Lmfaoo

Yeah, I may not particularly like fire ants, BUT he is committing insect genocide here. Remember that miniseries V from the '80s?...Just saying.

@@former_dmcrt8614 Not only that, but the ants are still in there when he pours the molten metal in there. The ants meld into the metal and what comes out is a half metal/half bug statue. But they won't admit this.

@@peterolbrisch8970 True. Pretty gruesome.

Well just like this coming WW3. We all are going to melt. I want it on my sleep though.

He mentions that, and having to wait weeks for the ground moisture to fall and why. I think you mean 1600%. Concur on the resin the issue is if he leaves it outside for any time it will suffer from the sun, plus the differential expansion rates of resin to aluminium. Concrete or plaster might be better, or something flexible like acrylic filler. You could always mount these on sand anyway.

_"As an old time foundry metallurgist, who's been burnt a few times, you really do need to apply more caution and personal protection, molten metal is very unforgiving if you wind up wearing it."_ I totally agree with you. There is a perfect example of this occurrence on youtube that happened while they were pouring aluminium ant casts in Australia. The title of the video is *EXPLOSIONS while casting 250 kg of ant nests! Triple bull ant nest casting (80, 125 and 45 kg) Day 1* Once you find the video, just start it at about 19:05 to see what happened during this pour. If any of those folks had been wearing what the young man in the above video was wearing, they would have been seriously burned. However, they were wearing their PPE.

@@nebtheweb8885 yep exactly what I was talking about. I was helping the foundry foreman with a casting one night shift which happened to be a personal job and as we poured the aluminium into the mould it then ejected and I watched it go towards the roof of the foundry and a piece dropped into the back pocket of my trousers! Fortunately my wallet saved my arse.

@@mandowarrior123 It's not 1600%. It's 1600x. When water becomes steam, it expands by a FACTOR of 1600.

@@harryworth8527 RIP in peace your library card

@@miguelsilva9085 They really meant evergreen tree in shape The ant tunnel doesnt look like a bonsai tree

I thought xmas when I saw it

That's what I was thinking! It reminds me of a Christmas tree....

It does- like an Arborvitae.

Having an aloominum ant infused xmas tree is so rad!

That’s a bit of a understatement big guy

Have them here in southeast Tennessee too

Amdro. You don't need more than an eighth of a teaspoon ... less will do.

I almost went into shock when I put my knee on a fire ant hill and got nailed by about 20 of them. Since then anytime I see anyone destroying a fire ant hill touches my heart. They all need to die!!!🤣🤣

@s g ive been stung a few times. Not pleasant experience. I had 6 mounds of them up till a few weeks ago, as I poison them. But any survivors upped and moved. So now I have 2 new small mounds which are going to be on their way out. My roommate stepped in one with his bare feet inadvertently, boy did I see him perform some dance moves I've never seen before.

Thank you for the correction. I was only a couple order of magnitudes off lol! Absolutely no joke though I agree.

with aluminium, you get a bonus - it can react with water in the same way sodium does, the resulting explosion weigh for weight is comparable with TNT. Unlike sodium, it's fairly difficult to get it to react like this, so the chemical reaction explosions are rare.

The volume ratio makes no sense. If I have a closed container, and it is twice as much volume as the water, and I turn all that water to steam, the volume ratio is 2, but the pressure is insane. I assume you mean at standard temperature and pressure? And without a container, the volume ratio just goes to infinity (or I guess the volume of the world layer, up to the height as determined by the energy).

@@pyropulseIXXI Yeah, 1L of liquid water at just under the boiling point will expand to approximately 1600L when converting to steam, and exert quite a lot of pressure in the process if there is any restriction on that volume. The exact numbers aren't as important as the magnitude for understanding in this case. Flashing liquid water to steam at the temperature of most molten metals will result in a very dramatic explosion. In this case, it's not a closed container, but something approximating a gun barrel or rocket nozzle, neither of which is great when pointed at you... PV=nRT works when there isn't a phase change involved. When there is, it gets more complicated and AP Chemistry for me was almost 30 years ago now, so I'm not sure I'm the right person to explain the finer details of it :)

@@pyropulseIXXI you don't math and science well do you? The expansion ratio of water to steam at sea level atmospheric pressure (14.7psi/1bar) is roughly 1:1700. if you heat water in a closed container the pressure increases exponentially however it will not flash to steam unless it has room to expand. DO NOT HEAT WATER IN A CLOSED CONTAINER.

It’s a recipe for disaster 👍

"Frankly, the only way to protect yourself would be to wear one of those full body lava suits, but I'm not gonna do that in the Florida heat" He's an example to us all lol 😅

hitting that wheel with a sledgehammer and no eye protetion?

@@jimsfryd I saw that flaming piece of metal go flying past him like "well, I guess he's fine as there's a KZfaq video about it..."

safety for who ? the ants ?

I’m glad to hear that lol!

​@@NolansAnthillCastingsyou could put a hook 🪝 in the top and lift it with an engine hoist for easier extraction

Well, most of them are female, but I'm totally using your joke the next time I mention the male drones in conversation.

