Question
Pardon me if this has been asked before:

I have a two-stage gas Arco furnace.  Every 3-4 months I am forced to
take out the burners and clean them out.  My theory is that the gas
can’t get through the dirty burners to come in contact with the glow
element.  The furnace tieos and tries to fire up but it can’t until I
clean them aluminum burners.  Or maybe too much dust is getting into the
intake, I have those crappy permanent foam-mesh filters.  Maybe it’s
that?

Or is my gas furance burning to rich?  Can this mixture of gas and air
be adjusted to make it burn cleaner so my burners stop from getting
plugged up all the time?

Answers
I think you should keep the area around the furnace clean and get a get a
pro to look at this.

Is it a down flow furnace by any chance?

Associated Down Flow Furnace Question: i am trying to convert up flow furnace in to down flow is that poss? can just turn the blower around ?
Content::ca i turn the blower around and install it that way?…is there a kit that could help me do that?….thank you.

• Answer:blower has to be before heat exchanger so you don’t cook motor. I haven’t ever tried but if there is not enough room for duct out top 2 floor and out bottom to return duct, then i suppose you can have a blower compartment made to set down draft blower on top then set evap. coil (if applicable) in old blower section. most heaters are multi position and you can set it up horizontally. good luck.

Associated Down Flow Furnace Question:Down flow gas furnace is acting up. All burners not fully lighting regularly?
The hot surface igniter glows red, gas valve opens and ignites gas in one of three chambers. After about 10 seconds, sometimes the “flame” travels to the other two chambers like it is supposed to. Sometimes the flame does not travel to the other two chambers and the furnace recycles and tries again. The flame sensor is in the chamber farthest from the chamber with the hot surface igniter that lights up first. The furnace is in a new home that is about 3 years old. I have also noticed that I have 3 cylindrical sensors in the burner area that appear to have reset buttons on the tops of them. I am guessing these are the flame “rollout” sensors. Does this sound like dirty burners or “crossovers”? Record cold temps are on their way and would really like to get the furnace operating correclty. Please help.

• Answer:sounds like dirty. if burners have air adjustments too much air mixing with gas. switches are safety for over heat and roll out. try shifting burners around and see if jump slot on burners are open

Associated Down Flow Furnace Question:what is the difference between a down-flow furnace and a up-flow furnace?

• Answer:downflows are usually put in attic and upflows are usually in the basement.

Associated Down Flow Furnace Question: How to install an a-coil in a down flow furnace for air conditioning?
I’m installing an a-coil in a down flow furnace, do I leave it the same orientation as installing up-flow, or do I flip the coil over so the air flow funnels through it, actually making this a v-coil? Doing this would leave me with the drip pan above, but I figured the air would flow better through it. I’m just sitting the a-coil in the box under the furnace so it’s there for the tech to hook up the lines. I’m not doing the soldering, just getting everything in place to save some money.

• Answer:Couple things, Central AC is not really a DIY project. but, if you insist, air will NOT flow better through your evaporator because you inverted it. also you might end up with an oil return problem which will destroy the compressor. and as you eluded to, the condensate drip pan HAS to be on the bottom. water leaking from it will rot the floor around your furnace. so please leave it in the same orientation as upflow. Further be sure to braze or silver solder the refrigerant lines as apposed to soft soldering like you would do with copper water pipes. if your system uses r-22 it will leak at these joints. if your system uses r-410 these joints could literaly blow apart not to mention the corrosive properties of soft solder flux. I highly recomend getting a pro to do this project for you. blower speed, location of the condensing unit, proper refrigerant charge, proper evacuation especially in the case of r-410 are all factors that could make or brake you on this project.

Associated Down Flow Furnace Question: Changing a gas furnace to an electric?
Ok here is the question the A core was on the bottom of the gas furnace(down flow) and all of the electric units I have seen the A core has been on top will it be safe to install the electric furnace( down flow) over the A core?

• Answer:A-Coil? Yes it will be perfectly fine. An A coil is placed on top of a furnace when it is an upflow, also the electric furnaces you have seen with the coil on top of a downflow furnace are called air handlers,they pull air across the coil through the return instead of blowing airacrosss the coil.

