# First Gold Melt



## Dadiola (Jun 17, 2014)

My fathers day present was my wife and daughter allowing me some uninterrupted time of melting all of the gold and silver that I have cemented over the past month or so from a couple of jewlery refinings. This was the first time I had tried melting and was just wondering how long it takes you fellas to melt pure gold. I used MAPP gas and melted 31.1 grams at a time (in a crucible placed atop fire bricks) and I bet it took me 10 -15 minutes to get the gold cement to a molten state. Ive read other posts that it only takes a minute or so. The silver melted alot easier and even the gold jewelry that I initially inquarted melted alot easier and faster. Wondering if there are any tips out there that I havent already read....
I ended up with two gold bars at 31.1 grams each and 10 silver bars of 15.6 grams each..woo hoo...im rich


----------



## necromancer (Jun 17, 2014)

hi luck guy !!

i have only melted gold once, simple mapp gas was taking to long so i used a secondary propane torch under the crucible with a heavy wire holder (images link below)

the torch on the bottom really helped, i use a melting dish with pinch tongs
http://www.riogrande.com/Product/The-Whip-Fused-Silica-Crucible-and-Pinch-Tongs-Set/704221?Pos=2

melted 26g gold powder in minutes

hope this idea helps

Dave C.


----------



## MGH (Jun 17, 2014)

Dadiola,

That sounds about right if you are using mapp gas. For about a year all I had was mapp, and I melted gold powder from just a few grams up to about 15 grams. The larger melts probably did take me 10-15 minutes as well.


----------



## goldenchild (Jun 17, 2014)

Even with map gas and an open torch it should only take a minute or two. Try investing in some type of apparatus that will keep your melt insulated. Here is what I do for larger melts. My silver melt vid came out like crap because the graphite mold underneath was sucking up all the heat.

http://youtu.be/lnMkz_uXlPw


----------



## Dadiola (Jun 17, 2014)

goldenchild said:


> Even with map gas and an open torch it should only take a minute or two. Try investing in some type of apparatus that will keep your melt insulated. Here is what I do for larger melts. My silver melt vid came out like crap because the graphite mold underneath was sucking up all the heat.
> 
> http://youtu.be/lnMkz_uXlPw




Hmmm...i have a hot plate i use in refining...i didnt think about placing my melting dish on top of it. I will try that next time instead of fire bricks.


----------



## necromancer (Jun 17, 2014)

look here for metal melting temperatures, you don't want to melt through a Aluminum Alloy hotplate
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/melting-temperature-metals-d_860.html

gold looses its luster when its all over the table :idea:


----------



## MGH (Jun 17, 2014)

goldenchild said:


> Even with map gas and an open torch it should only take a minute or two. Try investing in some type of apparatus that will keep your melt insulated. Here is what I do for larger melts. My silver melt vid came out like crap because the graphite mold underneath was sucking up all the heat.
> 
> http://youtu.be/lnMkz_uXlPw


Or maybe it's also the tip that makes a difference. I read before that a TS8000 works well. I've been on the lookout for a used one, but with mapp gas I've only ever used the TS4000.

Dadiola, what torch/tip are you using?


----------



## justinhcase (Jun 17, 2014)

necromancer said:


> look here for metal melting temperatures, you don't want to melt through a Aluminum Alloy hotplate
> http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/melting-temperature-metals-d_860.html
> 
> gold looses its luster when its all over the table :idea:


Whow 
I did not know Admiralty Brass had such a low melting point.
I do quite a lot of sailing and the people I crew for are not short of a bob or two.
If I can do some simple deck item's from recycled brass it will help my cost's a great deal.
Thank's


----------



## artart47 (Jun 17, 2014)

Hi there Melter of Gold!
The brick is sucking heat out of the dish. I have a piece of insulation that they wrap around the ductwork for restaurant exhaust hoods. Lay the insulation on the brick make a small hole and set the dish in it. you can melt two ounces tn no time with a mapp gas 
Good luck
artart47


----------



## Dadiola (Jun 18, 2014)

MGH said:


> goldenchild said:
> 
> 
> > Even with map gas and an open torch it should only take a minute or two. Try investing in some type of apparatus that will keep your melt insulated. Here is what I do for larger melts. My silver melt vid came out like crap because the graphite mold underneath was sucking up all the heat.
> ...



