upcyclist said:
From my experience, too much air means not enough heat on the spot where the flame hits the crucible. Too little air means not enough heat it in general and not having a straight flame. The right ratio is somewhere between the two and in my setup its difficult to gauge. When I do my melts, I start with a small amount of gas and open the air slightly more than what it takes to get a straight stream of flame. If doesn't get my metal to a molten state, I'll add more gas followed by enough more air to get a straight stream, as needed.
Now with the copper project that I want to do next year, during deoxidation, I'll be required to keep the temperature within a bounded range, albeit a large one. I got a pyrometer for this.
Thanks everyone else for all of your feedback.
