PROPER FURNACE MAINTENANCE

Crucible furnaces are either of the stationary or tilting Normally this dimensional allowance is five (5) inches
type, and must be carefully engineered if economical on the diameter (or 2½ inches on each side) to allow for
operation and good melt quality are desired. The cross the proper combustion space as well as application of the
sectional sketch shown below illustrates:— tongs.

TYPICAL CRUCIBLE FURNACE Maintenance

Linings should be washed regularly with a silicon carbide
cement to maintain a smooth inside surface. Cavities
or projections in the lining surface will divert the flame
from it’s normal course and result in uneven heating.
Unless the flame has an unrestricted path all around the
crucible incomplete combustion may occur with a resul-
tant drop in efficienty and hence require more heat then
necessary. Holes or irregularities in the lining wall should
be cleaned out and patched regularly with silicon carbide
Crucible Furnace Refractories patching cements.
It is very important to use the right type refactory, install Since all types of silicon carbide furnace linings have a
them properly, and then to maintain the furnace properly tendency toward vertical growth the top of a new lining
throughout its life should be approximately 1” to 1½” lower than the top
Take these three main areas separately as follows:— of the furnace shell. The lining should be capped with a
layer of good refractory cement of equal thickness so that
the furnace cover rests evenly and a good seal is provided.
1. Furnace Linings If any growth is noticed on the lining it can be compen-
Furnace linings are made of silicon carbide. Silicon car- sated for by merely reducing the amount of cement in
bide resiste heat, shock, abrasion and erosion and has the cap.
high heat transfer and generally is agreed to be the best
material available for crucible linings. Because of its high
thermal conductivity it must be backed up with good 2. Base Blocks And Furnace Bottoms
insulating material between it and the steel shell which A highly refractory base block should be used in all cru-
will allow for the natural expansion of the silicon carbide. cible furnaces to give level even support to the crucible
The materials used for this purpose are insulating brick, during melting. Old crucible bottoms or firebricks should
cement or castables. These linings may be rammed in, never be used as base blocks. The base block should be
using a plastic ramming mix or may be installed, using approximately the same diameter as the bottom of the
prefired shapes made for the furnace involved. These are crucible. The height of the base block should be such that
usually in cylindrical rings which fit on top of each other. the bottom of the crucible is on the same line as the cen-
The inside diameter of the lining should be enough larger ter line of the burner. The other important measurement
than the bilge of the crucible to provide proper combus- for proper combustion is that the crucible top should be
tion space for efficient melting, and if a lift out furnace, 2 inches below the furnace cover. The crucible should be
to allow for the application of tongs when used. well centered to insure uniform combustion space around

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it. Sometimes in gas crucible furnaces if the crucible sits 4. Burner And Slag Blocks
too low the melt will spin in the crucible causing erosion The burner port should be made in such manner that
at the metal line. Normally a piece of wet cardboard is the flame will enter the furnace tangentially and spiral
placed on the base block before placing the crucible on it. upward in the combustion chamber. A square housing
This will keep the crucible from sticking. is usually welded onto the side of a furnace to contain
the burner and burner block. The burner block is either
Maintenance bought already preformed or rammed from cement. The
The furnace lining bottom and the base block must be flame should never impinge directly on the crucible.
carefully maintained as they are the foundation of good The slag opening should be the proper size for the indi-
crucible life and efficient melting. If slag is allowed to vidual furnace involved. The slag hole should always be
build up in the bottom of the furnace it reduces the com- kept free from all obstructions allowing any slag or spilled
bustion area, shortening its life. metal to run out on the floor rather than fill up the bot-
Because of this it’s important that a routine procedure of tom of the furnace. Oversize slag holes are wasteful since
removing slag is set up at the time when periodic furnace they reduce efficiency of secondary air admission to the
lining check-up and patching is done, or in a tilting fur- furnace requiring extra melting time.
nace when the crucible is replaced. The burner block requires proper maintenance in order
that the burner port be kept smooth and clean. If this
3. Furnace Covers tunnel is not clean and smooth a baffling effect results
Furnace covers are usually made of silicon carbide. Be- which will definitely increase the melting time and fuel
fore installing a new cover place a layer of silicon carbide costs. Also, if a good seal is not maintained between the
cement on top of the lining and sprinkle a thin layer of burner block and the burner the oil or gas mixture will
coarse sand on top. The cover is then lowered into place, leak back and burn the shell and hot spots will result.
making an impression in the cement, thus effecting a A very important maintenance area involving oil fired
smooth seal which prevents gases from escaping between crucible furnaces is the burner tip which must be cleaned
the cover and the furnace top. Normally furnace covers regularly. A pulsating flame changing color from green
have minimum openings of 6” to 8” through which the to yellow is the usual indication that this variable is out
metal is charged and furnace gases escape. of control. This condition can lead to gassed metal and
rejected castings.
Maintenance
Never tighten up the supporting band or ring on a new
CARE AND HANDLING OF CRUCIBLES
cover until it is heated. When the cover is hot and has
AND CRUCIBLE FURNACES
expanded, tighten up the supporting ring or band. This
Since crucibles have a tendency to pick up moisture pres-
allows the cover to expand and cracking is minimized
ent in the atmosphere they should be stored in a warm
and cover life increased. It is important to avoid abuse of
dry place. Never store crucibles on a damp floor, in an
the cover during use of the furnace. Most cover failures
unheated shed or near a door which leads to outside air.
are due to physical abuse and to improper support of the
cover or being overloaded with ingots placed on the cover Clay-graphite crucibles are used much more at present
for pre-heating. since they are required for all crucible electric induction
furnaces. They may be used immediately when taken
from warm dry storage. On the first heat the temperature

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should be brought up slowly. On succeding heats they often results in cracking. Thus wherever possible, a full
can be treated in a normal fashion, turning the kilowatt crucible of metal should be melted.
input to the maximum for the furnace involved as soon In regard to charging a crucible, care should be taken
as possible in order to melt at the rate expected for the to prevent charging too many ingots, runners and scrap
furnace. castings into an empty crucible. When the crucible is
The silicon carbide crucible does not require a slow heat heated the metal expands much faster than the crucible
up on the first melt. The crucibles can be brought up to itself thus the metal which has been wedged inside ex-
operative temperature as quickly as possible. This is pre- pands as it becomes hot and this in turn causes the cru-
ferred as most glazes on silicon carbide crucibles do not cible to crack.
react properly until they have been brought up to a high The crucible should always be cleaned after each heat
temperature. If the silicon carbide crucible is heated slow- while still hot. This only takes a minute or two and pre-
ly the bond is apt to burn out before the glaze has had a vents oxides from building up on the inside. If not re-
chance to work out of the crucible wall and set. Not all moved the layer of oxide not only builds upon successive
crucible manufacturers recommend this procedure, so if heats making the crucible smaller but also can act as an
you’re in doubt about this procedure its well that the cru- insulator resulting in longer melting time and wasted en-
cible manufacturer be contacted before doing it. Another ergy due to the higher fuel consumption involved.
method used by foundries is to preheat the furnace for
fifteen minutes and then insert the silicon carbide cru- A final point worth mentioning in this section is that
cible on its first heat. ingots should not be dropped into a crucible. They should
be inserted with tongs if the crucible is empty after being
It is never recommended to run a fuel fired crucible fur- preheated on top of the furnace cover. A dropped ingot in
nace half full, as the upper half is much hotter than the most cases can be the cause of a cracked crucible.
lower half. This sets up internal thermal stress which

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