Features, temperatures and methods of melting gold
Many gold buyers wonder why this precious metal is so expensive? But apart from gold's appearance, attractive color and beauty, it has many benefits from a chemical and physical point of view. For example, density, malleability, and the melting point of gold—these are the characteristics of the metal that are used in jewelry, industry, and medicine.
How gold is melted
Properties of gold for which the metal is valued
Gold occurs in nature in the form of grains, particles or nuggets. Therefore, metal requires processing before it gets into banks or stores. The procedure is carried out in factories, but it can also be implemented at home if you know the sequence of stages. Metal processing occurs as follows:
- Mechanical purification of gold from impurities. This happens with the help of water pressure with solutions that additionally wash the gold from dirt and plaque.
- Chemical refining, or refining, of gold, which separates the gold from other metals or ores. Most often, gold is purified from impurities using aqua regia, a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids.
- Gold precipitation.
- Metal melting. Manufacturing of ingots, pieces of metal or products of various shapes. For the process, you need to know at what temperature gold melts. Then you can get a product or an ingot from the shapeless precious metal.
In addition, gold has:
High resistance to atmospheric action. It does not corrode, unlike other metals, and does not change appearance over time, even when in the ground. And in the form of jewelry, gold is also difficult to undergo chemical reactions.
Gold is a malleable metal. Its plasticity allows the production of products of various shapes. Gold leaf is thin sheets of precious metal that can be rolled out to a thickness of 0.01 mm and still retain their integrity. On the Mohs softness scale, the precious metal received a value of 2.5–3.0 out of a maximum of ten. This means that pure gold can be scratched even with fingernails.
The density of gold also adds to its value. The metal is 19.3 times denser than water. This property makes it easier to find and launder gold in deposits.
The metal has good electrical conductivity and low resistance. But to use gold on an industrial scale, the costs are too high, and the raw materials in nature are not enough for such purposes.
But gold is sometimes used in microcircuits and sensors to improve contacts. Therefore, a small amount of precious metal can be found if you rummage through old equipment.
And then the question arises: how to melt gold at home and is it possible to do it? In principle, this can be done, especially if the gold is of a lower standard.
Gold nuggets
Melting methods and process temperatures
The melting point of the material is high. This figure for 999 fine precious metal is equal to 1064 degrees Celsius. And gold begins to boil at 2947 degrees. Despite such high rates, melting metal is a simple procedure, which allows you to make jewelry. Jewelers who have mastered the process of melting and forging to perfection produce filigree items.
But in some situations it is possible to reduce the melting point. For example, smelting 585 gold is carried out at a temperature of 840 degrees. Therefore, this sample is popular among jewelers, and it is also counterfeited by scammers. But it is impossible to melt 999 samples at home; such a temperature is achieved only in factories.
Melting 375 gold is the easiest because the suitable temperature is only 770 degrees. Almost any alloy, that is, the addition of a foreign metal to the alloy, reduces the melting point. Except for palladium, which increases the indicator. But it is also used to create jewelry in a noble beige shade.
The molten metal takes on a greenish tint, and it must be forged to give the metal its shape. This is done at home using a burner, a special vessel and chemical reagents. Before smelting, the gold must be purified. And be sure to follow safety rules during the process.
But it’s better not to take risks and not use a regular stove. If you plan to melt gold often, install a special furnace near your home. And the best way to learn is with 999 fine bars. They can be placed in a special crucible, placed on the coals and constantly blown onto the gold.
For stirring, it is better to take a titanium stick. After pouring molten gold into molds, do not forget to harden the precious metal with alcohol. This is necessary so that the gold hardens faster and is durable.
Scrap gold is more difficult to melt down because it will take more time. First, you need to distribute the metal samples so that they do not mix during the process. Before melting, refining is carried out at home. And only then can you start melting.
By the way, this can be done in another way - using a gasoline burner. The advantage is that it not only melts the metal, but also burns off oxygen, which loosens the gold. After this procedure, the molten gold is cooled with water.
It is melting that transforms shapeless ingots or nuggets into exquisite jewelry. Much of the process depends on the master who controls it. Therefore, in gold smelting it is important not only to know the technical side, but also to have a wealth of experience.
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Source: https://DedPodaril.com/zoloto/imform/temperatura-plavleniya-zolota.html
How much will it cost to melt gold or how to melt gold at home
Every jeweler, beginner or experienced, has a question in his head: how to melt gold at home. This is not as simple as it seems, because there are many pitfalls and nuances that should be taken into account by an individual who wants to engage in the business in question. For example, the metal should not be brittle and porous, as it turns out due to the action of oxygen on gold.
Let's figure out how to melt gold correctly. The question of how much remelting costs will also be raised.
What is needed for smelting
To melt this noble metal, you need the following:
- Crucible. Pure gold melts at temperatures exceeding 1000 degrees Celsius. Not everyone has a working container - a crucible - that can cope with such heat. But it can be replaced with raw potatoes. It is necessary to cut a hole in the tuber and put gold there. A container of natural origin will cope perfectly with melting.
- Forceps. Heat-resistant tongs are an essential tool when melting gold. They will have to touch the crucible frequently.
- A mixture of sodium carbonate and borax. It is used to make flux, which is added to gold before the smelting process. It takes two pinches of flux to clean every ounce of gold. The dirtier the noble metal, the greater the amount of this substance required for cleaning. Flux can also be made from baking soda and bicarbonate. When adding a substance, the contact between gold particles improves, and all impurities are better removed from the metal when it is heated.
- Oven or microwave. There is an option to purchase an electric furnace to melt metals or use a microwave. The latter must have a power of more than 1000 W, with a magnetron located on the side or behind the equipment.
There are furnaces sold at inexpensive prices that are specially made for melting metals. Such a device is designed for mixing several minerals at once, for example, gold, silver, aluminum, copper.