Associated Down Flow Furnace Question:Is there a big difference between a 125,000 BTU gas furnace and a 100,000 BTU??Please let me know. Thank You!?
I’m installing a down flow furnace and I don’t know which one is more convenient, if the 125,000BTU or the 100,000BTU. There’s a difference in price (about $125.00) but I’ll like to know which one is more convenient in the long run.Thank You for your reply….

• Answer: This Question has not been answered yet! Send us Your best down flow furnace Answer!

Associated Down Flow Furnace Question: Where do the wires go to slow down the motor on a furnace?
My furnace in the garage is very noisey because of the air flow. Sounds like a jet engine. Did some research and found out since i don,t use it for AC i can slow down the motor and reduce the noise. Have the owners manual but am not sure what wires are moved and to where on the IC board. It is a Thermal zone Model 120K 200S. Only about 4 years old. Can anyone help? Thank you Stan

• Answer:To adjust the blower speed trace the wires from the blower motor to the IC board. Normally the speed is set by plugging the red, black, or blue wire onto the board’s terminal strip. The remaining wires are put on “park” terminals that do not connect to circuits in the board. Turn the power to the furnace off before you start switching, of course. I can tell you that you are still going to have plenty of noise, especially if there is no return-air ductwork to help muffle the sound. It doesn’t help, of course, that the equipment is in the same area as yourself. Try locating the blower wires on the electric diagram. Sometimes this helps. Good luck.

Associated Down Flow Furnace Question:How can you quiet down a noisy furnace return.?
I have a small old house and the basement is really small so the return in the house is right by the furnace. It gets really noisy and no i can not move it because it already as a large hole in my hardwood floors. I read some where that you can add two 6 inch ducts to form a C shape to quiet the air flow would that work?

• Answer:About the best thing to do is see if you can add a 3 inch thick filter to that opening. This is done in large openings that are right above the furnace and the blower noise is reduced to zero by this method. You can go to Lowes and view just what they have available in the 3 inch thick filters.

Associated Down Flow Furnace Question:Gas furnace overheating?
I have a Tappan, older model down flow furnace. There is no A-coil. It fires up nicely and after about 10 minutes burners will cycle off cause it gets too hot. The air coming out of the vents is very hot and the vent itself is untouchable! Very hot! The burners will stay off for about 2 minutes or so then kick back on for a few, then off, then on, over and over cause it keeps getting too hot. Now, I have plenty of good intake air flow and the filter is brand new. The fan blades are free of dust. Plenty of air is coming out the vents so my ducts are not restricted. I suspect the motor may not be turning fast enough. Can a motor get slow in its old age? It acts a bit sluggish. I don’t know what else it could be. Help please. Oh, and the belt was really loose but I tightened it. Maybe it is not tight enough still cause by hand I can make the belt slip.

• Answer:- gas pressure from the manifold may be too high – may be a crack in the heat exchanger, causing the furnace to overheat and the excess air mixing in with the combustion causes the flue vent to be hotter as well. when the blower kicks on check the flame to see if it begins to waver.

Associated Down Flow Furnace Question: What is needed to switch over furnace?
I have a Lennox E16Q3-15-1P electric furnace/ heat pump that I would like to install in a mobile home to replace the gas furnace. It says UP FLOW OR DOWN FLOW ONLY which I am assuming it means it can be used for either, it is currently set up for UP FLOW, how do I go about changing it to DOWN FLOW?

• Answer:Usually that means you need some sort of coil drain pan conversion kit. Sometimes the coil can just be flipped without a downflow kit, but usually you need one. Also, if you’re switching from a gas furnace to an electric furnace, you are also going to have to make sure you change the circuit from 115v to 240v and make sure the wire size is big enough for the Kilowatt rating of your electric heaters.

