What the heck uses these?

[Chasdev]

Got stuck in traffic the other day and these drove by...
Oops, pictures rotated for some reason!

[k.a.m.]

Steel mill operations. They charge the furnace that melts the steel.

[Smokin' Greenie]

KAM is 100% correct on these. For decades these were made by my employer Union Carbide (hence the "UCAR" trademark) before being sold off during one of our many financial crises. (sigh...)

SG

[Chasdev]

The truck carrying them was north bound on IH35 in South Austin..

[txsmkmstr]

Wow.... I'll bet those make one heck of an arc when lit......

So, are those containers of multiples or are the electrodes actually that big in diameter????

[k.a.m.]

Wow.... I'll bet those make one heck of an arc when lit......

So, are those containers of multiples or are the electrodes actually that big in diameter????

They don't emit ultra violet rays like welding but they do glow red hot. Yes those are actual sizes.

Graphite-Electrode-For-Arc-Furnace.jpg (53.89 KiB) Viewed 1359 times

[Smokin' Greenie]

GrafTech has plants in Port Lavaca and Monterrey, Mexico, so you could have seen electrodes from either plant heading north.

SG

[Chasdev]

How long do they last, are they consumed completely after melting one "pot"?