Attention! The microwave in which the precious metal was melted can no longer be used for domestic purposes. That is, heating and defrosting food.
If there is no oven or microwave, you must use a gas burner.
Scrap melting (process)
You need to be prepared for the fact that there will be a lot of impurities in scrap gold. Sometimes their amount in the metal reaches 25%. Such scrap is not suitable for figure casting, but you can work with it using the printing method (that is, heat and stretch).
- First, you need to sort the scrap by color. The more copper it contains, the redder its hue.
- To speed up the melting process, it is recommended to divide the scrap into small pieces.
- Next, you need to carefully sprinkle flux inside the crucible and put the precious metal there. You need to start with larger items (if you need to melt a lot of things), and add smaller ones as the process progresses.
- So, when the gold objects are laid out in the crucible, the latter is placed inside the furnace and wait until the gold becomes completely molten.
- Then you should pour the resulting substance into molds. And after that, immediately harden the metal with water or alcohol so that products made of metal become stronger.
But what to do if you only have a gas burner made by yourself?
Making a homemade burner
First, let's look at how to create a gas burner. To do this you will need the following materials:
- injector;
- sprinkler from sprayer;
- automobile pump;
- sealant;
- tin can with lid.
It is necessary to visually divide the jar with the lid horizontally in half, and make two holes for the hoses in the upper part of it. Insert the pump hose into one of them, and the hose leading to the sprinkler into the other. Next, connect the latter and seal the holes.
To check whether the container is sealed or not, you should pour a little gasoline into the jar and start pumping air. Ideally, it should fly out of the sprinkler hole. If this happens, you can start melting at home.
Melting metal using a torch
Using a gas torch, you can melt metal in a matter of minutes.
First you need to sprinkle the crucible with borax (flux), then put the scrap in there, which has already been crushed. The more borax, the lower the temperature required to melt.
Next, pour in alcohol, set it on fire and wait until it burns out completely. It must be remembered that the crucible must be placed on a refractory area.
Turn on the burner and adjust it so that the edges of the flame are yellow and the middle is blue. The process is carried out using an open fire, so the crucible cannot be heated quickly. A crack may appear on it. The procedure is carried out slowly and evenly. The flame is kept at a distance of several centimeters from the metal.
The redder the metal, the lower the burner should be lowered to it. This is necessary so that all the ligature from the metal disappears, and parts of the material are melted down faster.
At the end of the procedure, the precious metal is poured into molds and hardened with water.
Melting down pure gold
Unlike scrap, pure gold can be melted down in a barbecue with thick walls.
We light coals in it and place a crucible there with metal pre-cut into small pieces. You need to monitor the fire every minute and periodically blow it. When the metal is completely melted, it is poured into molds.
Tips for Beginners on Melting Pure Gold
- You cannot melt precious metal on a kitchen stove, as there is a high risk of starting a fire. Gold smelting is carried out either in a room specially designed for this procedure, or in a courtyard at a summer cottage (for example). Definitely need a table.
- Beginners are advised to consult an expert before the procedure.
- The individual must follow safety precautions, so he must wear a mask and goggles to protect his face. You should wear heat-resistant gloves and an apron when working.
- There should be nothing flammable near the melting point. This also applies to interior decoration elements.
- Beginning “masters” without experience should not immediately take on gold of the highest standard, as there is a high risk of spoiling it. You should start with 999 fine bullion, which can be purchased at any state bank. As for the crucible, you can buy it in online stores.
- To prevent pure gold from becoming brittle and porous, which will definitely happen to it because oxygen gets into the metal, it is necessary to shake it before pouring the liquid metal into the mold and only then quench it with water or alcohol.
- You cannot melt precious metal using a gas welding machine. After all, they only melt steel - the gold will simply evaporate.
- If the procedure takes place in artisanal conditions, not in a crucible, but in a potato tuber, then a hole is made in it and borax is poured into it. And only then do they begin to melt the metal.
- 24 carat gold is very malleable. Therefore, to make it stronger, it is necessary to alloy it with another metal.
Remelting cost
Not many people think about starting a business by melting gold. But this is quite a profitable business.
There are many situations when, for example, a capricious lady does not like the shape of jewelry, or the size is not suitable. That's why many people order their jewelry melted down.
How much does it cost to melt gold? Experienced craftsmen name the cost depending on the weight of the jewelry. Therefore, it is not advisable to melt down jewelry that weighs no more than three grams. It's easier to fix - it will be cheaper. Items weighing more than 10 grams are usually sent for melting.
The cost of melting gold of the lowest standard is 500-600 rubles per gram.
The worst gold is found in cheap Chinese or Turkish jewelry. Few people would agree to do such hard work. The best sample is considered to be 585. The more qualified the master, the more he charges for his services. On average, the price ranges from 1200 to 1700 rubles per gram.
Interestingly, during the remelting process, the product evaporates by 10%. This happens due to metal splashing during melting and volatilization during remelting.
Remelting gold, the price of which is minimal, will take longer: the worse the quality of the metal, the more impurities it contains, which will take several hours to remove.
Table 1 - cost of gold smelting depending on the sample (Moscow prices)
Sample Cost of regular execution (RUB/g) Cost of urgent execution (RUB/g)375 | 500 | 650-700 |
500 | 700 | 910 |
583 | 1200 | 1560 |
585 | 1400-1500 | 1820-1950 |
Conclusion
It is not difficult to melt gold once or twice. Any pre-prepared person can do this. But in order to do this kind of business seriously, you should constantly develop in this direction, learn from experienced masters and take your time!
Source: https://ProDragmetally.ru/o-zolote/interesnye-fakty/pereplavka.html
Melting point of gold 585 and 999
Many gold buyers wonder why this precious metal is so expensive? But apart from gold's appearance, attractive color and beauty, it has many benefits from a chemical and physical point of view. For example, density, malleability, and the melting point of gold—these are the characteristics of the metal that are used in jewelry, industry, and medicine.
