Gravity Fed Build

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cstal001

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 4, 2020
2
0
So, someone gave this to me for free and I have decided to build a gravity fed smoker out of it. In it's previous life, it was an electrical box on a railway. It is about 24"x36"x 4' tall. It's getting sandblasted this week to get all of the galvanized paint off, as well as the rust. It around 10 gauge steel. I have welded a 1/4" bottom on it. I am planning on insulating it with Roxul, so I have a question. Will the Roxul burn due to the heat of the welder?
 

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So, someone gave this to me for free and I have decided to build a gravity fed smoker out of it. In it's previous life, it was an electrical box on a railway. It is about 24"x36"x 4' tall. It's getting sandblasted this week to get all of the galvanized paint off, as well as the rust. It around 10 gauge steel. I have welded a 1/4" bottom on it. I am planning on insulating it with Roxul, so I have a question. Will the Roxul burn due to the heat of the welder?
Hi, Roxul AKA (rock wool) or (mineral wool) has a melting point of around 2,200 deg F..Standard arc welding, wire feed or stick has a temperature upwards of about 6,000 deg F.
But that is the highest temp right in the core of the arc where the liquid steel is happening. So the area that is hot enough to actually melt the rock wool is pretty small. Clean Rock wool itself still will not physically burn or burst into flame etc. so to speak, it just melts a little with fairly minimal deformation and really won't be affected by welding say if it was an inch away from the buisness end of the welding electrode unless it is directly contacting the molten bead of weld directly.
Keep in mind of what could change the burning/melting characteristics of the wool and potentially start a fire is if the wool was contaminated in some way, if it has dust buildup on or in it, paint on it, oils soaked into it, etc. etc. It could act like a wick and facilitate fire. Even then it would just burn itself clean and the wool would remain pretty much intact.
Sounds like a cool build though, share the progress.
 
Is the box Galvanized ? if it is sand blasting the paint off wont help and I wouldn't use it. good luck
 
Thanks for all the help! So if it is sandblasted down to bare metal, I would think there would be no zinc left?
 
Great-looking box! Don't hurt your back!
I agree, sandblasting should remove the galvanizing--just let your guy know you want it down to bare metal. The outside (with plenteous rust) makes it look like it's going to come off real easy! If there's any doubt afterwards, a little grinding on the surface will reveal pure steel or a coating on the steel. In that case, take it back to the sandblaster.
 
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