@AA-vb2ci
"Smoke that probably wasn't healthy to breathe" The way he said that he DEFINITELY inhaled it
@Boop__Doop
Something primal is telling me I want an ingot of metal
@jeffsaxton716
The energy required to do that is a fraction of what it takes to get aluminum from the ore. It's very recyclable, unlike many plastics.
@LogicalNiko
The stank and smoke was the epoxy based coating that lines the can and insulates the aluminum from chemically interacting with the beverage inside.
@Zenobiwan
a very important detail here for anyone thinking of doing this at home is the fact that he PREHEATED the mould before pouring the aluminum in it. if you don't do this, then ANY moisture or debris that was in the mould when you pour the molten metal will expel gases and create a steam explosion.
@Ninetails2000
The smoke and smell was most likely from the plastic anti-corrosive liner on the inside of the can.
@PureNrGG
Pro tip, never accidentally put a can upside down in the crucible. Its extremely intuitive why you wouldnt, but I remember knowing that, hastily putting cans in the crucible, and putting one upside down. Can goes pop, molten aluminum goes flying, it's not fun
@yukinagato1573
Fun fact: since aluminum oxide is Al2O3, it's pretty expensive to extract aluminum from nature (during electrolysis, you have to give 3 electrons to each Al atom - multiply that to the amount of atoms you want, and the electricity bill skyrockets). So, this is a situation where it's just cheaper to recycle instead of mining more.
@sejwok2628
Oh hey, this was me for years before I started finding other aluminum to melt down. My Can Phase definitely wasn't the most productive in terms of mass, but I learned a lot about reclaiming metal.. Cans may not have much aluminum, but they're everywhere and basically free. So if anyone else is thinking of trying this, here's what I've learned: Obviously the cans are lined with plastic and pigment, which is bad to breathe. It's also bad to have trapped in your liquid as slag. Putting the cans in on top of each other can cause this trapped slag to accumulate and mix with your metal until you have a big, fluffy shiny sponge that can't be used. To avoid this, I started cutting the cans into strips with some hedge trimmers, and loading stacks of these strips standing up in the crucible like a stack of money. That way they all melt quickly and everything bad floats to the surface. I skim the slag before every new stack is put in, so that inserting the new one doesn't push surface garbage back down into the mix. Finally, I sprinkle in some borax whenever I think it needs some. I can't stress enough how dirty and compromised my first reclaimed aluminum ingots were, this is everything I've figured out to purify them into usefulness.
@riley_-zm8vr
the smoke and slag were definitely a mix of the paint on the cans, leftover bits of the drinks that used to be inside them, and plastic lining the insides of the cans to stop them from corroding. all of that was burning up while it was melting
@HansMaximum
Least mad lad thing he's done.
@terminalvelocityrunner2202
I really need to invest in one of these mini furnaces and a crucible. Metalworking would be such a fun hobby
@8thFurno
The sound of you dipping it in the water was one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever heard.
@1Yukian
this was the best tutorial on how to smelt an iron ingot. thank you!
@NomadUniverse
Bars of smelted metals are called ingots. Adding borax powder will help the impurities separate. When it solidifies you can indeed refer to it as freezing, that's exactly what it is. Freezing and melting doesn't necessarily mean cold and hot. A bit longer preheat is recommended as well, as the crucible wasn't consistently heated through. If it's cooler at the top like that you can have issues pouring. Also you dont want it to freeze while you're pouring it so maintaining a higher than melting point temperature is best. Smelting is a really cool hobby to get into. There's a few really good channels on here worth checking out, and the chemistry behind it could make some good content for you.
@AyalaLab
I remember many years ago watching Grant Thompson, AKA the King of Random, doing this exact thing and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. He used the melted bars to cast a copy of I believe the Hylian Sword from the Zelda series in one video.
@Nobody-pk2rt
I cannot unsee the small bubbles from the purple gold in these aluminum bars
@Calebgoblin
When I heard the sound of you dropping it and just imagined what it felt like in the hand, I understood how all the work was totally worth it
@JBB685
As someone who’s watched cans melt in a fire, this was very fun to watch
@NileRed