🤦🏻‍♀️

G'day, Because the entire English-Speaking Population of Planet Earth, outside the Excited Status of Norte ArmedmeriKano..., actually pronounces the "U" in the word, "AUNT".... ONLY the DeniZens of AmeriKa call their Aunts..., "Ants" ! Though they ALWAYS write the Missing "U"..., When they scribe it on Paper. They write "Solder" and then say "SoDDer..." ; ALWAYS. Contrarianism, or institutionalised Counterfactual Dunning-Kreugerism on a National scale.... Such is life, Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

You are corny!

You are corny!

Metals cool at different rates, obviously. But in this case, he's pouring it into a void that is naturally insulated.

Why not just pure the Resin down instead? Yes it will have millions of bubbles and ants in, but would be fun to see, if possible. Then sell it as a Masterpiece and call it "A day in a Ant nest"

@@Speedfly1Resin takes FOREVER to set. Or the kinds I’ve used have. Especially underground? I’d think it would take quite a long time. But I agree capturing everything in it to see would be really awesome if it could set quick enough!

Ya even I thought why not resin It'll be more detailed then the aluminium

@@Speedfly1 It's a cool idea, but I think you'd have to do it in multiple pours and let it set between pours, but maybe giving one pour enough time to set would work. In that case it might actually work out that way, otherwise you'd probably have seams where you'd have piles of ants that would look unnatural and they might eventually just evacuate or die off once the queen is submerged. It'd still look cool it just wouldn't be nearly like a perfect freeze-frame. Another neat idea might be a combination of using resin, but then incasing that in resin. You could maybe do the tunnels in a gray tint so it's still fairly clear then pour clear resin around that. Only other issue I can think of is where all the air goes when it can only escape as bubbles through the resin, even if you vacuum the bubbles out as best as you can. I guess maybe you could find a way to put the hill opening in a vacuum chamber to suck the bubbles out, if you dig it into the ground for a seal. The more I think about it, it might actually be a great idea with experimentation. Another interesting idea, rather than a traditional ant farm that's flatter using real soil, you could cast actual tunnels and have just hollow tunnels in a clear resin, then see if you can get ants to form a colony in that. I kinda doubt it'd work without real soil though and no way to allow natural expansion, at least not long-term. Maybe a solution to get them to colonize is to put soil in the tunnels inside the resin so the ants clear that out to open the pathways.

Love to see that

Yep plenty of times but only a couple times while digging them up. They’re usually all gone by then!

Same, I love animals but when they're invasive and so damn dangerous... You wouldn't expect such little bugs to kill, but they can.

@@NolansAnthillCastings when I sold the aluminum melting it kind of looked like it was turning into lava

Saw*

Both reasons are great!

The liquid flows and cools fast. Solid dirt around the tunnels help also. Dirt is extremely durable.

@@name5293 you’re correct, dirt is very durable. It’s why the bodies haven’t been found in 17 years, 6 months and 25 days

@@bluedog843 17 years, 6 months, and 26 days.

@@Whystling_Byrd 17 years, 6 months and 29 days now

@@Leonicles 17 years and 7 months now

Wow that sounds super painful - thank you for sharing - may your sharing help someone else...

@@mizz9841 that was many years ago and I too hope it helps just one person as I don’t wish that on anyone!

@@Mtlmshr Amen

You didn't mention returning and taking out the anthill..You're too nice. I was stung by hornets once when I was working in my yard. I felt like a WWII aircraft carrier being kamikazed by at least five of them. Unfortunately for them, I had a can of hornet spray in my garage. I returned with the can and emptied it at the nest to the point that the leaves of the bush the nest was attached to became discolored. Needless to say, the nest became disheveled and the hornet carcasses fell to the ground. I gave them a proper burial under my boots. I have saved my family from the winged terrors.

Fire ants are one of the reasons I will never live again in the eastern lowcountry.

Yes, I live in Florida, and as I bent down to pick up my dog’s droppings while walking him 3 weeks ago, I didn’t notice that I had placed one foot in top of a healthy fire ant hill, they managed to get a few good bites in on my foot, up towards my ankle too. They’re obviously fast little buggers to get that high up on my foot and leg! Yikes!😊

Liquid glass I was told

You’re obviously a city idiot

I get stung/bit at least once a month. I have scars. This is a very nice way to eradicate a single nest. Problem is there's another 4' away.

Aluminium oxide is very durable.

That was a pretty good book. The movie was almost too ridiculous to be believed, but, the book is always better…!

Yeah the second and third pour were just lying on top. 😅

The molten aluminum melts the hardened aluminum anyway. The joint is seamless.

I believe that some aluminum castings have sold as Art. Which is entirely understandable, as the end result looks like something out of Faeryland....

Killer ant pieces

Me and my ex been taking about making the ANTi Christmas Tree TM. For years now.

When I was in the Navy and working with liquid oxygen we wore "moulders" boots that had a smooth front and no laces and were designed for hot metal but worked for liquid oxygen because you don't want either of those to get caught in the laces in case of a spill.

