I do love To-Auto, their CS teams are a dream to work with for makers xD Does make you feel like you're reading a tightly controlled script in bits in the video hehe
@@HeinrichsMade If you can do a dissasembly level comparison of them, that'd be most grateful for us makers. The changes just in the first gen models I've had, and the next model up with how the element has gone from been exposed and unsecured around the ceramic chamber, which led to veryu frequent breakage of coils, and the newer one I have with the coil been fully encapsulated in soem form of silica/potting that stops the coils from expanding and touching one another or dropping down and touching etc. I've seen some variants that use many small downwards coils directly inside the chamber too, which could be lethal to users, as there's no switch turning them off when the lid is raised, and graphite is incredibly conductive.. so very easy to imagine accidents. So yeah, would love to see the insides of the two variants you have and the electronics guts of them too :)
@@noviceartisan well that would be great, but I don't want to disassemble something that I use and works 😂😂 When the coil burns out I most definitely will. Electric furnaces, as you know don't last forever. I believe the coils are exactly the same as the last model though. That wasn't one of the upgrade points. Looking it up online the coils rap around the heating chamber in a circle. As you said your new furnace is fully encapsulated. I don't know if that will keep the coils from breaking. It's the constant heat that makes it become fragile.
@@HeinrichsMade Kinda, without the encapsulation, those coils expand and sag down, touching the coil below them, causing a short circuit. I've had to manully recoil my old one literally dozens of times, really hated the poor design, and was cheaper to just keep makign coils. So I'm intimately familiar with the design flaw. Only changed to a newer model after discovering they'd fixed that issue by using the slurry to cover the coils, which has the side effect of never been able to replace the coil alone, the whole chamber needs to be replaced, which is like half the cost of a new unit.. vs a cheap bit of Kanthal wire that you could easily turn into a coil and replace for a few quid when needed. It's a solution, but i don't think it's the best one. Regular wear and tear on kanthal, or nichrome wire, means at bronze temps, we're gonna need to replace it in under a year with a single use daily. It's the same wire, and same concept with kilns. They're just designed better, with shelf parts for the coils to rest on as they cook at even higher temps than we reach in these little furnaces. The first gen ones just had coils wrapping round indentations. They should redesign the chamber to have the same kind of shelves for coils to rest on, so they dont slip off during thermal expansion, or even a tubular design that the coil can be pushed through to fully go around the chamber, letting it be enclosed, but with enough space to permit the coil to be replaced easily when needed
@@noviceartisan I used to use cast master elite, but they had problem with their coils burning out. Their coils had a shelf between each coil of nichrome wire wrapping around the heat chamber. Plus having the wool packed against it. Their problem wasn't the coils touching each other. I believe it was their pod controller. They stopped making it and selling it. I would have thought all makes had a shelf holding the coils and keeping them from touching. That's strange to me to hear they don't all have it.
i’m getting mine on Monday.. i’m appreciate you creating this tutorial. i am new to smelting. it’s something else been wanting to do for a decades. i use my pop tops on my hangers! lol is the kinetic sand better than regular sand? looks like i have some learning and researching to do.
Sweet! Make sure to buy a face shield and wear long sleeves. Kinetic Sand works well with pewter, tin, and lead. No so much for aluminum. Yes kinetic sand is better than regular sand because it holds its shape. Where as regular sand does not
Are you running that on 20amp or 15amp circuit? Seems like 1800w would push a standard (US) outlet real close to 15amp. I still have the older one, but this one has my attention.
Hey Brian! I do run it on a 15amp circuit. I've only had a kick a gfi after a really long runtime. With any electric furnace, they do advise not to run it continuously.
Congrats on the new furnace. Nice pieces made today
Thanks buddy! These electric furnaces come in handy.
The new furnace is awesome! I think I need one! 😂 But dude man 12k Subs that it is friggen Sweet! 💰🔥💰🔥
Yeah it works great! I'm grinding over here buddy! Consistency is key. Thanks for your support 🙏🙏
I do love To-Auto, their CS teams are a dream to work with for makers xD
Does make you feel like you're reading a tightly controlled script in bits in the video hehe
Yeah i liked the ToAuto furnace I had before this one. This one heats up quicker. Now I have 2. Hmm, Maybe I'll do a comparison video 🤔
@@HeinrichsMade If you can do a dissasembly level comparison of them, that'd be most grateful for us makers. The changes just in the first gen models I've had, and the next model up with how the element has gone from been exposed and unsecured around the ceramic chamber, which led to veryu frequent breakage of coils, and the newer one I have with the coil been fully encapsulated in soem form of silica/potting that stops the coils from expanding and touching one another or dropping down and touching etc.
