Abstract: A furnace for melting and holding aluminum materials, the furnace being characterized in that the furnace comprises: a pre-heating tower for pre-heating aluminum blocks, a melting crucible furnace which receives a supply of aluminum blocks from the pre-heating tower at a position immediately under the pre-heating tower, and a holding crucible furnace which receives a continuous supply of molten aluminum from the melting crucible furnace at a position side-by-side with the melting crucible furnace, and that an exhaust gas resulting from combustion in the melting crucible furnace can be supplied to the inside of the pre-heating tower as an ascending current for heat exchange with aluminum blocks, the furnace being capable of continuous melting and energy savings.

Abstract: A continuous melting apparatus for a low melting point metal is disclosed. The apparatus includes a melting furnace main body (5) forming a combustion chamber (6) surrounded by a refractory lining, a crucible (1) formed with a tapping orifice (2) at an appropriate position of a body and housed at the center portion of said combustion chamber, a burner (8) provided on a side wall portion of said melting furnace main body (5) for heating said crucible (1) in said combustion chamber (6) and a receptacle (6, 13) for receiving a melt flowing out through said tapping orifice (2) of said crucible (1). In the continuous melting apparatus, with employing a melting method of burner heating type which is inexpensive, easy to handle and maintenance, with successfully minimizing oxidation loss which was the shortcoming of the burner type. Also, generation of corundum on the furnace wall surface due to reaction of the aluminum melt and the furnace wall can be successfully avoided.