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Vermont Castings Plant Tour

Bob shows off the beautiful red Victorian inspired wood-burning stove to be installed in our project. To give further details he visits the Vermont Casting plant. For additional information see our article written in season twelve during the Elmwood project. At the plant Bob visits with the plant manager and they discuss how the mold is crafted then cast to make future stove panels. They then head over to the hoppers where the cast iron ingredients, including recycled material, scrap and pig iron ingots are mixed to provide consistent material for the stoves. The molten cast iron is added to a sand mold then cooled and sand blasted to smooth it out. Enamel paint is then applied and baked on in a kiln for two hours. The initial color sprayed on does not look like what comes out of the kiln. One of the last steps in the process of building the stove is adding a catalytic converter, which makes it more efficient and pollute less. The stove we are using in our project has 26 individually cast, iron pieces.

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Building a Victorian Style Breezeway Now Playing

Building a Victorian Style Breezeway

Vermont Castings Plant Tour Now Playing

Vermont Castings Plant Tour

Supporting the Chimney Flues and Hearth Now Playing

Supporting the Chimney Flues and Hearth

Clip Transcript For:

Vermont Castings Plant Tour

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" take a look at back. Very beautiful. Cast that wood burning stove. Energy efficient but in a Victorian design in right there especially the deep red color you want to find out how these are made let's watch. Hi Richard. I plan. Well we're really excited about learning how the -- parents so they're made what's the first step. Well Bob after still designers decided on the first things take individual components and make it in the back -- better so this would be a -- Component right this is the front -- radiance gas stove OK now the purpose of making a master pattern. Is that we need to go and make production plates out of it -- the creation of production which is actually a two step process. First we take a plastic impression of the cast of the masters we see here but what we're looking at yeah right this is that there's a -- and a backside of the plastic -- both sides of that yet. Then the next thing we do. Its cover the impression of plastic impression with the metal coating. Why is that. Well piece about the production flakes are going to be used to make impressions and a block us I have thousands times thousands of times literally and if we didn't have a metal backing about metal face to it like this what what happens after a few hundred preference it would start to lose the fine detail could lose the Christmas story -- yeah -- what these -- your production breaks through -- and effectiveness they create a column every block the sand. Into which. -- cast iron can be poured. OK that would be the next step actually the boundary that's right that's who Richard thought right now right that what that work."

" Also record and all the raw material. Tonight opposite now where all the material that -- that they're making Iraq has apparently he has done back home again green. Wanted to rebuild itself. Are effective life -- And -- his -- hanging a deadly new fighting and dying. -- in the look that the a lot of it has standing up with a well there's an elite band that doesn't really doesn't act. You're brilliant though. Is Christina -- ammo. When we saw earlier. On our way to the --"

" Between the -- and help the man. All right Dana Bennet street -- and."

" I don't know that we feel here. Is actually. Going confidence."

" OK. Iron just being honest statement after victory -- one alone."

" Bob -- ability here. Well we have everybody happy that we just saw. Remember that an but I mascot after me. Clean and green apparently in Baghdad and Manhattan in the second. What I found on business. Record -- material that we -- in order to protect the panel behind me is going to be subject all right and where did the actual color you. Which way that who have followed in the slave being applied flavor right colleges haven't even though that all of us somewhat violet that they are ready Pavel."

" Behind when I was that it. -- inherit the 1500 degrees for drop -- into the compound. Actually be dark brown for a little bit -- move off to be that. Beautiful that we're looking for OK we go to the other end with a turn up I'll."

" Like doing any added -- beautiful thing around."

" OK and these other pieces that connect the president didn't know quite right we're going to be going out assembly area -- if you -- yours that was actually put together wonderful."

" Of all the different components during these different operating here that's right break into the assembly line."

" Richard how many different parts go into putting ago -- I define our card. Takes place six individual cast iron pieces to make -- that shelf what's he doing here. Right now he's applying a bead of person until all the exterior scenes what is it that per person in its own wanted air from entering the firebox and shortened to burn farming making it very hard to control the heat output so -- And here beautiful front. On pieces now stalled this -- being constructed. Exterior side he's comforted. Data you've got the basic decides what about theaters. Well the next thing to install the catalytic converter. So Richard what of the catalytic converter do. Catalytic converter increases the efficiency of distilled by almost 50%. This is it right here. But more importantly it also reduces that's the bottom pollutants emitted by wood stove from fifty grams an hour. Officer by two grams per --"

" And then."

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