How to Melt a Gold Button with a Propane Blowtorch.

[@markgodefroy8142]

Great video, Kyle. I always drop my buttons in a glass of water to cool them, and then into a bowl of vinegar for about a half hour to soften up the glazed borax coating before picking it off. If you take sandpaper to your button to remove the borax, you’ll end up losing some of your gold. As well, don’t bother with propane - stick to MAPP gas and heat your crucible for a couple of minutes before adding your flour gold. If your crucible is properly glazed, the flour gold will bind to it. Then cover your gold with a bit of borax and heat things up slowly with the torch to avoid blowing any out. Rather than pouring your gold button out of the crucible, let it sit for a few seconds after you turn off your torch and then pluck it out with a pair of tongs or tweezers before the borax cools. Much easier to drop the button into water and you don’t risk dropping that crucible in the water (resulting in an exothermic reaction/explosion!). As well, you can get rid of the “black” residue in your crucible by adding a half teaspoon of borax and heating it up super hot - then pour out the molten borax. The black residue will come with.

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Thanks for the tips Mark, super helpful! 👌

[@Steelythestacker]

The Borax actually does a few things. Along with binding things as you mentioned and grabbing impurities, it also helps lower the melting temp of your metal. The torch I use and have amazing tesults with is a pencil tip torch. I use the mapp gas with the concentrated torch tip and my material is melting within a few minutes. Preheat your crucible like someone mentioned, that will keep things from flying out of thr crucible. Once you have your crucible treated with borax you dont need to add much with every melt, if any. Happy melting!!

[@chewyfingers1288]

Looking forward to This season. You put a lot of thought into the things you do. Great job!

[@Edward-ju1vj]

Your torch is to close. The tip of the flame is the hot part. Your having trouble melting it cuz your to close.

[@losttreasureprospecting5019]

I’m a “hobby” placer miner, with access to nice deposits of flour gold. This video was extremely educational for me. Thank You!

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Glad to hear that! You're welcome!

[@ProspectorFrank]

I was told by an RCMP officer that it is illegal to buy and sell raw gold in Canada, perhaps that is why they want it melted down. I still find this hard to believe.

[@goldentroutprospecting1821]

Perfect timing for me. I took my gold down to central america in January to my jeweler friend to see if he could make a ring for my wife. Well he was able to melt it but could not get it pure enough to work with. Part of the problem was his crucible was really old and would not absorb any more impirities. I later found out that even after making a button it still needs another chemical process to get it to 24 karat. The thing to do next time is to trade some of my gold for 24k and bring that. It was going to cost me 9 grams of gold, 4 to use in the ring and the rest for a Topaz stone and the labor. This compared very well to the store I went to in Kelowna. They were only going to give me $40/gram for my gold and wanted $1200-2000 to make a ring and a Topaz stone. So I got some cupels and flux from Fred and now I will try to remelt mine and see if I can get it any better and get some practice in for the next batch. This guy on MBMM mining channel has made some buttons a few different ways if you want to check him out.

[@UtmostOutdoors]

That's a good story! It would be so cool to have a jeweler make a ring out of your own gold! I'm subscribed to Jason of MBMM, love his content!

[@alv1700]

I used a top torch, camp propane gas, a cheap crucible and some borax total under $25 usd and got 2 grams of 22k. I like your idea of more air thru the nozzle.

[@wopwop420]

well done. I still say you explain things better than anyone.

[@utahavalanch]

Nice work. I watched several videos a few years back where they made a small enclosure around the crucible with brick to hold the heat in and they were able to use 1 torch to melt the gold. One used map gas and the other used regular propane. I made a small furnace like the commercial ones and it melts gold quite well with 2 torches feeding into it.

[@CandSMINING]

Very interesting melt. I melt all metals. Alu, Cu, BR and ag. Just did a gold melt with an electric foundry and had a huge fail. Only used 1.62 g of gold and a graphite crucible, no flux. Had a .38 gram loss not sure why. May try a ceramic crucible next time. Thanks for sharing. 😎😎⛏⛏🔥🔥

[@Clarence_13x]

Map has actually works well, there’s smaller torches on Amazon that work with the yellow bottle, but I haven’t needed that yet.

[@bigrickshaberdashery2759]

Hi from Slave Lake area, get out once and awhile. Best day worked a uprooted tree and it was good to me. Lots of feeder creeks always worth a look.

