Induction Heating, Oil forges, etc

Background information: Running 3 phase into my shop would cost in excess of US$10k. Moving the shop would cost more. I have a 7.5 hp phase converter to run 3 phase motor needs below that size, and have the amperage to install a bigger pc if needed. Actual question: At current production I'm a year or 2 from buying an induction heater. Starting the research now, am also asking manufacturers this question, but would love to know what the brain trust here opines. Can I run a 3 phase induction heater on a well designed and installed phase converter?

Long ago I looked into an induction heater for one of our commercial processes and at that time (the stone age) the cost was as much as a new Lexus. The maker at that time said it had to be high-freq and in those days electronic switching was $$$$. I see now that there are affordable Chinese versions out and even some home-mades so that got me thinking about the possibility again. Currently we resistance heat the part--it's hard to control and every little glitch can cause inconsistency. What we have is a 3/16" dia. round bar in T304 that sticks about 3/8" out of an assembly (could be more if needed). The machines uses an air cylinder to move a ram/electrode against t…

I have an opportunity to pick up a 15kva induction forge for a good price. My problem is I rarely forge anything less than 1" and the job I would really like induction for is 2" round. This machine is definitly undersized but how long would it take to heat 2" of 2" round? I want to drop it in and hit the go button while I am forging the previous slug not feed it in and out.

I have been lurking here for some time with out posting anything. I've read through numerous threads on a Waste Oil Forge / Burners etc and have not found any of the answers I am searching for. I have a nearly inexhaustible amount of waste oil and was looking to see what everyone uses to build their burners. Has anyone tried using diesel engine parts or automotive parts in order to atomize and pressurize the waste oil? The idea of having my compressor run for 2 hours at a time doesn't appeal to me as it would add undo stress on my compressor. I was thinking of using a small fuel injector or perhaps a diesel injector of some sort with the waste oil being pushed by a …

Okay so I've seen on the waste oil places I've looked that you can use motor oil, fryer oil, even cooking oil. I found a link here that talked about it. What I can't find are differences in oils. Does it matter really what I use? I saw a link to problems with motor oil, but it was broken. Can you mix oils? Which I wouldn't think are generally a good idea, but I don't really know a whole lot about it.

Been playing with my oil burners a bit lately and decided tto give one a go in a furnace. Knocked something up real rough but I think it worked OK. Melted Copper pretty easy so maybe the next challenge is to try Heating and shaping some decent thicknesses of stell and working that into shape.

I did order my forge, but this video beats anf forge I have ever used... Dave

i have recently become interested in blacksmithing and i have been looking into forge ideas. i know about gas and coal forges, but i was wondering, can you make a solar forge? i am interested in what the blacksmithing community has to say about this. the idea came from a youtube video about a solar death ray made out of an old tv.

I am aware of backyard metal casting and his burner that he uses as the waste oil forge. I haven't seen any really good examples other than this one and so I was wondering if there is anything more in terms of concepts for the different types of WO burners. How do each of them work? I would like to do an in depth tutorial on making then and how they work and why they work once I get my own this summer, but as it is I would like to learn as much as I can before doing any sort of tutorial. Besides that I want to make a highly efficient burner that doesn't need propane, I understand this needs some form of atomization. So I figured I would make something to force the oil thr…

hey guys!!!! I was taking with my electricity teacher about a forge powered by a induction heater and he was interested by the projet. I want to know if some of you have plans of fabrication so that me, my teacher and a tech guy build a induction forge to present to the class!!!! PS: I also will made one for me because I can't build a propane one at home.

I was experimenting with making brass today in a small charcoal fire. The process was awfully hassle-some, what with sparks jumping everywhich way and having to feed the fire every half minute. So I went and looked into arc furnaces. They sounded much more convenient. (Ok, plus it was just an excuse to go build something more complicated than a pile of bricks with an air inlet.) I slapped together some leftover kaowool, a metal can, and some glass tubing (to insulate rods from metal can), stuck some carbon rods inside, and hooked it up to the arc welder. It heats up. I expect even better once I put some itc-100 type-stuff on the walls. Then I got the idea of sticki…

With the high cost of propane lately, and the high initial cost of an induction; heater electrical resistance heating may be a good alternative. In the past I have seen people heating rivets with a spot welder when a user here (andrewwillis) posted a method to make a power supply to make a spot welder It got me thinking. It uses a rewound transformer from a microwave oven, they can be ganged in parallel to produce more current and, thus, greater capacity. It cost me nothing to build and was completed in about twenty minutes. They produce heat between the power attachments so they can be very local. Maybe for upseting or twisting, etc. In the video I am hea…