How gold is melted
About the properties of metal
To determine the temperature regime for melting gold, it is necessary to know the properties of this metal. In its pure form, this product has a bright yellow color. If the alloy contains impurities, the color changes depending on the number of additional inclusions. In nature, precious metal is found in the form of veins or small particles that are part of large stones. In this case, gold inclusions can be yellow or green in color.
Gold nuggets
Today, jewelry is considered to be any product that contains at least 40% gold. Of course, such a product is of low standard. Jewelers distinguish several types of samples, which they determine by the amount of pure gold in the jewelry.
Note that gold metal is very soft. Considering that previously all expensive products were made from pure gold, their authenticity, in particular coins, was checked with teeth. If there are teeth marks on the coin, then it is made of precious raw materials. Today, this verification method is not suitable. Because jewelers don't use just one type of metal. Alloys of various metals in different proportions are used to produce jewelry.
585 gold ring
Plus, gold is very malleable. Thanks to this property, one square meter of gold foil can be made from one gram of precious metal. This foil is used for the production of small wiring and other elements for the correct operation of modern technology and electronics.
How to make a burner?
The melting device is made as follows:
- First, the jar needs to be equipped with two holes into which the hoses will be inserted.
- Insert the hose connected to the pump into the first hole, and the sprinkler hose into the second hole.
- The connected hoses are carefully sealed.
At the end of the work, make sure that the gasoline and air exit through the injector nozzle. The flame must be blue. Judging by numerous reviews, such a device is no worse than a special furnace for melting metal.
Main advantage
If you think that gold is valued for its beauty, you are a little mistaken. It turns out that the gold metal is valued for its unique flexibility. When gold is exposed to high temperatures, it takes on small forms, and at low temperatures, metal particles form a massive vein. The resulting veins can be seen with the naked eye.
Jeweler's work
Plus, gold is resistant to corrosion. There are cases where gold jewelry lay in the ground for decades, and after removal it remained in its original form, without changing color or shape. The precious yellow metal is resistant to chemicals and belongs to the noble category.
What is the heating device made of?
If it is not possible to get professional equipment, you can melt gold using a gasoline burner. Before you start making it, you need to acquire the following:
- Airbrush spray. An air injector or garden equipment that sprays chemicals is quite suitable for this purpose.
- A jar. It is important that it has an airtight lid.
- Automotive air pump. A machine compressor is also suitable.
- With a hose.
- Sealant.
About the sample
Gold in its pure form can be found in banking institutions. In special trays in banks they sell 999 fine bars. This means that 1000 particles of precious metal contain 999 units of gold. This material is not suitable for making jewelry due to its softness. In their work, jewelers use alloys of gold, silver and brass.
375 gold item
Samples of such products are:
For example, 585 standard means that per 1000 units of the product there are 585 units of pure gold, and 415 - impurities of brass and other metals.
999 gold bars
Hallmark on 585 hallmark
The authenticity of the yellow metal must always be confirmed by a stamp indicating its purity. In Russia, this procedure is mandatory and controlled by the state. The hallmark allows the buyer to be confident in the quality and authenticity of the precious metal.
There are three branding options:
- Laser;
- Electroerosive;
- Mechanical.
The modern laser method allows you to place a mark with a high degree of readability. But the image can quickly be erased, especially if the branding site is constantly in contact with another surface. The mechanical method is still recognized as the most durable.
An example of a mark on a product and its explanation.
The mark itself consists of three parts: a letter (the hallmark code), a drawing (a woman’s head with a kokoshnik, looking to the left), and the number “585” (the hallmark itself). In addition to these symbols, a piece of jewelry may have another mark – the manufacturer’s name.
Products that are imported into Russia are also tested. In Italy and the USA there is no state standard and all responsibility for the authenticity of jewelry lies only with the manufacturer. The mark on foreign products usually consists of the symbols “14 K” (14 carats, corresponding to the domestic 585 standard) and letters indicating the manufacturer.
About the melting point
Knowing the characteristics of the metal and the meaning of the sample indicator, you can try to smelt gold at home.
So, the melting temperature of gold at home should be as follows:
- For 999 standard metal – 10640C. Boiling point temperature is 29480C.
- For metal of 585 standard, the melting point is – 8400C.
- For 375 standard metal – 7700C.
The melting point of 585 gold can be achieved at home using chemical reagents and a burner. To obtain pure metal, it is first purified using chlorine-based acids. At the same time, you need to remember that the melting point of 999 gold is quite high, and it is almost impossible to achieve it at home.
Melting process
When the gold scrap has been thoroughly sorted and crushed, you can begin to melt it. To do this, flux is poured into the crucible. Then gold should be placed there. If the pieces have different diameters, then the larger ones are placed in the crucible first. It will be more convenient to add smaller scrap during melting. Then the furnace with the crucible located in it is turned on.
You should wait until the scrap melts completely. Only after this can it be poured into molds. After the precious metal is poured, they begin to harden it with alcohol or water. If the melting procedure is carried out not in a special furnace, but using a homemade burner, then the process looks different. The crucible should also be treated with flux.
The best option for this purpose would be borax. Next, a gold scrap is placed inside. Alcohol is poured there and set on fire. You should wait until the alcohol burns out completely. Then the crucible is placed on the bricks and the gasoline burner is ignited. The flame should be blue in the central part and yellow at the edges. They begin to melt the precious metal.
At the end of the procedure, the molten scrap is poured into molds and hardened.
Jewelers' advice
Experienced jewelers note that it is not enough to know the melting point of gold and silver. Of course, knowledge about the chemical properties of the metal will come to the rescue. Moreover, anyone can try to melt a precious product at home. However, we must remember that it is better to do this in a laboratory, where all the necessary conditions are available for such experiments.
