The simple jar we drink Sprite, Coke, or Fanta from is an underestimated source of aluminum. The fact is that they are made from high-quality aluminum with a small admixture of tin, which is indispensable in the food industry.

What an interesting aluminum can ?

Without a drink, it is scrap, secondary raw materials and just rubbish - we throw them in the trash and forget. But I thought about this: if the bank consists of more than 80 percent of aluminum, then it can be smelted save more and sell it through non-ferrous metal collection points. Well, you can choose another purpose - in the end, beautiful figures and artistic figurines can be smelted from aluminum. With the proper skill, this is not difficult.

Aluminum smelting from cans

An aluminum can is a cylinder made of a thin metal sheet, which is fastened by stamping, and at the bases has rigid seals - the lower one is in the form of a concave border and the upper one is even with a “opener”. The structure of the metal is homogeneous with a slight admixture of tin and the thinnest layer of ocher paint on the surface - well, you need to draw logos with something. But we do not pay attention to the paint - its impurities will burn out during remelting.

What we need to get started:

• A whole mountain of aluminum cans. It can be collected, or accumulated after your own libations.
• Hammer for "flattening" cans.

But then everything depends on the method of smelting: using a hearth or a muffle furnace.

With the help of a hearth

Well, here the method is the most primitive. Press the cans - make “neat” nickels out of them and pour them into a heat-resistant container. In particular, you can use a simple cast iron pan for lack of other things.

Under a metal saucepan, it is necessary to make a stable stand on a fireproof surface - an asbestos plate is suitable. It is not advisable to use coal or other combustible substances as fuel. We need a temperature around 500 degrees Celsius. In general, aluminum melts at 660 degrees, plus or minus. But since the jar consists of a thin sheet and has an edge, 500 degrees is enough. As a "flame" you can use several gas cylinders with piezo ignition. Then cast iron will do its job, which will warm up to the desired temperature and the hearth.

The space between the flame and the pan should be closed to the maximum from atmospheric air. It is better to make the whole bottom in the form of a cube of asbestos.

After an hour or a little more, aluminum will begin to flow, turning into a melt. It will burn the paint. After it is poured from the container into the mold - they can be made from gypsum.

With a muffle furnace

Structurally, it is a sealed case, consisting of heat-resistant metal with high thermal conductivity, the metal itself is covered with a fireproof material - most often it is ceramics, asbestos or composite. A crucible is arranged in the lower part of the cylindrical body - a cavity where the flame of a gas burner is supplied, and above, through the wall, there is a reservoir for laying metal, in our case, these are aluminum cans. The muffle furnace can be loaded to capacity.

In half an hour, the jars with the guarantee will melt. For convenience, a special faucet is made in the body of the muffle furnace, through which the melt can be safely drained into the mold.

There are many more options for how to smelt aluminum from "beer cans", up to a fire pit and a smelting pit in the ground, but they are all obsolete. What else needs to be discussed is safety precautions, since all work is carried out in conditions of high temperatures.

Anyone who has ever seen what wounds molten metal leaves behind will never neglect the following rules:

• All manipulations are performed using protective equipment - gloves and goggles. Moreover, gloves in no case should be made of polymer. It is best to use the "gaiters" in which welders work.
• It is advisable to provide fire protection measures, at least put a bucket of sand next to it. By the way, it is strictly forbidden to extinguish a fire from molten metal - with water. If you fill the melt with water, then there will be an instant evaporation of water, and the metal will gather into “liquid balls” and splatter, falling on the skin and around.
• It is better to perform all activities outdoors.

What comes out.

Each jar contains 10 to 18 grams of aluminum. It depends on the bank itself, on its size. If you compare visually, then this volume is approximately comparable to one and a half phalanges of the thumb. In order to save up for delivery for acceptance, it is necessary to melt cans in whole bags, although such figures are also found, it is more expedient to cast aluminum for the manufacture of figurines and souvenirs ... using the same muffle furnace and various forms.

In any case, working with metal is a worthy male occupation that can be started with aluminum smelting. It is interesting, and most importantly, it can become a prospect for additional profit, which is always on hand.