I've seen some variants that use many small downwards coils directly inside the chamber too, which could be lethal to users, as there's no switch turning them off when the lid is raised, and graphite is incredibly conductive.. so very easy to imagine accidents.
So yeah, would love to see the insides of the two variants you have and the electronics guts of them too :)
@@noviceartisan well that would be great, but I don't want to disassemble something that I use and works 😂😂 When the coil burns out I most definitely will. Electric furnaces, as you know don't last forever. I believe the coils are exactly the same as the last model though. That wasn't one of the upgrade points. Looking it up online the coils rap around the heating chamber in a circle. As you said your new furnace is fully encapsulated. I don't know if that will keep the coils from breaking. It's the constant heat that makes it become fragile.
@@HeinrichsMade Kinda, without the encapsulation, those coils expand and sag down, touching the coil below them, causing a short circuit. I've had to manully recoil my old one literally dozens of times, really hated the poor design, and was cheaper to just keep makign coils. So I'm intimately familiar with the design flaw. Only changed to a newer model after discovering they'd fixed that issue by using the slurry to cover the coils, which has the side effect of never been able to replace the coil alone, the whole chamber needs to be replaced, which is like half the cost of a new unit.. vs a cheap bit of Kanthal wire that you could easily turn into a coil and replace for a few quid when needed.
It's a solution, but i don't think it's the best one.
Regular wear and tear on kanthal, or nichrome wire, means at bronze temps, we're gonna need to replace it in under a year with a single use daily. It's the same wire, and same concept with kilns. They're just designed better, with shelf parts for the coils to rest on as they cook at even higher temps than we reach in these little furnaces. The first gen ones just had coils wrapping round indentations. They should redesign the chamber to have the same kind of shelves for coils to rest on, so they dont slip off during thermal expansion, or even a tubular design that the coil can be pushed through to fully go around the chamber, letting it be enclosed, but with enough space to permit the coil to be replaced easily when needed
@@noviceartisan I used to use cast master elite, but they had problem with their coils burning out. Their coils had a shelf between each coil of nichrome wire wrapping around the heat chamber. Plus having the wool packed against it. Their problem wasn't the coils touching each other. I believe it was their pod controller. They stopped making it and selling it.
I would have thought all makes had a shelf holding the coils and keeping them from touching. That's strange to me to hear they don't all have it.
You basically answered all the questions ive had for a while now. Time to spark up my furnace and melt some tabs
Melt those tabs 🔥🔥🔥
Great video and info. I will have to check on the new furnace. I need a new one anyway.
It all turned out good! Sweet channel rounds bro
Thanks 👍👍. Love these channel rounds.
Nice..
👍👍👍
i’m getting mine on Monday.. i’m appreciate you creating this tutorial. i am new to smelting. it’s something else been wanting to do for a decades. i use my pop tops on my hangers! lol
is the kinetic sand better than regular sand?
looks like i have some learning and researching to do.
Sweet! Make sure to buy a face shield and wear long sleeves. Kinetic Sand works well with pewter, tin, and lead. No so much for aluminum. Yes kinetic sand is better than regular sand because it holds its shape. Where as regular sand does not
Are you running that on 20amp or 15amp circuit? Seems like 1800w would push a standard (US) outlet real close to 15amp. I still have the older one, but this one has my attention.
Hey Brian! I do run it on a 15amp circuit. I've only had a kick a gfi after a really long runtime. With any electric furnace, they do advise not to run it continuously.
3 thumbs up
Thanks buddy!!
How do you clean out the residue of the metal in the crucible before you do the next melt? Especially if melting a different metal..?
I tend to use diff crucibles for different metals. With aluminum, you can normally just pull it out.
@@HeinrichsMade good to know, thanks for replying 👍
I had the same question