Source: https://instanko.ru/drugoe/temperatura-plavleniya-zolota.html
How to properly melt gold at home
Gold is the most popular precious metal used in the jewelry industry. More than half of all jewelry made per year on our planet is made from gold.
This noble metal has gained great popularity among jewelers due to its unique chemical and physical properties, such as resistance to corrosion and destruction in almost all natural environments.
In addition, the low labor intensity of its processing also played an important role in the growth of gold’s popularity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIipYThCQ-k
Many people nowadays are trying to find a hobby that can generate constant income and does not require much physical and mental effort. Making primitive jewelry from various precious metals, including gold, at home is increasingly becoming such a hobby.
However, inexperienced novice jewelers are often faced with a difficult but very pressing question - how to melt gold at home. It is almost impossible to do this correctly using a regular kitchen stove.
However, you can assemble special devices for melting gold from scrap materials.
Return
Melting scrap gold
If you want to melt gold scrap at home, then a simple barbecue is no longer enough. The heat from the coal on the fire is not enough to melt the gold and alloy. A ligature is a mixture of non-ferrous metals added to pure gold to improve the physical properties of the alloy. Typically the alloy contains the following metals:
- silver;
- copper;
- rhodium;
- nickel;
- palladium;
- chromium.
Silver and copper are contained in different proportions in yellow and red-yellow gold alloys. If there is more copper in the alloy than silver, then the alloy gets a red tint. If there is more silver, then the product turns out yellow. If the product does not contain copper, but contains about 50% silver, then it acquires a slight greenish tint. Rhodium, nickel, palladium and chromium are found in white gold.
If the gold scrap contains more than 24% copper, that is, the scrap has a very red and slightly dull tint, it cannot be used for figure casting. Such an alloy can only be heated and drawn out. You can also make jewelry from it using printing.
Algorithm of actions:
- Before melting scrap gold, the raw materials must be sorted by shade.
- Next, the gold scrap needs to be crushed. The smaller the particles, the faster they will melt.
- After this, the raw material must be poured into a crucible and placed in a muffle or electric arc furnace.
- Immediately after melting, the liquid gold must be removed from the furnace and poured into the mold. During prolonged melting, the alloy burns out first, and then the gold.
- Immediately after casting, gold should be hardened. The faster it cools, the stronger the product will be; water and alcohol can be used for hardening.
Return
In the footsteps of experienced jewelers
If you do not have a specialized furnace, but want to make jewelry, you can make gold alloys using a homemade gasoline burner. Its advantage over muffle furnaces is that an open flame not only melts metal, but also burns oxygen. To make such a burner, the following parts are required:
- an air injector and a gun (sprinkler) from an airbrush, spray gun or garden apparatus for spraying chemicals;
- jar with a hermetically sealed lid;
- an air pump with a foot drive for inflating car tires (frog pump) or a car compressor;
- hoses;
- sealant.
Homemade burner diagram.
Device assembly algorithm:
- We cut two holes in the top of the can for the hoses.
- We thread the hose from the pump into the first hole, and thread the hose that will go to the sprinkler into the second hole.
- We connect the hose to the sprinkler and seal the holes.
- We pour gasoline into the can, pump air into the can and check the tightness of the connections. The mixture of gasoline and air should be sprayed only from the injector nozzle.
If the device is sealed and working, we ignite the stream of mixture coming out of the injector and adjust it so that the center of the flame is blue.
If you don't know how to melt gold using a gasoline torch, here are step-by-step instructions:
- First we treat the crucible with borax.
- Then we place crushed gold scrap in it.
- Fill the metal with alcohol and set it on fire.
- When the alcohol burns out, place the crucible on refractory bricks.
- We light the burner and ensure that the flame is blue with yellow edges.
- We melt gold scrap on an open fire. When the alloy burns out and the gold is completely melted, remove the burner and pour the noble metal into a pre-prepared mold.
- Cool the gold quickly with water.
As you can see, melting scrap gold using a homemade torch is a very simple task. However, I would like to immediately warn those who want to use a gas welding machine instead of a gasoline burner: the welding machine is designed to melt steel. It will simply evaporate all the gold.
Melting precious metals using gas welding is a waste of money.
Source: https://grammzolota.ru/dobycha/rasplavit-domashnih-usloviyah.html
How to melt gold at home: 7 simple steps, tips and advice from an expert
Gold is one of the most popular precious metals. Jewelry craftsmen fell in love with it because it has unique characteristics, including resistance to corrosion and destruction in various environments.
And thanks to its softness and other properties, gold does not take much time and effort to process. Some people plan to find a useful hobby that will bring not only joy, but also a stable profit.
Hence, many are interested in how to melt gold at home. A simple gas stove will not suit you for this task, and you may not have enough money to purchase professional equipment. Let's look at this question in more detail.
How to melt pure gold?
Back in school, in chemistry lessons, we were taught that the melting point of gold, which has the highest standard, reaches 1065 degrees Celsius. Other high temperatures will cause the precious metal to completely burn out.
Gold samples 585, 583, 375, 300, which were created in Russia and the CIS countries, require elevated temperatures for melting. This is due to the increased copper content.
Gold smelting should be carried out outdoors or in a special room. If you choose the latter option, then make sure that there are no easily flammable items there. Experts also advise installing separate wiring for electricity or equipping all sockets with fuses.
All jewelry factories have professional equipment - these can be muffle or electric arc furnaces. The price of such equipment will be too high; novice jewelers will not be able to afford them.
For this reason, it is recommended to melt exactly 999 gold. You can purchase such bars at any government banking institution.
You may be interested in: Red gold – price per 1 gram
Melting gold at home is best done using small crucibles. You can use a simple barbecue stove or a grill with a thick bottom.
To do this, you will need coals; place a crucible on them, in which finely chopped gold will be laid out. Blow the flame periodically. When the metal is melted, pour it into a special mold, then you can add some silver particles.