I use the TS8000

Thanks artart...the insulation sounds better than melting my hotplate :shock:


----------



## necromancer (Jun 18, 2014)

where i am the TS8000 costs $1.00 (one dollar) more then the TS4000, no real differance other then a sligtly bigger heat area & no twist flame
so i bought the TS4000, it works well for all my needs


----------



## goldenchild (Jun 18, 2014)

necromancer said:


> where i am the TS8000 costs $1.00 (one dollar) more then the TS4000, no real differance other then a sligtly bigger heat area & no twist flame
> so i bought the TS4000, it works well for all my needs



The 8000 also has a wider nozzle allowing it to cover more surface area. The closer to a rosebud the better. I'm going to see if I can pick one of these up. I've never seen them in the big box hardware stores though. http://www.bernzomatic.com/item.html?id=17


----------



## Irons (Jun 18, 2014)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meker-Fisher_burner

This is what I use to run my melting furnace. I picked up a number of them on fleabay that were designed to run on Natural Gas but work great with low-pressure Propane from a BBQ Grill Regulator. Melting Gold is a snap, and it even does Native Gold with PGM contamination, which requires an even hotter flame. For a long time I used a JT-680 Bernzomatic Torch. It worked well, but the Meker burner is silent and runs cool, even when the furnace is yellow-white hot.


----------



## Clneal2003 (Jul 9, 2014)

Dadiola said:


> My fathers day present was my wife and daughter allowing me some uninterrupted time of melting all of the gold and silver that I have cemented over the past month or so from a couple of jewlery refinings.



Speaking of free time...
Tomorrow after work I've got free time so in order to maximize efficiency for my shorty little setup I laid out a work schedule and to prove how nerdy I can get.

Wednesday AU work checklist. 

1) decant liquid off powder AU from BIG JAR into Tupperware(new/temporary) and add to powdered AU stock INTO SMALL JAR

2) filter hcl cl FROM PITCHER1 into BIG MASON JAR 
3) precipitate gold in BIG MASON JAR

4) boil stannous chloride in CORNINGWARE2
5) test precipitated PITCHER2 and Tupperware SMB STOCK 
if neg dispose
If pos precipitate more 

6) decant newly precipitated AU from BIG JAR into PITCHER1 and rinse powder into SMALL JAR

7) ensure all powder AU stock is in SMALL JAR

8) save in PITCHER1 new SMB drop juice from BIG JAR for more precipitate tomorrow

9) Hcl CL SMALL MICHAELS JAR to remove plated AU then move hcl CL to clean PITCHER2

10) move stannous chloride from CRONINGWARE2 to SMALL MICHAELS JAR

11) ensure all AU powder is in SMALL JAR
12) h20 wash 
13) hcl wash - use propane to help boil for hcl and ammonia cycles. 
14) h20 wash
15) ammonia wash
16) h20 wash 
17) hcl wash
18) h20 wash

19) move washed powder into CORNINGWARE1 - consider all washed 1x

17) Hcl CL Wash glassware into PITCHER2 along with powder from 10k remaining. 

End jar status

Big jar - wash rinses and powder spillage
Little jar - EMPTYEMPTY
Michaels jar with lid - stannous chloride
Big michaels jar - EMPTYEMPTY
Pitcher1 - excess SMB from new drop. Check tomorrow for more AU 
Pitcher2 - new hcl CL with 10k and glassware. Or old SMB drop with new powder DEPENDING ON STCHL RESULTS
corningware1 - dry powder AU
Corningware2 - EMPTYEMPTY

I'm working with very limited resources and time so I've laid this out step by step so i can get as much done as possible. Kept in mind that before switching from jar to jar all my utensils are washed using non scratching Bon ami powder cleanser.

I can't wait be doing this for more than a 2g button! I need to start buying and getting gold locally on the cheap side.

Feel free to critique and add some suggestions.


----------