You could extend the spats up higher and attach to belt, like chaps but with appropriately thick leather. Then shorter apron? Appreciate the cautionary tale. I've finally got someplace to set up my forge and other metalworking equipment, will remember that one!

Sure is, Thanks for the comment!

I came here to laugh at the hate from the vegan tree huggers and bug lovers, but I'm amazed that I only found very positive comments. Not a single sour comment within all those that I have read.

They are invasive

No aunts were killed in the making of this video, ants , maybe

No, but you still have to wonder how the hell did the first one even come across the thought of Pouring molten metal into a ant hill? Kind of strange, not necessarily what I would consider art but it is unique design and interesting to say the least . 🤷🏾‍♂️🤔 I'll allow it.

You look like an old jerryrigeverything

Reminds me of a Jellyfish or Eldrazi Horror

Murderer

No one despises fire ants anywhere near as much as mosquitoes. Get your priorities right.

@@thingshappen9199 You just inspired me to create a new style of art in which I fling molten aluminum in the air at the mosquitoes. I don't need a mask, but everyone else does.

Are there ants entombed in the art

I’m sure non were harmed in the making of this.

I was going to say the same

Heh. I just literally put in a comment suggesting drilling and tapping a hole for an eyebolt. Then using an A-frame for support to excavate all the way around.

Or... you could leave it and display it as hanging art in it's correct orientation.

@@syberphish That would be cool too.😎

The great thing about the law is that insects are not protected by animal abuse laws. Honey bees are probably the only insect I wouldn't terminate with extreme prejudice.

I’d love to try that out if I lived closer to the ocean.

@@NolansAnthillCastings Here is a video showing some samples: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fqmGoJOgldXTgGQ.html

its called fulgurite, and it is very very cool looking!

Thank you so much 😀

50,000 ants with their middle finger extended.

@@jan_phd 😆😆😆

How do you get rid of fire ants, without poisons?

Find the main nest, put some meat on top, and then dump boiling water on the nest. Or just use molten aluminum

@@mariatorres9789 poison is the most cost effective and safe way to deal with them. Boiling water would probably be effective as well, but dealing with the quantity required is quite awkward and the side effects on the lawn unwelcome. There is no good mechanical means to remove them--digging with a shovel is out of the question, and even digging a nest up with an excavator will only result in moving them to another location. Happily, most fire ant insecticides are very specific to ants, and don't have much effect on beneficial insect populations.

As I have mentioned, induction hot plate w iron dutch oven prewarming near to melting some ingots. One generator can have 2 or 3 of those things going full blast.

It’s always important to remember not all the ants are present at the point of ground zero. The ones that do survive will still have an abundance of food even if they no longer have a designated roll.

Where? Their home was just destroyed? What abundance of food? (Honestly curious)

Me too. Found out at the sunshine skyway

It’s sick s that all these people are lauding this as a great success. It’s nothing short of brutal and disgusting. You’re testing these poor creatures, for what!? the test is sacrificing countless lives. You’re

@@nadiral-najidi8455 Don’t be a freaking softy. Don’t want it? Leave this planet. Not satisfied? Leave this galaxy. Not enough? Leave this universe. Still not enough? Leave the multiverse. Still complaining? Leave the omniverse. Still here? You know what’s next…

I have 47 piston heads in my pocket as we speak. Ya' just never know.

And always remove the rings before melting.

or just pull em out once it melts

It's a shame it wasn't filmed. That would have been cool footage to send to NOVA for a PBS special.

Wow, just the thought! Incredible.

Lol

You should see some they do over seas, seen one where the used concrete instead of metal because the tunnels were so large. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mqtzeJpjnZurqIk.html

More to come!

I usually melt it down one more time once I accumulate enough but there’s not much usable aluminum left. Maybe 1lbs out of 7lbs of dross.

@@NolansAnthillCastings Wow wasn't expecting such a quick response, thanks! Yeah I wasn't expecting to have much aluminum left in it, though I wonder what is the overall composition of those impurities and if they can be used for something else (and if not, if they are safe to throw away in the common trash, since there is likely a bunch of different metals in there that might be environmentally hazardous depending on the source of the aluminum)

I just throw it in the recycling bin. I know larger aluminum foundries that use higher temp can recover almost all the aluminum out of dross. It’s mostly aluminum oxide which becomes aluminum metal again at sufficiently high temperatures (which I’m unable to achieve)

@@NolansAnthillCastings Ah, that makes sense, thanks.

I'd be like "Whoa...that's Metal..."

This was about 35lbs of aluminum

@@NolansAnthillCastings via scale or estimate?

Estimate based on 7lbs per pour

@@user-pn5fk8db9q kill the ants. Fire ants have a pretty excruciating bite

@@NolansAnthillCastings I think I'm envious of your wife. A "hot" man that also loves to play it cool in the dirt. Wonderful video, that really turned out well!

They are the same fire ants in FL as are in NC. The fire ants are migrating north. Armadillos ( ant eaters) are increasing their range. I've seen several armadillos in w. NC.

@@douglasfry6112 Wow. Would love to see some around here. I live in "swamp land" and am told that alligators have made it up here. I haven't seen them yet.