and the residue that has been left behind is removed

Go to Metal Casting Zone to get your free ebook on Metal Casting at Metal Casting. Metal Casting Zone also has Cupola Casting Information, Cupola Casting and a Metal Casting Blog with daily news on Metal Casting.

Induction Furnace And Cupola Furnace Information

In Metal Casting, the type of furnace you have at your foundry, or workshop determines a lot of the work you can or can not do. Many metal casters enjoy making their own furnaces and have done so quite successfully. The plans for home made furnaces are eagerly shared among the enthusiasts so finding blueprints and instructions should not be difficult. But before you rush off to find the blueprints you may want to take time to learn about the types of casting furnaces available to help determine which one will suit your needs. This is not saying that you should only have one furnace at any given time, but this way you will know what project will work best for which furnace.

Cupola

Cupola furnaces are among the most popular with backyard foundries. Many casters construct their own cupola which proves to be cost effective and highly efficient if done properly. Since cupola furnaces can achieve high melting temperatures they are primarily used for the melting of iron and bronze, though aluminum can also be melted when attention is paid to keeping the temperature low. The primary fuel source for cupola furnaces are coke using limestone for flux.

By not using a crucible, the Cupola furnace is able to melt the metal at a faster rate. While individual designs of these furnaces differ due to varying resources and design ideas, the basic component of a cupola furnace is the same. The cupola furnace must be elevated above the ground and installed with a drop bottom usually hinged, which will allow the excess metal, fuel source, and other waste to drop from the furnace. The tap hole and shaft which will allow the molten metal to flow from the furnace and into the ladle and air shafts are also required. A slag tap hole can be placed on the furnace usually in the back, higher then the tap hole, which will allow the slag to flow out easily.

With most small home foundries, the cupola furnaces are preferred over that of other furnaces for its high melting rates and for how easily the construction of such a furnace can be.

Reverberatory

The Reverberatory Furnaces are commonly found in industrial plants but there have been quite a number of home grown foundries that have used this furnace type with much success. The basic idea of a Reverbeatory Furnace is to use the heat reflecting off a surface, usually brick, to heat the metal, which is aluminum in most cases. This way, the metal does not come into contact with the fuel or the flame. This process is also used in Puddling Furnaces. The name Reverberatory and Puddling are often used interchangeably. By placing the metal in a shallow depression and then directing an intense flame over that depression and to the wall, the heat rebounds to melt the metal. Many casters will adjust the length of the flame since a longer path will mean that the heat will be more intense.

There are many designs for the reverberatory furnace, all of which will include exhaust ports and the rear of the furnace must be able to withstand the intense heat and be able to bounce it back into the chamber.

Bronze, aluminum, tin, and many other ores can be melted in a reverberatory furnace all depending on the construction of the actual furnace and the heat of the flame. This type of furnace has been around since at least the Middle Ages and was used primarily for bronze work.

Electric Arc

Electric Arc furnaces are normally used in Industrial foundries. Most hobby casters do not use these furnaces due to cost, space issues, and a general inconvenience. There are two forms of the electric arc furnace, the direct and indirect.

The direct arc has three electrodes which are used to heat metal by way of the arc. This creates an incredible amount of heat and so water jackets and other cooling devices will be needed for operation.

The indirect arc just uses one electrode and works in much the same way as the direct arc furnace.

Electric Induction

Electric Induction furnaces are becoming all the more popular with large industrial size foundries that enjoy the clean burning and efficiency of an electrical furnace. Copper coils surround the crucible with the metal inside which can reach extremely high temperature suitable for melting most metals.

Rotary

The Rotary style furnaces are hailed for their ease of use being fully or at the very least partially automatic. These furnaces tend to be harder to construct though there are resources and companies online that sell rotary furnace.

The different furnace types do affect the quality of the work being produced, so it is important to keep that in mind as you cast. With a little trial and error, you should find the perfect furnace to fit your needs so you can start building one of your very own.

Go to Metal Casting Zone to get your free ebook on Metal Casting at Metal Casting. Metal Casting Zone also has Cupola Furnace Forum, Induction Furnace Blog and a Metal Casting Blog with daily news on Metal Casting.