Question
Hi, I’m considering two humidifiers that currently Costco.com carries,
one is Delonghi (40 pin) and the other is Whirlpool (50 pin), both
have very similar price. Is anyone here has any experiences with these
two dehumidifiers?? In general, which name brand/model I should buy,
for home dehumidifier (in piano room) that is under US$200? Thanks!

Answers
I have had experience with a room dehumidifier (Sears) and it was a PITA.
It required constant water replenishment and was awkward to fill.  If the
ones you are considering do not have a convenient way to replenish the water
I would say they weren’t worth the bother.

Associated Dehumidifiers Connected To The Furnace Question: Bigger fuse?
Our current home is wired very poorly. We recently found out that one of our fuses is connected to the furnace, sump pump and dehumidifier in our crawl space. When the dehumidifier is plugged in it blows the fuse. Does anyone have any suggestions to fix this problem? Is this an easily fixed problem or should we call an electrician?

• Answer:NEVER put a bigger fuse in with out knowing if the wire can handle more current…just putting a bigger fuse in my heat the wire to the point of a FIRE. Overload protection is there for your safety and should not be taken lightly. Call a electrician to do a panel up grade. It costly but worth it.

Question
I have no idea who your Rheem guy is and my colleague’s for some reason I
have yet to fathom always take what a moaner such as yourself’s word like
it
was gospel and jump on the guy without hearing his side of the matter. So
I’ll play the devils advocate here. It’s probably a local and/or state
code
violation to put a condensing furnace that can not reasonably be piped to
a
floordrain, on a condensate pump without the means to stop operation of
the
furnace should the pump fail. The reason for this is the water generated
during the combustion process is acidic. I can only assume that this is
the
so called double talk you were speaking of. That’s why Mongomery County
Md.
requires 2 pumps in a situation such as that, they could give a rats ass
if
the the one for AC condensation is wired to stop the AC but the one for
furnace condensate better damned well be setup to kill the heat if it[the
pump], should fail.

Secondly, if it’s a 760 then the 24v comes from the humidifier itself, but if you can do that then you already have the answer on how to stop the AC
and not the furnace. This is why everyone is laughing at your predicament
and not because were just a bunch of pricks. But if your so damned worried
about it why don’t you just unplug the 760 when your going out of town?

Answers
Thanks for the (only) insight. I have no real complaint about the
installation or the Rheem guy. The system works great. alt.hvac just seemed
to be the best place to go to get a clarification/second professional
opinion, but I was wrong. What you explain makes sense. I’ll ask the guy
about it. He should have at least wired it to shut down the furnace. The
contractor left the pump cutoff switch wires tucked under the pump, unused.

Not sure if this is a violation in NJ. The installation passed the building,
fire, electrical and plumbing inspections.
This 760A gets its 24 v from the furnace control board’s R & C terminals.
The 120 VAC comes from the furnace control board’s HUM terminal.

Associated Cut Off Switch For Furnace Question: Why won’t my furnace shut off?
I have a forced hot air oil furnace. There has been a programmable thermostat on it for 5 or 6 years, and recently we had a problem where the furnace cut in and would not stop (it was set for 70 degrees and got up to 78 before I shut off the emergency switch). I replaced the batteries – did not help – so I bought a new programmable thermostat – problem still occurs. I called the thermostat company and they have never heard of this problem – I called the furnace company and they said it must be a thermostat problem. Help?! Most of the posts I have read relate to the blower not shutting off – but in my case the burner keeps running as well. The house just keeps getting hotter and hotter.

• Answer:Play with the thermostat do you hear a click? That will tell you if it is able to “sense” the temperature.

