Vent: Just read that a single cupola furnace can melt over 5 tons of iron per hour

Found that in an old trade journal from the 80s. Makes our current setup look small. Anyone else work with cupolas before they got phased out?

3 comments

3 Comments

jake_patel24d ago

Remember the constant coke and limestone deliveries?

owens.blair24d ago

Wow, that's a crazy amount of iron. I've only read about those big cupolas. What was the actual process like to run one of those things for a shift? I mean, keeping that kind of melt going sounds like a huge job with a lot of hands on deck.

olivercraig24d ago

Actually, a lot of places phased out cupolas for environmental rules, not just because they were old. The melt rate was huge, but the coke fuel and emissions were a real problem. Modern electric furnaces are just cleaner, even if they feel smaller scale. Did you see many shops switch over in your area?