On Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:12:27 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:12:14 -0500, Martin Baxter
wrote:

Load of hooey anyway, you don't need that great a temperature to soften
steel. You don't even need thermite in a Bessemer converter, coke,
regular air and shot of oxygen will do just fine.

Yes, and you don't need an outside source of oxygen either. Steel can
and does soften enough to lose its' structural properties from
ordinary fires.

Coal is quite frequently used as fuel in forges. Coal has a heat value
of 12 - 13,000 BTU/Lb. #1 Fuel oil (kerosine) has a heat value of
about 20,000 BTU/Lb.
Given that you can heat steel far past its softening temperature in a
coal fired forge (all you need is more air) it would seem likely that
an Fuel oil fueled fire would do as well.

..
Bruce-in-Bangkok
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