[@tonyturner7007]

Try a solid block of charcoal cut a depression and heat it in there the charcoal creates more heat, the crucible takes heat away. The box works as a flux keeping the surface of the gold clean and helping it run into a ball.

[@Squaredbets]

That's a very cool video, short and sweet, felt like 2 mins long yet just under 15, gotta love it, almost gold millionaire's! Keep the vids coming, good luck man!

[@ProspectorFrank]

A quick and dirty crucible is a hollowed out charcoal briquette...worked for me.

[@johnfint2847]

Good info All the people I have seen melt gold the have torches on the sides of the crusabil then you won't blow any gold out and I think there is a formula for amount of borax to amount of gold to make a good button

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Thanks for the tip!

[@MiguelMoran-s3e]

Love the way u explain it smelting gold 101at it's finest. Thank u

[@mikethedesertrat]

Excelent video. Well edited and put together. I learned several things.

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Thanks! I'm glad you found it helpful. Let's lift each other up, we're all in this together!

[@johnolsen7073]

Hi, The buyer was charging a 20% premium, a bit hi compared to others. The standard I experience is usually 15%. I would suggest a smelter or Kitco and compare prices. Good video thanks.

[@Hopeless.Sinner.666]

Hold your torch further away. The tip of a flame is the hottest point.

[@cartoonindia-z3q]

Thank you for replying to everyone's comments. I have a question. degree of temperature does your super power torch produce?

[@UtmostOutdoors]

I have no way to measure that... Gold melts at 1,064°C, and the torch only just barely melts gold using propane unless I boost it a bit with the compressed air. The torch packaging 'claims' 1,750°C with propane and 1,950°C with MAPP gas... but I suspect that would only be in a small area in the absolute peak hottest part of the flame. Running MAPP gas with the compresses air boost really speeds things up nicely.

[@roberthayward9299]

Hi Great tip about the compressed air. Thanks. I often watch Sreetips videos and I notice he has a different technique for cooling a gold button. He leaves the melted gold in the melt dish with the blowtorch off and watches it set. As soon as the gold has set, he lifts the button out with tongs and drops it in the water. Not sure how he can tell exactly when the gold has set. He uses your technique when he wants gold granules for further refining. Thanks again for your video.

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Cool, thanks. I bet the gold solidified before the borax so if you time it right that would work. I'll check out his videos and try it sometime!

[@kellenedmonds963]

I'd acquire an acid etch test, that way you can make sure they aren't short changing you.

[@wilfor03]

Great job Guy...

[@jeplica7011]

Nice! I'm trying to learn this and so far succeeded in wasting and ruining everything involved. Caught a foundry on fire, melted everything except gold or anything I wanted to melt, including skin, smdh. I think the videos I've seen might be fake. Fingers holding a potato while melting gold in it? Mucho gratitude for sharing yours

[@66bigbuds]

The Borax is used as a flux to help eliminate impurities.

[@michaelpadilla8020]

Do Jewelers usually charge to test purity in chains, or buttons such as you made ?

[@UtmostOutdoors]

I don't have much experience with this, but the place I went charged me $5 to test the buttons and said they would wave that charge if I sold them the gold.

[@michaelpadilla8020]

@@UtmostOutdoors I have 3 rings( 20, 21, and 22 grams) and 3 men's chains. They all have 18K or 14K, but when I tested one chain, it came out as between 10K to maybe 12K. The 14K acid ate it up.. I'm new to testing jewelry, so I might be far off...lol

[@sovereignlivingsoul]

i'm trying to use a propane torch on some powder i have, based on what you said i probably need a different nozzle for the propane,

[@bobwerner6512]

Watch out for the RXF machine as it sometime brings the gold back as tungsten but that does not mean you melted tungsten but just the way the machine works some times.

[@inquisitivealbertan1712]

Great video. Thank you for sharing!!!

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Thanks, and thank you for watching!

[@buffalokrisgoldprospecting]

Awsome bro thanks for learning us a few things

[@UtmostOutdoors]

My pleasure!

[@Zidbits]

Haha, when you put the air compressor in the hole of the torch, I was thinking "Damn, that's just like a turbo charger", and right then you said "super charger". Great minds think alike. I was going to comment about turbo heads for propane torches, they do work if you get the right kind, and work EXTREMELY well at that. I can actually braze & silver solder with my turbo head (for joining copper HVAC lines) and it saves me loads of time and money. If anyone reading this doesn't have an air compressor on hand, look up turbo head reviews on youtube and go with that, it should preform similarly.