It is important to know that a craft made from such gold will be fragile and porous in structure. This will be affected by air ingress.
To prevent this, it is recommended to agitate the molten metal before pouring it into the mold, and then quench it with water or alcohol.
How to melt scrap gold?
A grill or barbecue oven is not suitable for melting scrap gold. Simple coals will not be able to melt such a metal and its alloy - additives, which are various non-ferrous metals necessary to improve the characteristics of the alloy.
Mainly used as a ligature:
- Silver
- Copper
- Rhodium
- Nickel
- Palladium or platinum
- Chromium
If gold contains silver and copper, it will end up with a reddish hue. If the copper content is high, the alloy will have a red color. If the silver content is high, the alloy will be yellow in color.
In the complete absence of copper, and with a silver content of 50%, the jewelry will have a greenish color. Other additives are available only in white gold.
Gold scrap, which has a red and dull color, indicates that it contains at least 24% copper, which prohibits its use in figure casting. It can only be heated or stretched.
With the help of such gold scrap, jewelers create various products through printing.
So, how to melt gold scrap yourself:
- Before starting the melting procedure, sort the material based on color and shades.
- Shred the scrap.
- Pour the particles into a crucible and send them to a muffle furnace (can be replaced with an electric arc furnace).
- When the gold melts, pour it into a special mold. It is worth noting that it cannot be melted for too long, otherwise the entire alloy will burn out, and then the noble metal itself.
- Temper the gold. You can use water or alcohol.
Recommendations from experts
You don’t have professional equipment, but your finances don’t allow you to purchase it? But do you want to try yourself in such an interesting hobby? Then you can use a simple gasoline burner.
The main advantage of such household appliances is that thanks to an open flame, the metal not only melts, but also burns out the air. To build a gasoline burner, you will need:
- Spray gun for airbrush. Can be replaced with an air injector or garden equipment that is required for spraying chemicals.
- Jar with an airtight lid.
- Air pump from a car. Can be replaced with a machine compressor.
- Hose.
- Sealant.
How to make a gasoline burner:
- Cut two holes at the top of the can; they will be needed for hoses.
- Pass the hose that comes from the pump into the first hole, and put the hose intended for the sprinkler into the second hole.
- Connect the hose to the sprinkler and seal the holes.
- Make sure that gasoline and air come out of the injector nozzle.
Check the functionality of your homemade burner. It is important that the color of the flame is blue in the middle.
Start melting gold scrap:
- Treat the crucible with borax.
- Place small particles of gold in it.
- Fill everything with alcohol and set it on fire.
- Wait until the alcohol burns out completely and place the crucible on the bricks.
- Light the gasoline burner. It is important that the center of the flame is blue and the edges yellow.
- Start melting metal. Wait until the multi-colored metal additives burn out. Remove the burner and pour the mixture into a special form.
- Cool the metal immediately with water or alcohol.
If you plan to use a simple gas welding machine, then you should know that it is only required for melting steel. Using it will cause the gold to completely evaporate.
Source: http://VseoZolote.ru/interesno/rasplavit-zoloto-v-domashnih-usloviyah.html
How to melt gold at home: 3 best ways, at what temperature it melts and how to make a burner
Greetings, dear readers of our site! If you know how to extract gold from old radio components, have decided to open a jewelry business, are planning to make a custom gold jewelry with your own hands, or are simply interested in how to melt gold at home, I will tell you, especially since it is not as difficult as it might seem at first sight.
Melting methods
Folk craftsmen have invented many devices for artisanal melting of precious metals. Modern Kulibins can make an electric furnace at home, melt gold in a microwave, barbecue, gas welding, deposit gold by electrolysis, make a gasoline, propane or oxy-acetylene burner for melting, or even decide to use a gas stove for melting.
I strongly do not recommend the last option, unless you want to start a fire in your own home. In addition, gold melted on a gas stove heats up for a long time, unevenly and mixes with atmospheric air. Such an alloy will be very brittle.
Among several popular methods of melting at home, I have chosen for you three that, in my opinion, are the most reliable.
Burner
The most affordable and fastest way to melt small volumes of solar metal. You will need a gas canister with tourist gas (a mixture of butane and propane) or acetylene, and the burner itself, which is easy to buy at any hardware store or order online. The main thing is that the unit has a sufficiently high efficiency. The device data sheet indicates the maximum temperature - compare it with the melting point of gold.
This video shows that a 15g gold bar can be melted in about 5 minutes even at home.
You can melt gold using a gasoline torch. It is not inferior to gas, but is more often used for jewelry soldering of finished jewelry.
Using a homemade oven
For those who plan to engage in melting regularly, I recommend purchasing a jewelry muffle furnace. Or you can be patient and make such a stove with your own hands at home.
Melting furnaces are either electric or charcoal-fired. How to make such a stove is a separate topic, I will only say that a variety of materials are used for its manufacture: refractory bricks, cement slabs, steel cylinders of different diameters, stainless steel beer kegs and other materials resistant to high temperatures.
It should be remembered that for such furnaces it is better to use charcoal: its heat transfer when air is supplied is 1280 ⁰C. This is enough to melt gold, but coal can heat the metal above the melting point of steel.
Microwave
Yes, you can bake an original gold bracelet for yourself in your home microwave oven! But seriously, 1200 watts of power is enough to melt precious metals. The method is suitable for those who systematically engage in jewelry making: if you use your microwave to melt metals at least once, you will no longer be able to cook food in it.
A few important points:
- The magnetron in a microwave oven should be located at the back or side - this is the main condition.
- Clay crucibles are not suitable for microwave oven conditions. The optimal crucible is graphite.
- It will take about 8 minutes to melt a few grams of silver. It will take 12-15 minutes to melt 3 grams of gold.
To start melting precious metals at home, you will need to remove the rotating disk from the microwave oven and make a heat-resistant chamber from two refractory bricks.
