Melting Copper

[Fox McCloud]

If I wanted to melt copper, what would be the easiest way to do this? Also, do any of you know any places that would be willing to stamp copper coins? (1 Troy Ounce size).

Yeah, I know 1 troy ounce of copper is only about 25 cents, but it's still a coin that has real value.

 

[Doktor_Jeep]

Indeed. Copper or bronze (though I know not the value of the latter) might round out gold and silver well enough.

I was just talking to someone at the supermarket, complaining about the price of things going up, and I pulled out my silver dollar (1 oz.) and explained that it's not "things going up", it's the dollar going down, and why.

Carry REAL money around and explain this to people and you do more damage than if you shot the bastards.

I think the bastards would prefer to get shot at rather than see their fiat money system go down - which is worse for their agenda and power than being shot at.

(For some reason, when you shoot them, they find a way to make the incident result in more power for them).

 

[123tim]

I used to be into sand casting. You might want to google this to find plans to make a burner suitable for what you need.

Here's this too:
http://www.jamesriser.com/Machinery/GasForge/PropaneForge.html



The Ron Reihl burner in this design is everywhere on the internet.

(The high price of fuel lowered my ambitions)

 

[jonahtrainer]

If I wanted to melt copper, what would be the easiest way to do this? Also, do any of you know any places that would be willing to stamp copper coins? (1 Troy Ounce size).

Yeah, I know 1 troy ounce of copper is only about 25 cents, but it's still a coin that has real value.

Just don't melt pre-1982 pennies or you may go to the pokey.

 

[Gideon]

Copper coins

Just don't melt pre-1982 pennies or you may go to the pokey.

There really is no practical reason to melt them, as they already have a consistent value as copper slugs.

I still have a few Ron Paul coppers...

 

[123tim]

Here is a link to an page which shows a melter made out of a stove burner. Instead of using a temperature controller it is wired directly to house current. Apparently a burner will get a lot hotter without burning out than I thought it would.

Maybe this is an elaborate hoax. One thing that makes me think this (outside of the fact that I didn't think a burner could ever get hot enough) is the fact that there isn't a picture of melted metal anywhere on the whole web site.

This talks about melting pennies, which I think is now totally illegal.
http://www.gizmology.net/stovetop.htm

I didn't read this the whole way through....I might have to try it sometime - it seems like this would melt wire or aluminum if it is actually true.

 

[Johnnybags]

Used dental oven on EBAY

or kiln, must be over 2000 degress. Alternately, get a cast iron pipe two ends, slightly vented and lay it on a fire til the iron is red hot. Lastly, either buy or build your own small pail foundry out of firebrick and heated with propane or nat gas.

 

[Zippyjuan]

How much will it cost -including gear and energy- to melt an ounce of copper? Is it worth the effort? If the gear costs $100 and you get 25 cents an ounce, then you need at least 400 ounces (not including the price of buying and reselling your original copper or the gas or whatever to melt it) to break even. Silver and gold would get you more from the same result.

It may be more efficient to keep the copper in whatever form you have it in if you are strictly doing it for investment- although watching it melt can be fun.

As far as making your own coins, you could try to produce a mold or try to find a private mint. They probably have a minimum stamping run with a die cost plus a per-medal (they won't want to call them coins) fee.

 

[Allen72289]

http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com

I built a furnance back in apex with refractory, type s masonry cement, sand and perlite.

Use a squirrel cage fan as an air force.

Then use a small pipe to drip oil into the furnace which then ignites the oil due to a wood fire in the furnace.

it will melt iron.

use old motor oil or vo that can be picked up for free at car shops or resturaunts.

 

[brandon]

Skip the coins. Make 10lb bars

 

[madengr]

I ran some computations a while back:

m=3.1 grams=mass of penny
Cp=0.385 Joules/grams/Kelvin=specific heat of copper
T=1353 Kelvin=melting point of copper

U=m*Cp*T=1615 Joules=energy to melt 1 penny

cost=(1615 Joules)*(kWh/3.6E6 Joules)*(10 cents/kWh)=0.004 cents

So the best you could do is 0.004 cents to melt 1 penny. However even an order of magnitude worse efficiency and it's still only 0.04 cents per penny, a fraction of the intrinsic value.

My guess is a very small carbon arc furnace would be relatively easy to construct to melt a few at a time. It would get very hot and may be efficient enough. However the whole point is to destroy the penny (evidence of your so called crime), so you would be much better just smashing or grinding them. A simple roll press could squeeze them into copper sheet. You can sure as hell bet that the treasury is melting those removed from circulation, thus taking advantage of the profit from intrinsic value. However as is typical with government, do as I say not as I do.

 

[BeFranklin]

This thread interested me so I looked up the metal prices here:

http://www.coinflation.com/

According to this, 1 penny (pre 1982) is now worth 2.2 cents.

That is more than a 100% profit. OUCH!

Forgot the gold and silver, make a 100% profit and get pennies. (Don't melt them, just keep them).