[@Shaboynga]

That’s so awesome!

[@howardelijahpowezii5167]

Very informative video!

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Glad it was helpful!

[@korpse6rinder]

Did it have to be a melted button? You should be able to cold weld gold flakes into a bar with some hammer work or a roller.

[@UtmostOutdoors]

That would be an interesting experiment for me to try. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@virgilwalker683]

explain how do you decide it's 22K coming out of the river and not any other K?

[@UtmostOutdoors]

I took the weight of the raw flour gold, and compared to the weight of the button. I got a purity on those buttons of 91.39%, 89.90%, and 90.86%.

[@TheMrpiggyboy]

Boy that is good stuff to know. Now may be a great time to take a silver, or gold smithing course. I suspect the manufacture of jewellery will quadruple the price of the gold.

[@UtmostOutdoors]

I'd love to learn more about gold like that... this was my first time melting it, so I have lots to learn!

[@whynotdean8966]

Borax solubility isn't great in water, but that thin coating should dissolve easy enough in a cup of boiling water with some sturring. It should also be much more soluble in ethylene glycol, which is what most antifreeze is made of (check the label), maybe if you want to try cleaning your crucibles. Also borax has some toxicity associated with it, so just be careful when messing around with it :)

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Thanks for the tips!

[@copperinquarter]

Vinegar removes the borax very well.

[@bartbley1269]

Good video very informative

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Thanks Bart!

[@tylermcelwain]

Any reason for hitting the mapp canister with the propane flame? Lol

[@UtmostOutdoors]

While I wouldn't recommend it, I was hoping to bring the pressure back up a bit and get a hotter flame... The canisters get pretty cold after running for a while.

[@tylermcelwain]

@@UtmostOutdoors ok I got ya..gotta do what you gotta do sometimes 🤷‍♂️

[@AlexJones-rm4xx]

Makes you wonder how they got a hot enough fire to melt gold in the ancient days...

[@oldguss]

Well they likely used methods similar to how they forged iron and bronze and such

[@thewalkingrob8840]

Blow torches just like this but using animal fat lamps or in a charcoal forge using bellows

[@dustinandrews89019]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4bRZ3-wltB7qa8

[@bonsaifesway432]

Thanks a lot for the scientific explanation although it brought together the same method as I do,, but as far as I go I learned any other way to do it,, but anyway thanks a lot for sharing

[@gorillagoldhunters]

Best videos out there! Knowledge! Awesome!

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Wow, thanks!

[@gorillagoldhunters]

@@UtmostOutdoors first time I melted gold I used a dual hose n a can of map gas n a can of oxygen! Same theory it worked great! Too cool . A smelting video would be cool! Saturday smelt down lol Have a good evening!

[@geralddyck1592]

Very much appreciated thanks

[@UtmostOutdoors]

You are very welcome

[@MerchantMarineGuy]

A quick bath in dilute sulphuric acid (drain cleaner) will take the borax off your button. Rinse it well!

[@evanyusep]

Love your videos!

[@nepriandries]

hello friends thank you for sharing i like your video warm greetings from me traditional indonesian gold miner👍🙏🏻🇮🇩🤝

[@elfillari]

What gas you use to melt with air? Pure propane or some mixed-up?

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Just propane works. MAP gas works even better.

[@Cayenada]

Hey y’all .. I’m very new . I have lot of fine gold . That I am having trouble getting clean / quartz. I am in Calgary hoping someone can give me some tips . Thanks

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Hey, not sure exactly what you need help with. Does this video on miller tables help? kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZzSlJSkYtmSaa8

[@Cayenada]

Hi Kyle . I built a miller table .. and have it refined very good .. I still haven’t done a melt yet .. I have about 30 oz just don’t want to mess it up . I bought a Vevor smelting furnace. I have a few crucibles . Have a graphite indoor mold . Not sure if I should cook off the sulphides . Then do the melt .. I’m in Calgary sw

[@lessmith1226]

nice job

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Thanks!

[@vivianjohn2482]

Woow thank you so much for the great video ...in my village we eat because of gold....i wants to lean more cause it's my business i need a good company to buy my gold

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Best of luck!