Which way is better
Everyone can choose for themselves which method suits them best. It all depends on the melting objectives, profitability, availability of raw materials and budget. For one-time operations at home, a gas burner is ideal. Inexpensive and effective, does not require time to manufacture, melts quickly and well.
The furnaces are well suited for those who do smelting regularly. The advantages are minimal losses and the ability to control the melting temperature. But it will require certain investments.
At what temperature does gold melt?
The melting point of the 79th element of the periodic table in its pure form is 1064.18 °C. Different ligatures can change this indicator. So, silver and nickel will significantly lower the melting point, palladium will increase it. But with a copper alloy, the melting point will not change.
585 and the old Soviet 583 standard (an alloy of gold with silver and copper) melts at a temperature of 840 °C. This additive makes it possible to increase the strength of gold while maintaining its ductility and aesthetic appearance. That is why this particular sample is so popular among jewelers and ordinary people. Jewelry alloy of 375 gold melts at 770 °C. It should be remembered that molten gold evaporates quickly.
How much does it cost to melt gold
It is quite expensive to melt gold from a specialist, and the cost is in direct correlation with the purity. The higher the metal standard, the higher the price. The price range for such a service is from 500 to 1500 rubles per gram. The cost of melting a house is much lower. But you will need to study the features of the process in detail so as not to suffer yourself and avoid losses.
It is difficult to name the exact costs of melting at home - it all depends on what materials and tools for melting you have available and which you will need to purchase.
Rules for self-smelting
In order for the process to be enjoyable and the result to please, novice jewelers should follow all the rules and not neglect safety precautions. Be sure to use heat-resistant gloves, safety glasses, and an apron made of thick fabric.
It is better to carry out the process in an empty garage or in an open space, away from flammable objects. The table for such an operation should be covered with a sheet of steel or ceramic tiles.
How to melt pure gold
Pure gold is a soft metal with a noble yellow color. Although it has the highest melting point, it melts quite easily. Plus, it does not require pre-cleaning. Just put a piece of metal in the crucible and you can start melting.
How to melt gold scrap
If you have some substandard jewelry, scrap, or gold dust, it won't be difficult to melt it down into a more attractive form.
- Gold sand must first be cleaned with acids, washed and dried. Then it is wrapped in tissue paper, moistened with a solution of sodium tetraborate, placed in a crucible and heating begins.
- Gold scrap is sorted by sample (or at least by color), cleaned and placed in a crucible, having first poured a thin layer of flux (borax and boric acid) onto the bottom. As melting progresses, you can add more flux. One ounce of precious metal usually requires two to three pinches of sodium tetraborate.
- The molten metal is poured into a mold and quenched. Be careful! Use only heat-resistant materials. Basic protective equipment can prevent serious burns and protect against fire.
How to make a homemade melting torch
It is not difficult to purchase a gas or gasoline device. A jewelry gasoline unit is safe and costs between 1000-2000 rubles. However, if you have the time and desire, you can make a melting torch yourself. It’s easier to make gasoline at home.
We will need:
- Any compressor - from a refrigerator, an aquarium, a nebulizer or a foot compressor - to supply air.
- Plastic container - for example, a milk bottle.
- Hoses.
- Sealant.
- And, the most difficult thing, nozzles for supplying a directed flame. It is better to make several of them to order in order to get a powerful stream of flame for melting or a flame-needle for repairing jewelry or solder. But you can also use an air injector, make several injectors from gas jets - you can buy them in the gas industry and drill larger holes, from 1 to 3 mm.
Assembly steps:
- We weigh down a plastic container for gasoline by gluing it to a ceramic tile or sheet of metal. This must be done for fire safety purposes, so as not to overturn the bottle of gasoline during operation.
- We make two holes in the container - one in the lid of the bottle to supply air from the compressor to the bottle, the second to supply gasoline-air vapors to the burner.
- We connect the hoses: the first - from the compressor to the bottle (it should reach the bottom), the second - from the container with gasoline to the burner itself.
- We seal the joints.
- The simplest version of the burner is a steel tube with a gas jet screwed into it. But for the sake of simplicity and safety, I recommend purchasing a ready-made one - its cost will not exceed 200 rubles.
The assembly process of the entire structure is described in the video:
How to melt gold at home
Once we have decided what, for what purpose and how much gold needs to be melted, it’s time to check whether we have everything that may be required during the melting process.
Necessary materials and equipment for smelting
Exactly what you need depends on the melting method you choose. But there is a list of what a person who decides to do such an exciting business at home should definitely have:
- heat-resistant hand, face and body protection;
- asbestos cardboard or ceramic tiles - to protect the table surface;
- melting furnace or burner;
- crucible;
- forceps;
- flux.
Optional - acids for cleaning, alcohol and water for hardening, a mold for casting the finished product.
Melting process
The melting process begins with preparing the material for melting: sorting, cleaning, grinding. The oven is then turned on to preheat, or if you are using a gas burner, you can preheat the crucible and the heat-resistant surface on which it sits.
The crucible bowl is sprinkled with flux, and metal is placed in it for melting. Once the metal is melted, it is poured into a mold or left as an ingot.
Expert advice
- Potato crucible is a budget and safe option. First you need to give the root crop stability - cut off the convex parts at the top and bottom of the potato and make a depression for melting. It is convenient to do this with a teaspoon. We prepare the surface of the potato crucible by burning it until charred.
The resulting carbon serves as a good container for molten metal: high heat resistance and low thermal conductivity make such a crucible so convenient that you can pick it up with your hands - no tongs are needed. The disadvantage of this option is that it is only suitable for small volumes of gold - up to 15 g, and only for melting using a gas or gasoline burner.
- Pure gold is a very soft metal. To increase its strength, it is melted with various alloys: copper, nickel, palladium.
- Before you start working with precious metals at home, you should practice using cupronickel.
