Drop Flue Pan

[Bucket Head]

Just for comparison, does anyone know how the factory pans are welded? I know they fuse the joints, at least for the most part anyway. I know they back-gas them. What else?

The back-gassing fixture is'nt really absorbing much heat, so the factories are getting away without any heat sink device. If I'm remembering correctly, there is a tungsten that is smaller than the 1/16". Its measured in thousanth's- forty thousanth's stick's in my head but I may be wrong. A smaller tungsten would help out. Once we all figure this out, all the TIG welding Mapletrader's WILL be artists at it!

As for my pans, their 16ga. stainless, MIG welded with .025 wire. Yes, thicker steel than most pans, but they boil! Don't get me wrong, I still had to stitch weld them and be VERY careful, but overall it went well and was not a problem for me. A good friend of mine sheared and bent the pieces to my specs. and I welded everything here. I would'nt hesitate to reccomend that ga. steel and the MIG process to someone that might build a pan and is not comfortable with, or does not have acess to a TIG welder.

Like I said, we'll get this thin stainless TIG stuff figured out.

Steve

[Sugarmaker]

David,
The round copper drain was already soldered on to the bottom of the stainless flues when I got my pans.
Ideas: if you could reach between the flues and weld then you could weld on a small square piece of stainless to the rear end bottom of the flues. then drill a hole through the flue into the tube. This would require welding four spots on eat each point where the tube crossed each flue. Getting this sap tight might be a trick? Need to get someone to take a good picture of the drain attached to the flues on a new factory pan.
How ever you attach it remember to have it very secure to resit the torque from tightening and or loosening the drain extension coming out the side of the arch.

Cutting:
Yes my material for the WRU project was much thicker .030 to .050 thick. I cut the material with a food grade electric skill saw 7-1/4 blade turned around backwards. Also many cut off type blades in a 4-1/2 inch hand grinder. Don't try this at home! This was not cutting, this was very noisy whittling! Lots of burrs to clean up too. It was great fun.
Bending:
I'm cheap! I built a $5 brake in the style of Big Eddy's and went to bending. No its not perfect, neither am I, if I waited for everything to be perfect I would get even less done.

Chris

[Paperman]

Any updates on the completion of the pan? Im really interested on how you finished off the ends of the pan. Not the flue ends but the corner where the flues tie into the front and back "walls" of the pan. Seems it would be a pain to fit right. Great looking. RK

[NYMaple]

I'm curious about the brake... I don't quite understand how the thing hinges. Does anyone have a sketch.

It seems like I could just use a piano hinge beneath the angle piece. Is this right?

I've read all of the descriptions and looked at the photos, but without seeing one work I just can't get it to sink in!

Thanks!

BTW - Great looking project!

[Paperman]

Take a view of my thread. http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?t=10535

In post 5 it shows a few pics of the hinge.

[NYMaple]

Great --- thanks!