Brass does not have a single melting point. It has a melting range — a span of temperatures between which the alloy transitions from fully solid to fully liquid. The width of that range, and where it sits on the temperature scale, depends directly on how much zinc is in the alloy.

For the most common yellow brass (approximately 65% copper, 35% zinc), the melting range is roughly 900–940°C (1,652–1,724°F). For red brass with less zinc (85% copper, 15% zinc), it rises to 990–1,025°C (1,814–1,877°F). Across all commercial brass grades, the solidus-to-liquidus span runs from about 885°C to 1,025°C (1,625°F to 1,877°F).

If you need one working number for process planning — brazing temperature clearance, furnace settings, laser cutting parameter limits, or casting practice — this article gives you the full grade-by-grade data and explains the chemistry behind every value.

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Why Is Brass Melting Temperature Inconsistent Across Alloys?

Why the Brass Melting Point Is a Range, Not a Fixed Temperature

A pure metal melts at one precise temperature. Pure copper melts at 1,085°C (1,985°F). Pure zinc melts at 419°C (786°F). These are sharp phase transitions: solid below, liquid above, no ambiguity.

Brass is an alloy — a solid solution of zinc dissolved in copper. Alloys behave differently. When you heat a brass alloy, the solid does not transition cleanly to liquid at one temperature. Instead, the alloy passes through a two-phase region where liquid and solid coexist simultaneously. Metallurgists describe this with two boundary temperatures:

Solidus temperature: The temperature below which the alloy is completely solid. Above this, partial melting begins.

Liquidus temperature: The temperature above which the alloy is completely liquid. Below this, some solid remains.

The gap between solidus and liquidus is the mushy zone — a partially molten state where solid dendrites and liquid melt coexist. In casting, this zone determines how much feeding (risers, gates) is required to compensate for shrinkage as the alloy solidifies. In brazing, working above the liquidus of the filler but below the solidus of the base metal is the essential thermal constraint.

The copper-zinc phase diagram shows that adding zinc to copper progressively lowers both the solidus and liquidus temperatures, and — critically — widens the mushy zone. At 70% copper / 30% zinc, the solidus-liquidus spread is approximately 15–25°C. At 60% copper / 40% zinc (a high-zinc alpha-beta brass), the spread can exceed 40°C.

Brass Melting Point by Grade: The Complete Reference Table

Source: ASM Handbook, Volume 2: Properties and Selection — Nonferrous Alloys and Special-Purpose Materials, 10th Edition. ASM International, 1990.

The trend is consistent and predictable: every percentage point increase in zinc content lowers the solidus temperature by approximately 1.2–1.5°C. Going from C22000 (10% Zn) to C28000 (40% Zn) moves the solidus down by 125°C — a reduction of more than 12%.

Brass Melting Point in Fahrenheit: Quick Reference

For fabricators working in imperial units, the working temperature ranges for the four most commercially common grades:

Converting between units:

• Celsius to Fahrenheit: °F = (°C × 9/5) + 32
• Fahrenheit to Celsius: °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9
• Celsius to Kelvin: K = °C + 273.15

For Kelvin reference: C26000 cartridge brass solidus = 1,188 K, liquidus = 1,228 K.

Why Zinc Content Shifts the Brass Melting Point — The Physical Chemistry

The mechanism behind zinc’s effect on the brass melting point is substitutional solid solution behavior. In alpha-brass (up to approximately 37% Zn), zinc atoms substitute for copper atoms in the face-centered cubic (FCC) crystal lattice. Zinc’s atomic radius (137 pm) is slightly larger than copper’s (128 pm), which distorts the lattice but does not disrupt the FCC structure.

Pure copper’s strong metallic bonding requires 1,085°C to break down the lattice and achieve the disordered state of liquid metal. Zinc’s metallic bonding is weaker, reflected in its much lower melting point of 419°C. When zinc is dissolved in the copper lattice, it disrupts the regularity of the Cu-Cu metallic bonds, lowering the total energy required to initiate melting. More zinc means more disruption and a lower onset of melting.

This relationship is not perfectly linear because above approximately 37% zinc, alpha-brass transforms to alpha-beta brass with a body-centered cubic beta phase. In the alpha-beta region (C28000, C36000), the melting behavior is governed by both phases, which is why the mushy zone widens and the solidus-liquidus relationship becomes slightly less predictable from a simple zinc-percentage rule.

Practical implication: If a material test report shows a measured zinc content different from the nominal, you can estimate the actual melting point shift. A heat of C26000 assaying at 32% Zn instead of the nominal 30% will have a solidus approximately 2–3°C lower than the reference value. For precision investment casting or controlled-atmosphere brazing, this matters. For most fabrication operations, it does not.

Brass Melting Point vs. Copper and Bronze

Understanding how brass compares to related alloys clarifies material selection for high-temperature processes.

Brass melts significantly lower than aluminum bronze or phosphor bronze, which matters for brazing: the base metal must remain solid while the filler melts. Brass itself is used as a brazing filler metal for steel — its liquidus of 900–955°C is compatible with flux-based torch brazing of ferrous metals using RBCuZn rod.