[@azhar2626]

I highly appreciate your hard work and your expertise. Now please calculate how many days hours you have spend to get these Gold nuggets. How much you make money from this hard work compare to minimum wage job in Alberta of entire days you have spent to get this Gold? Its worth or not spending time to find Gold in the rivers. Please reply my request. I will be waiting for your reply anxiously.

[@UtmostOutdoors]

I spoke a bit about this topic in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2nWanumbrdlZtU While I have had some good trips, on balance gold mining has definitely NOT been financially worth it. It is my goal to learn and improve over time so as to one day make it profitable, but I'm not there yet. I'll share what I learn along the way in some of my videos. Thanks for watching!

[@Golden_B1]

Really good

[@Amac-uz9hm]

Good video, but never sand your gold that’s a no no and when you have melted it, just as it stops glowing get a good set of bent nose tweezers and pick it out and drop it in your water, because some of your impurities are picked up from the flux/borax as you tip it out of your crucible, and the added air supply I’ve been using it for a short while now, it makes sense 👍

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Ok thanks!

[@RentAsunder0]

And the borax retains heat that's its main purpose 😂

[@kimberlynolz5725]

It's .917 percent pure. 10k is .417 14k is .583 18k is .750 22k is .917 and 24k is .999 ofcorse

[@eddieodwyer3727]

Dude you have voice and face for the movies..meaning.. I can hear you talk clearly..thank you

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Awesome, thank you!

[@brodyllc]

2:07 😂😂💀💀

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Haha... sometimes you just gotta try stupid things?

[@MetallyCorrupted]

Nice,, informative for sure. Good Job , gained a new sub 😁

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Awesome, thank you!

[@GOLD_FEVER]

It is strange to me that they want you to melt it down in order to buy from you! They are definitely the minority! Here in California practically every place i went to said they PREFER it in powder form! Because it is "unadulterated" and also they can sell that better. Another thing, You will often get your best moneys worth by selling to a Paydirt maker. Alot of them online, but the smaller ones will often pay you closer to 90% for your gold! It might be worth to go that way if you want to get paid more...

[@jw4879]

Flour gold is easily adulterated with brass shavings. Easier to test for purity in melted form.

[@harrybreakermorant3562]

Nice

[@kayneF1251]

No one prefers there gold in flour form , that is silly

[@johnp9988]

🍻

[@CICADA2059]

Hey there Big salute from mytminer from Saudi Arabia great videos you made that was awesome 💯% about tips you May know about I think you would love to know about Smelting:you can smelting gold in a microwave 9 minutes Then put it in sulphuric acid not water & about purity I never sale gold under 24k it's very sample to purify gold by nitric acid you can learn how to do it from the godfather of purify gold sreetips on KZbin yah I think that's everything you need to know otherwise you are so expert have a good day.

[@paulwheeler4893]

👍👋

[@OzkAltBldgCo-bv8tt]

Make 1 gram 1/2 gram and 1/4 gram coins broooo

[@grzlbr]

Wow what a rip off buyer, save it for a refiner, crazy.

[@rossrogers7058]

Induction coil should be used for small gold flakes?

[@bullelkbullion9636]

Borax cleans metals

[@bullelkbullion9636]

Silver in your go;d

[@anonymousanon9084]

find a new gold buyer!! you should get a minimum of 95% of spot

[@virgilwalker683]

I wouldn't sell gold right now, you'll need it to barter with when we have WW3. It's coming to us.

[@bullelkbullion9636]

Now it’s in your store bought borax

[@bullelkbullion9636]

N god is heavy

[@bullelkbullion9636]

Re I watch more I want you to finish

[@Golden_B1]

Do not sell gold for fiat money!!!unless you need it for living

[@RentAsunder0]

Don't use the word again agaain

[@bullelkbullion9636]

U talk too much

[@adammm46473]

Lmao this guy

[@johngacsi7000]

IT. WOULD. B. AWSOME. ,, IF. U. WOULD. CLIP. ON. A. WIRELASS. MIKE. , TO. UR. CLOTHING. 😊😊😊 ! . WONDERFUL EDUCATION. VID. ❤👍🏻👌👌 ! .

[@keithwckertt5255]

But if you do sell it call Beck's in Leduc. they are paying the best prices

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Thanks for the heads up!