I am in the conceptual stage of designing an waste oil forge since good coal is difficult to come by. I have some 16 inch 1/8 inch wall stainless tube. How long (deep) do I want the forge to be? How many burners do I need for say 24 inch deep or say from 24 inch to 48 inch deep? I want to make a sliding back wall for longer work. Is this a good idea? I am leaning to use air atomized burners as I believe they will provide the best combustion. The front wall will be a brick pile with supporting framework. I may use propane injection for fire starting. Should I use low density castable refractory as a liner with a firebrick floor? What about kaowool, isn't it a lit…

I have been making some coin Mokume. I bought two different Graphite crucibles and they work, but they crack and fall apart after just a few uses. Has anyone any ideas for a more robust material stand? Thanks, Dave

here are a few pics of my forge and burner builds. the burner started out as a torpedo heater. i messed around with a few different configurations, trying to keep the igniter. i came up with this configuration. it works, lights up with the igniter, but it's kind of big, made it out of a glass pack muffler. i still have it sitting on a shelf somewhere. someone gave me another torpedo heater so i wasted no time in reducing it to more "useful" components. here's a pic of the nozzle adapter as it comes out of the heater. and a pic after removing all the extra material and adding a "turbolator" and a shot down the bore while it was still clean. the pipe is threaded…

Alright I'm planning on making a waste oil forge, I'm tired of trying to get a hold a coal, that's the main thing that's setting me back is getting a source of fuel and coal ain't doing it for me cause I can't get a constant supply and let's be honest it's expense to buy online. I know some of you are thinking just run gas and I just don't feel like running gas, I don't know if it's because I don't have the money to build a gas forge or what, so waste oil it is for me. I was reviewing my plan with a friend and explaining how a waste oil forge worked, I mentioned that if done right someone can run diesel, kerosine, propane as well and not just waste oil. That's what br…

Ok im new to this and not the most knowledgeable on electronics but a friend who is is helping me, I have seen a design online for a 3 to 10kw unit but it gives lots of options and maths. I heat a lot of 1/2" ( 12mm ) round and square for regular items I make so was looking at making it just for that. skin effect! have read that low frequencies for deep heating and higher for heating the surface, as im only doing 1/2" thick what do you thing the best frequency to aim for is? how much power! will 3kw be enough or should I look at more? here in the UK we have 240 volt single phase mains. was thinking of an addition in the form of a timer for heat time, d…

Hi got one of those beeping machines ! made a video heating a iron rod... about 3/4 inch up to a white heat in no time at all heating a piece of wrought iron up to a sparkling heat... got some borax on it and it melts fast so far i've welded up a couple billets of damascus... it forgewelds very nicely... also i've twisted a couple of bars in it... which is easily done - you have to get a coil that is somewhat close to the work size... but for making knives like i do... its no prob at all

hi, I am ashfaq khan from south korea, i want to make an induction heating machine, for laboratory purposes, so please help me in this regard, or give me information from where i can buy. thanks

Does anyone know anything about these? It looks like a good unit (Government of Canada is selling as surplus, has been repaired, can't tell which controller it has) but I don't know much about them wrt approximate price, value as a tool etc.

Looking for some info on the pros cons and limitations of this type of heating. Does the material have to have an equal cross section? (flat bar?) Are the coils easy to fabricate? I know I have more questions I cant remember. Maybe somebody owns one and can give a report?

Good afternoon , Jorge here in Tucson with my first post, let me know if I am at the right place. I have a question about making a Freon tank (or something similar) forge but with a carbon torch being the source for the heat. I have never used a torch but it seems that it puts out a lot of heat. The torch would come from the bottom and be controlled with your foot. Do you guys think it could work? The tank will be lined and refractory applied. I do have a gas forge at this time but not using a lot. Thank you all for your input.

Like a lot of others, I'm interested in induction heating. It's the price that scares me. I see some cheapo (less than $100)portable induction units for sale. They're meant for kitchen use. Are these strong enough to heat steel? What sort of specs does one look for?

don't ever try this yourself ... so obviously I need to try this myself. its not exactly an induction heater, but its appears pretty simple and potentially very useful. What he doesn't explain though, is how to reduce the voltage and raise the amps on the microwave transformer http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=91f_1353824762 could anyone shed a little light on this electrickery? ta, n

I'm just getting into blacksmithing/forging and the cheap (free) cost of waste oil has me working in that direction. My first attempt at a waste oil forge worked to some extent, but I determined I did not have a thick enough refractory lining. I also located the burner input centrally, which created a cool spot where the fuel was being injected into the forge -- which is precisely where you don't want a cool spot. The chamber dimensions of this forge were 8 inches diameter, 9 inches in length with the work opening of 4x4 inches centered in the tube. I'm using a siphon nozzle setup which pushes compressed air through a .023" mig tip and a 5/64" hole in the plug w…