Associated Cut Off Switch For Furnace Question:My gas furnace quits running after a few minutes?
Turned furnace on for first time last night it ran once with no problems, it quit working over night, i have lit the pilot light twice and everything seems to be working fine then in about five minutes everything cuts off, blower stops, pilot goes out, the last time it was making a humming noise so i switched off the power to the furnace

• Answer:call the service

Associated Cut Off Switch For Furnace Question:rollout switch on furnace won’t reset?
i’ve had lots of problems with my furnace in the past two months. I’ve had 7 technician visits. Number six, after being here for the third time, told me it was my heat exchanger before he even got the furnace open. Of course the heat exchanger is not covered under the insurance plan. $600 fix. He said the rings in the bottom of the furnace mean its the heat exchanger, the thing is, the heat exchanger was already replaced once, and the rings were not removed at that time. This same chap on visit number five said it was the gas valve, and replaced that. After he left, the furnace quit within 15 minutes. We went down to the furnace to find a hose off that he hadn’t connected going from the valve to the burner box. We hooked up the hose, and the furnace worked fine for approximately three weeks. Then the roll out switch started tripping. For two days, every 45 minutes we had to reset the rollout switch. On the second night, we turned the furnace down three degrees to go to bed, and it worked fine all night long. When we turned it back up the next day the rollout switch was tripping every 20 minutes. That’s when the technician came, and i described the problem to him, and he took everything out of the furnace, with the exception of the heat exchanger, and told me its the heat exchanger, based on these rings. Suffice it to say, i didn’t believe him, and wanted a second opinion. The tech put the furnace back together, and left. I turned the unit back on, and low and behold it worked fine for three days. Then this rollout switch problem starts again, but this time, i can’t reset it. It won’t reset at all. I’ve cut the power to it but nothing works. I have another tech come out here, and he opens it up, and gets the rollout switch working, but doesn’t replace it, looks over the furnace and says he doesn’t think its the heat exchanger, that it looks fine. Proceeds to tell me that he’s going to call the first guy, comes back 10 minutes later, and says now he thinks its the heat exchanger. However, he takes his carbon monoxide detector with an 18″ probe and sticks it in the furnace, with the furnace running, about six inches above the heat exchanger, and the tester comes out with a 0 ppm reading. He then says he has to check the vent outside. He comes back in, with the alarm bells ringing on the tester, and lights going and tells me its off the charts, and that he could smell it when he went out there, so its definately the heat exchanger. Well here’s my problems: 1. you can’t smell carbon monoxide, 2. how come it wasn’t the heat exchanger before he gets on the phone, and now its the heat exchanger 3. how come you can get a 0 ppm reading six inches from the heat exchanger, but an off the chart reading of 900+ ppm on the vent outside (besides the fact that isn’t this where its supposed to be venting – outside). The company has now condemned my furnace and notified the utility that the furnace is condemned. I still don’t believe that its the heat exchanger, but more likely that they are covering each other’s butts. Problem is, they didn’t replace the manual rollout switch, and i don’t have the jumper thing he used to reset it, so even though i turned the furnace back on when he left, and it was working fine for half an hour, the rollout switch eventually went out, and won’t reset. And because they have notified the utility, I am now forced into either replacing the heat exchanger $600 or get a new furnace $2000+. Not sure exactly what i’m looking for, but does anyone have any suggestions?

• Answer:I would have this company remove the heat exchanger and visually prove to me that it is cracked. If it has been replaced once already then it may be a different problem causing this. You are right by saying the meter should have a high reading in your vent pipe. The furnace may just need servicing and cleaned properly. If they show you a definite crack or hole in your heat exchanger then it is true. If they cant prove it then it probably isnt there. Your roll out shouldnt be by-passed for your safety

Associated Cut Off Switch For Furnace Question:I have a Lennox furnace that lights but the blower won’t come on. This happens a couple of times then will.
It’s a Model 80MGF4-75A-7. Everything seems to work fine. Fire lights, stays lit for about 7-10 seconds, then cuts off before the blower kicks on. The diagnostic code is Light 2 flashes and Light 1 is off. This will happen for a couple of cycles then the blower will kick on. Anyone know if it’s a pressure switch, gas valve, control board, or none of the above? Thanks for your help!