Jewelry making is a fascinating and creative process.
However, to start it, I recommend consulting with specialists. When working with gold, mistakes are costly.
Stay safe and be careful when working with molten metal, especially at home. Share this article with your friends, and we will delight you with new interesting topics!
Source: https://zhazhdazolota.ru/dobycha/kak-rasplavit-au-v-domashnih-usloviyah
How to melt gold at home? Melting point of gold
Among all the precious metals, gold is considered one of the most popular. Thanks to such unique characteristics as resistance to corrosion and the negative effects of aggressive environments, this metal is loved by many jewelry makers.
Due to the fact that gold is relatively soft, processing it with special equipment will not be difficult. Beginners often ask the question, how to melt gold at home? According to experts, home craftsmen can do this. To make any jewelry from this noble metal, it is not necessary to contact a specialist.
You will find information on how to melt gold at home and what you need for this in this article.
Getting to know metal
Surely many of the buyers wondered why gold is so expensive? The reason for this is the attractive color, thanks to which gold products look very impressive.
In addition, this material has a lot of advantages that make it popular in industries such as jewelry, medicine and industry. In its natural form, gold can be represented by grains or nuggets. Therefore, before being sent to a store or bank, the gold is processed. This is mainly a factory procedure. However, judging by numerous reviews, it is also successfully implemented in a homemade way. Read on to learn how to melt gold at home.
In order to improve the characteristics of alloys, various impurities are added to their composition, which are also called alloys. Gold can be combined with silver, copper, palladium or platinum, rhodium, nickel and chromium. Metal with silver and copper after melting will have a reddish tint. If there is more copper in gold, then it will be completely red, and if there is silver, it will be yellow.
About the melting point of gold in degrees
According to experts, gold of the highest standard will melt at a temperature of 1064 degrees. This applies to 999 gold. If a different thermal regime is applied, this will lead to complete burnout of the precious metal. Newbies often wonder whether it is possible to melt gold on a gas stove? Due to the fact that the temperature resulting from the combustion of natural gas depends on the distance to the burner, experts advise not to take risks.
Near the burner itself, the temperature ranges from 300 to 400 degrees. Having reached its peak, it will be 1500 degrees. Before you begin, you should know the exact melting point of gold in degrees. Precious metal of 375 standard will melt in a mode not exceeding 770 degrees. 585 standard - at a temperature of 840 degrees. It is considered the most popular among professional jewelers. This sample is often faked by scammers.
According to experts, it is impossible to melt 999 gold using a homemade method. It is possible to achieve a temperature of 1064 degrees only in factory conditions. Some home craftsmen, out of ignorance, make the mistake of using ordinary welding machines as a means of heating. However, these devices can only melt steel. If the welding machine is used for gold, the precious metal will completely evaporate.
Before you melt gold at home, you need to have the following:
- Crucible. If for pure gold the melting point is 1064 degrees, then for alloys containing copper, more heating will be required. Therefore, there is a need for a container that can withstand high temperatures. If you couldn’t get a crucible, you can use a potato. It is enough to cut a hole in the center of a raw root vegetable for gold.
- With tongs. Preference should be given to products made from heat-resistant materials.
- A flux used to purify gold. It is presented as a mixture containing borax and sodium carbonate. According to experts, at least two pinches of flux are required to clean one ounce of precious metal. You can also cope with this task using bicarbonate and baking soda.
- A furnace for melting metal. Electric furnaces for working with precious metals are presented to consumers in specialized stores. Judging by numerous reviews, home craftsmen use microwaves for this purpose. However, not every microwave oven will do. It is imperative that its power is not lower than 1200 W, and the magnetron is located in the side or rear part. According to experts, it is not recommended to further heat food in a stove that contained molten gold. If there is only one microwave in the house, and the master is not ready to sacrifice it, then we can recommend that he purchase a gasoline burner.
Where should I start?
Due to the fact that scrap gold is a precious metal, in which over 20% is occupied by various impurities, it should be sorted before melting. To do this, experts advise paying attention to its color. Pieces with a redder hue contain more copper. Next, the scrap is crushed.
Finally
For those who have difficulty making a crucible, experienced craftsmen recommend paying attention to barbecue stoves or barbecues with thick bottoms. These products will become an alternative version of the crucible. Handmade gold items often have a porous structure due to air penetration and are very fragile. Therefore, before pouring molten gold into molds, it needs to be shaken.
Source: https://FB.ru/article/419617/kak-rasplavit-zoloto-v-domashnih-usloviyah-temperatura-plavleniya-zolota
How to melt gold at home? | WHO?WHAT?WHERE?
Any novice jeweler is interested in the answer to the question of how to melt gold at home. This will not be so easy to do, since during the work it is necessary to take into account many nuances so that the remelted metal does not turn out to be porous and brittle.
Necessary materials
For the gold melting procedure you need:
- Crucible. Pure gold melts at a temperature of 1064 °C, and alloys containing copper require even higher heating. Therefore, you will need a container that can withstand this temperature. If you were unable to get a crucible, you can make one from potatoes by placing gold in a hole cut out of a raw potato.
- Forceps. Since the tongs will have to come into contact with the crucible, they must be made of heat-resistant material.
- A mixture of sodium carbonate and borax. This mixture is used as a flux. To clean gold, you will need at least 2 pinches of flux for every ounce of metal (and even more for scrap). Bicarbonate and baking soda are also suitable as flux.
- Melting furnace. You can buy a special electric furnace for melting precious metals or use a microwave oven. For this purpose, only a microwave with a power of more than 1200 W is suitable, in which the magnetron is located on the back or side. The microwave that was used to melt precious metals can no longer be used to heat food. If you don't have a special oven or microwave, try melting it using a gas torch.
Making a Homemade Melting Burner
You will need an air injector and a sprinkler from an airbrush or garden sprayer, a car pump with a foot drive, hoses, sealant, and a jar with a lid.
