Side-discharge melter for use in the manufacture of fiberglass, and corresponding method

A method of melting glass in an open top melter system, the steps comprising:

• a) providing a melter for holding and melting glass material therein including a water cooled shell and a walled structure having a sidewall joined at its base to a substantially circular bottom wall thereby to define a substantially cylindrical electric melter and further including in a said sidewall, a side discharge outlet for discharging molten glass from said melter and formed of a substantially corrosion resistant metal having a rate of corrosion which increases with temperature;
• said side discharge outlet having an entrance end and an exit end thereby to define a molten glass flow communication path between an interior of the melter and the exterior thereof for discharging said molten glass from said melter;
• b) providing glass material in said melter to be melted to form said molten glass;
• c) heating and melting said glass material in said melter in such a manner that a substantial portion of the glass material in the melter is in molten form and a top surface of the glass material in the melter is substantially unmelted and is in quasi-solid or solid form and wherein the highest temperature in said molten glass is created in a selected location within said melter above and proximal the center of said substantially circular bottom wall and the lower temperature of said molten glass is located near said sidewall;
• d) discharging molten glass from said melter through said side discharge outlet,
• e) locating said discharge outlet within said sidewall such that said entrance end of said outlet is spaced from said selected location of highest temperature and proximal the said lower temperature near the sidewall such that said discharge outlet corrodes at substantially the same rate as said sidewall.