• Answer:Yes it is the flame sensor… The sensor is the little rod that sets in front of the burn tubes… This monitors the flame operation… Try cleaning it with sand paper that usually works…

Associated Cut Off Switch For Furnace Question:List of Black inventions?
ok before people flame me for “being racist” I AM BLACK. I have a list here but i was just wondering if I was missing any Sani-Phone Jerry Johnson Wrench John A. Johnson Super Soaker Lonnie Johnson Eye Protector P. Johnson Egg Beater W. Johnson Defroster Frederick M. Jones Air Conditioning Unit Frederick M. Jones Two-Cycle Gas Engine Frederick M. Jones Internal Combustion Engine Frederick M. Jones Starter Generator Frederick M. Jones Refrigeration Controls Frederick M. Jones Bottle Caps Jones & Long Clothes Dresser John H. Jordan Electric Lamp Latimer & Nichols Printing Press W.A. Lavalette Laser Fuels Lester Lee Pressure Cooker Maurice W. Lee Envelope Seal F.W. Leslie Window Cleaner A.L. Lewis Pencil Sharpener John L. Love Fire Extinguisher Tom J. Marshal Lock W.A. Martin Shoe Lasting Machine Jan Matzeliger Lubricators Elijah McCoy Rocket Catapult Hugh MacDonald Elevator Alexander Miles Gas Mask Garrett Morgan Traffic Signal Garrett Morgan Hair Brush Lyda Newman Heating Furnace Alice H. Parker Air Ship (Blimp) J.F. Pickering Folding Chair Purdy/Sadgwar Hand Stamp W.B. Purvis Fountain Pen W.B. Purvis Dust Pan L.P. Ray Insect Destroyer Gun A.C. Richardson Baby Buggy W.H. Richardson Sugar Refinement N. Rillieux Pressing Comb Walter Sammons Hair Dressing Device Walter Sammons Clothes Dryer G.T. Sampson Cellular Phone Henry Sampson Urinalysis Machine Dewey Sanderson Hydraulic Shock Absorber Ralph Sanderson Curtain Rod S.R. Scottron Multi-Stage Rocket Adolph Shamms Lawn Sprinkler J.W. Smith Automatic Gear Shift R.B. Spikes Refrigerator J. Standard Mop T.W. Stewart Cattle Roping Apparatus Darryl Thomas Stair Climbing Wheelchair Rufus J. Weaver Polym. Water Reduction Paint Morris B. Williams Helicopter Paul E. Williams Fire Escape Ladder J.B. Winters Telephone Transmitter Granville T. Woods Electric Cut-Off Switch Granville T. Woods Relay Instrument Granville T. Woods Telephone System Granville T. Woods Electro Mech Brake Granville T. Woods Galvanic Battery Granville T. Woods Electric Railway System Granville T. Woods Roller Coaster Granville T. Woods Auto Air Brake Granville T. Woods

• Answer:The list is incomplete.http://www33.brinkster.com/iiiii/inventions/

Associated Cut Off Switch For Furnace Question:Life without black people ?
*READ BEFORE YOU POST* 1. There are very few crops that have flourished because the nation was built on a slave-supported system. 2. There are no cities with tall skyscrapers because Alexander Mils, a Black man, invented the elevator, and without it, one finds great difficulty reaching higher floors. 3. There are few if any cars because Richard Spikes, a Black man, invented the automatic gearshift, Joseph Gambol, also black,! invented the super charge system for internal combustion engines, and Garrett A. Morgan, a Black man, invented the traffic signal. 4. Furthermore, one could not use the rapid transit system because its procurer was the electric trolley, which was invented by another Black man , Albert R. Robinson. 5. Even if there were streets on which cars and a rapid transit system could operate, they were cluttered with paper because an African American, Charles Brooks, invented the street sweeper. 6. There were few if any newspapers, magazines and books because John Love invented the pencil sharpener, William Purveys invented the fountain pen, and Lee Barrage invented the type writing machine and W. A. Love invented the advanced printing press 7. Even if Americans could write their letters, articles and books, they would not have been transported by mail because William Barry invented the postmarking and canceling machine, William Purveys invented the hand stamp and Philip Downing invented the letter drop. 8. The lawns were brown and wilted because Joseph Smith invented the lawn sprinkler and John Burr the lawn mower. 9. When they entered their homes, they found them to be poorly ventilated and poorly heated. You see, Frederick Jones invented the air conditioner and Alice Parker the heating furnace. Their homes were also dim. But of course, Lewis Lattimer later invented the electric lamp, Michael Harvey invented the lantern and Granville T. Woods invented the Automatic Cut off Switch/SPAN>. Their homes were also filthy because Thomas W. Steward invented the mop, and Lloyd P. Ray the dust pan. 10. Their children met them at the door – barefoot, shabby, motley and unkempt. But what could one expect? Jan E. Matzelinger invented the Shoe Lasting Machine, Walter Sammons! invented the comb, Sarah Boone invented the ironing board and George T. Samon invented the clothes dryer. 11. Finally, they were resigned to at least have dinner amidst all of this turmoil. But here again, the food had spoiled because another Black man, John Standard, invented the refrigerator. Now, isn’t that something? What would this country be like without the contributions of Blacks, as African-Americans? fuck you kaval becuase i bet the same thing wouldve happened without white people