Cut 2 holes in the top half of the can for hoses. Insert the hose from the pump into one of them, and into the second - the hose that leads to the sprinkler. Connect the sprinkler. Seal the holes.
Check the tightness of the structure. To do this, pour gasoline into a jar and start pumping air. If it only flies out of the sprinkler hole, then everything is in order and you can start melting.
Melting gold on a homemade burner
Treat the crucible with flux (borax) and place pre-crushed scrap in it. Pour alcohol into it and set it on fire. Wait for the alcohol to burn off. And move the crucible to a fireproof surface.
Turn on the burner so that the middle of the flame is blue and the edges are yellow. Melting must take place over an open fire so that the alloy is completely burned out and the gold is melted. After this, pour the metal into the mold and harden it with water.
Source: https://kto-chto-gde.ru/kak-rasplavit-zoloto-v-domashnix-usloviyax/
Melting gold at home with a gas torch
20.12.2018
Many novice jewelers are looking for ways to melt gold at home. It’s worth noting right away that there are several technologies, each of which has its own subtleties, so before carrying out the procedure you need to familiarize yourself with the features of each method. Otherwise, the melted metal will be porous and brittle.
Burner application
If you were unable to purchase a special stove, but urgently need to melt down a gold item, you can use a regular gasoline burner.
It is easy to install yourself, just prepare the materials:
- air type injector and sprayer, it can be removed from any household device, it is on the spray gun, as well as on the chemical sprayer;
- good sealant;
- metal jar with lid;
- hose;
- foot driven pump.
If everything is assembled, then you can start assembling. Installation is carried out in the following sequence:
- first you need to make two holes in the prepared jar, the diameter of which will correspond to the diameter of the hose, these openings should be located in the upper part;
- a hose from a car pump is inserted into one hole, a hose for a spray gun is placed into the other;
- Now you should pour gasoline into the container, disperse the air using a pump and carefully seal all existing cracks with sealant;
- air and gasoline will come out of the injector nozzle;
- at the next stage, it is necessary to ignite the stream of mixture that comes out of the injector, and, if necessary, adjust the color of the flame; its middle must be blue.
At this point, the device for melting gold objects is considered ready. You can proceed directly to the process. To begin with, the crucible for melting gold is treated with borax, and then the scrap that needs to be processed is placed in it. Next, pour in the prepared alcohol and set it on fire; as soon as the liquid has completely burned out, it is necessary to lay a brick on the refractory material.
Now they begin to prepare the gasoline burner, it needs to be ignited and adjusted, and only after that you can start melting. At the first stage, the ligature is melted, and then the gold; As soon as the base metal is melted, it must be poured into a mold and quickly cooled with cold water.
Thus, using a homemade burner it is quite possible to melt any precious metal, although this process takes a lot of time and effort. But it is worth noting that gas welding equipment should under no circumstances be used for these purposes. This is because it will simply evaporate the gold.
Homemade stove
The muffle furnace is quite expensive, so not everyone can buy it. Therefore, you can save money and make your own stove device. The main advantages of this design are:
- compact dimensions;
- ease of use and maintenance;
- wide heating range.
If you follow the instructions and follow the sequence, then assembling the stove will not be difficult. The device will consist of two electrodes made of graphite; a voltage in the range of 25-50 V will be transmitted to these elements. Then they are covered with carbon-graphite powder.
A powerful transformer is manufactured separately; it can be removed from old welding equipment. The most efficient melting is achieved due to the characteristics of the graphite powder, which provides an intensive heating process. The main advantage of such a homemade stove is the high temperature to which gold products are exposed, which allows them to be melted down fairly quickly.
Ceramic tiles, cement or graphite are used to make such equipment. The electrodes can be replaced with special brushes from a powerful motor, holes are made in the side of which, and stranded copper wires are inserted into them. Then it is necessary to make shallow notches on the inside of the element, in which case contact with the powder will improve.
The outside of the stove must be covered with tiles, and bricks must be laid in the lower part, this will strengthen the structure. Used rods can be used as carbon graphite powder.
The smelting process itself is carried out as follows: small depressions are made in the middle of the device, gold items are placed in them and lightly added dropwise. You can understand that the metal has completely melted by rocking the furnace structure. If the powder fluctuates at this time, then it is necessary to turn the metal over and heat it further. The process continues until the molten mixture acquires a homogeneous state and acquires a spherical shape.
Useful tips
In order not to encounter difficulties, you should adhere to some rules and recommendations during the process of melting down gold products. Experienced jewelers advise the following:
- For melting, it is better to purchase a special crucible. Most often it is made from clay or graphite.
- To avoid possible burns, it is advisable to wear gloves, a mask and use metal tongs in advance.
- If it is not possible to purchase a crucible, then you can use fresh and raw potatoes. But first you need to make a hole in it.
- Before melting, it is necessary to clean the surface of objects; this can be done using a special flux, which is sold publicly in specialized stores. They can be of different shapes, so it is possible to choose the most convenient device. Flux helps improve contact between gold items, allowing them to fuse better.
- When carrying out the procedure, safety precautions must be observed, since the work takes place at a very high temperature.
- The room in which it is planned to remelt must be absolutely safe; a garage, outbuildings or open verandas are best suited for this. But there should be no flammable substances or objects near the workplace.
- As a form, you can use any container made of the same material as the crucible. It can be square, cylindrical or rectangular; this factor does not play a special role.
As you can see, there are simple ways in which you can independently melt gold, silver and other precious metals at home. To do this, you can mount a stove with your own hands or assemble a gasoline burner. The main thing is to comply with all requirements and follow some tips.
How to melt gold at home: methods and tips Link to main publication
Source: https://rem-serv.com/plavka-zolota-v-domashnih-usloviyah-gazovoy-gorelkoy/