I was pouring aluminum with the furnace at 1300 degrees for way too long

My foreman saw me waiting for the metal to get 'perfect' and said 'you're just burning off the good stuff, get it in the mold at 1250.' I'd been making the metal thin and weak without knowing. How hot do you guys usually pour for your standard gray iron castings?

3 comments

3 Comments

robin8362mo ago

Ever done that and ruined a batch?

marymorgan2mo ago

Honestly, how bad can it really be? It's not like the whole thing is going to explode.

faith_thomas23d ago

Right there with you man. I kept my iron at 1420 for almost an hour once, thought more heat meant it would flow better and fill the mold cleaner. Foreman came by, took one look at my pour and said I was cooking the carbon right out of it. Ended up with a batch of thin, brittle castings that shattered when we tried to machine them. Now I stick to 1280 for standard gray iron and it comes out way stronger.