• Answer: This Question has not been answered yet! Send us Your best cut off switch for furnace Answer!

Associated Cut Off Switch For Furnace Question::Central A/C question: Blower not turning off?
I am slowly isolating a problem with my ac unit. It seems I have 2 problems and I don’t know if they are related. 1. the circuit in the house keeps tripping and 2. the blower on the furnace is not getting the signal to shut off (the only way I can turn it off is by manually flipping the switch at the furnace and cutting the power). I can run the a/c unit for 5 minutes at a time, raise the thermostat so it shuts off, and then in a few minutes lower the thermostat – fan blows the entire time. I’m doing this to keep it bearable while I figure out if I can fix this. Any thoughts would be appreciated [I mean thoughts about this problem, not your thoughts in general. : ) ] fan control on thermostat is indeed in auto position. blower will not even turn off when I turn off the system at the thermostat. thanks.

• Answer:Does your thermostat have a fan auto/off/on switch? If it does, make sure it’s set to auto. There are two circuits involved with the central A/C, One for the outside condenser unit, and one for the inside air handler. If it’s the outdoor unit, it may be running low on refrigerant. If it’s the air handler, your motor may be on its way out. Make sure the systems’ filters are clean.

Associated Cut Off Switch For Furnace Question:My furnace keeps running?
Long story short. Replaced a bad controller on my Natural gas furnace, it’s an old furnace, so the part had been superseded a couple of times(Honeywell S8610U) Installed it and the furnace came to life like it’s supposed to, except it won’t shut off, the fan runs continually. The heat works as it should, coming on and turning off and I hear and see the fan limit switch working, but the burner ignites before the fan cuts off, runs for about a minute then shuts off, the unit cools, then the cycle repeats. I have adjusted the limit switch to both extremes, yet the fan never reaches a shut off point. The house won’t get up above 67 degrees with the constant cycling.. Any pointers? Am I missing something? Maybe the limit switch died at the same time? Have checked the ducts and fan settings, they are good and fan is on the heat setting. Tried hobbling it, it kicked me.. The fan functioned normally before, replaced the controller because the previous owner of the house had run the furnace without the heat shield, melting and warping the original unit, causing it to crack the circuit board and resulting in no ignition unless I moved the unit around.

• Answer:We had simulair problem. One thing found wrong was tinnel had large rip in it from in intake tunnel. So maybe give tunnels a check over.Easily fix with duct tape.

Associated Cut Off Switch For Furnace Question:RE: Miller gas furnace G series – gas keeps cutting out after a 2 min. Fan keeps going. Flame refires. why?
I have a continuous flash indicating “low flame / gas valve relay sensor” I have changed the heat limit sensor / flame sensor/ circuit board. I have tested the pressure switch (it appears to be normal) Stat calls for heat…the exhaust fan starts up, then the ignitor coil fires up, then the gas flows (with a slight high pitched whislte like sound), burners fire normal…flame is balanced and ful, drum fan kicks in. After a couple of minutes the gas shuts down. The drum fan continues and after a minute or two the gas fires back up again. Then it shuts down again and then the furnace turns off. Immediately it starts back up again. All this while the room temp is still 3-4 degrees below what the stat is calling for. Thanks for any help. Mark

• Answer:Make sure all filters are cleaned. Might also try changing out the thermostat. Buy a cheapie, see if it makes the furnace work properly, if so then use it or invest in a nice programmable one. Gas valves are very sensitive to restriction, I once had a furnace not work properly due to a cob web that had developed over the summer in the valve.

Associated Cut Off Switch For Furnace Question:Why does my Gas Furnace Main burners keep blowing pilot light out?
I had trouble with my pilot light going out. So, I asked around and got the answer that it was a thermocouple. So I bought a new one and had it replaced, While it was being replaced we noticed the pilot flame wasnt strong enough so I had it cleaned and reinstalled. I replaced the filter also, well the pilot lit and was a strong flame, the thermocouple was in position. Turned on the furnace and when the main burners would ignite, They would ignite for a second and blow the pilot light and the burners out. we thought something was shutting off the gas to the burners so we checked every switch and nothing was cutting out the gas when lit.But, if you hold one of those long lighters down by the burners and turn the furnace on the burners ignite and go out and ignite and go out and ignite and go out and then they ignite and stay on, and run perfectly but if I am not down there to manually help out the pilot light with my additional flame it wont light and just blow the pilot out again. what could be the possible problem without calling an expensive HVAC technician. How do I check main valve regulator is it inside the Furnace?

• Answer:chances are its tripping @ the pressure switch or its a bad gas valve. In responce to your additional details you will have to call your gas supplier and have them check the pressure. If the pressure is not low they will probably charge you for there time.

Question
Several questions about the gingery furnace and EZ-burner:

1) How snug should the hole in the foundry/furnace be? that is, should it just
fit the nozzle of the EZ-burner, i.e., fairly snug fit or should there be
plenty of room

2) I plan on using the BBQ-grill propane tank as a gas source. What have folks
used to get(and regulate) gas from the tank to the burner? The jet will be
made from a piece of 1/4″ pipe if that helps

3) Once all is assembled, should the crucible sit directly on the bottom of the
foundry or should it be supported up a bit.

4) Speaking of crucibles, the one I have came from a flea market. Fairly
rusted with some flaking and pitting on the inside. Should I put a thin coat
of refractory on the inside to seal it? If not, should I worry about rust
getting into the melt? Al and brass are the target metals at this point.

As always, thanks in advance

Answers
Build new crucibles. ALWAYS weld a plate on the bottom of the pipe rather
than use a threaded iron cap. In use, the insides of the crucible don’t seem
to scale up as fast as the outside. This because of the relatively dead and
oxygen depleted pocket of air inside. Build a bunch of these at the same
time and discard them the minute they show signs of burning out……Don’t
be stingy, and you won’t be sorry. Don’t put refractory inside the crucible,
it has a bad tendancy to flake off just as you are pouring.

One or two tips on brass.
-place ground up charcoal briquettes over the metal before placing the
crucible in the furnace, the resulting blanket of ash keeps the evil oxygen
at bay.
-DON’T breathe the fumes! they are loaded with zinc oxide from the brass and
other combustion nasties from the fuel. That white smoke and bright
greenish-white flame obscuring your veiw of the molten brass are a result of
zinc burn-off too. You can’t really avoid this but you can keep it down to a
minimum by not overheating the brass or leaving it molten much longer than
it has to be.
-Brass is an absolute bear to fill a thin or narrow mold section. It hates
to flow, Old-timers used to add a pinch of lead to the melt to get it to
flow better and machine nicely. I add a pinch of aluminum instead, about a
couple of grams to the pound of brass, but not too much or you will get
monster shrinkage as the metal cools. DON’T have your face directly over the
furnace when you add the aluminum, it melts at a much lower temp than the
brass and some tends to volatize violently as it begins to melt and mix with
the brass, it may spit at you, cover the furnace quickly before the aluminum
actually begins to melt.

Start with aluminum first and learn the best way to handle really hot
things, then move on to the brass.