What the Brass Melting Point Means for Fabrication Processes

Casting

Sand casting and investment casting brass require the pour temperature to exceed the liquidus to ensure complete mold fill. Standard practice is to pour at 50–100°C above the liquidus — for C27000 yellow brass, that means a pour temperature of approximately 980–1,030°C (1,796–1,886°F).

Pouring too close to the liquidus risks misruns and cold shuts. Pouring too far above it increases zinc evaporation — zinc’s vapor pressure becomes significant above 950°C, and uncontrolled zinc loss shifts the alloy toward higher copper content, raising subsequent melt temperatures unpredictably.

Brazing

The thermal margin between filler liquidus and base metal solidus is the governing constraint:

• Silver brazing fillers (AWS BAg series): liquidus 620–870°C — well below any commercial brass solidus. The thermal margin is adequate for all brass grades.
• Brass rod filler (AWS RBCuZn-C): liquidus approximately 895°C — dangerously close to the solidus of C27000 or C28000 base metal. Precise temperature control is required to avoid base metal incipient melting.
• Soft soldering: well below any melting concern; tin-lead or lead-free solders melt at 183–220°C.

Annealing

Brass annealing temperatures are well below the solidus:

• Stress relief: 260–425°C — no melting risk
• Recrystallization anneal: 425–700°C — still 150–250°C below solidus for all commercial grades
• High-temperature anneal: up to 760°C — still safely below solidus

Laser cutting brass

The brass melting point (905–955°C for common grades) is not the limiting factor in fiber laser cutting. The challenge is the high reflectivity of brass at the 1,064 nm fiber laser wavelength. Once the melt pool is established, the relatively low liquidus compared to stainless steel (1,450°C) or carbon steel (1,520°C) actually reduces the energy required to maintain the cut front. High-pressure nitrogen is the correct assist gas — the full parameters are covered in our laser cutting brass guide, and the nitrogen pressure requirements are in our assist gas selection guide.

Zinc vapor is the primary fume hazard. Zinc begins volatilizing below the liquidus of high-zinc brasses — zinc’s boiling point is 907°C, coincidentally close to the solidus of C28000. Fume extraction rated for zinc oxide is mandatory for any thermal process on brass.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Brass Melting Point

Q: What is the melting point of brass in Celsius?

Brass melts over a range depending on zinc content. Yellow brass (C27000, 65% Cu / 35% Zn): solidus 905°C, liquidus 932°C. Cartridge brass (C26000, 70% Cu / 30% Zn): 915–955°C. Red brass (C23000, 85% Cu / 15% Zn): 990–1,025°C. The most commonly cited single value — around 900–940°C — applies to the yellow and cartridge brass grades that dominate commercial use.

Q: What is the melting point of brass in Fahrenheit?

Yellow brass (C27000): 1,661–1,710°F. Cartridge brass (C26000): 1,679–1,751°F. Red brass (C23000): 1,814–1,877°F. The lowest-melting commercial brass, free-cutting C36000, falls at approximately 1,625–1,652°F.

Q: Why does brass melt at a lower temperature than copper?

Zinc, which melts at only 419°C, lowers the melting onset when dissolved in copper. The zinc atoms disrupt the regularity of the copper crystal lattice, reducing the energy required to break down the solid structure and begin melting. More zinc means a lower melting point and a wider mushy zone.

Q: Does the type of brass affect its melting temperature?

Yes, substantially. Red brass (15% Zn) melts approximately 85–120°C higher than yellow brass (35% Zn). Muntz metal and free-cutting brass with 40% Zn melt 100–125°C lower than red brass. When sourcing brass for a brazing or casting operation, confirm the grade and check its solidus against your process temperature.

Q: Is brass harder to melt than steel?

No — brass melts at 885–1,025°C depending on grade, while carbon steel melts at approximately 1,425–1,540°C. Brass is roughly 500°C easier to melt than structural steel. Any furnace or torch setup designed for steel has far more thermal capacity than brass requires. This makes thermal management more critical when working with brass — overheating is a greater risk.

Q: What happens if you overheat brass past its melting point?

If liquid brass is held significantly above the liquidus, zinc volatilization accelerates, and the alloy composition drifts toward higher copper content. This raises the melting point of the remaining melt, complicates solidification, and produces castings or braze joints with non-uniform chemistry. In casting, this manifests as porosity and surface defects. In brazing, excessive torch temperature can fume away the zinc from the filler rod, producing a copper-rich residue that does not wet the base metal properly.

References

1. ASM Handbook, Volume 2: Properties and Selection — Nonferrous Alloys and Special-Purpose Materials, 10th Edition. ASM International, Materials Park, OH, 1990. (Copper alloy solidus and liquidus temperatures by grade; Cu-Zn binary phase diagram; composition limits for C22000 through C46400; casting temperature guidelines for common brass alloys.)
2. ASTM B36/B36M, Standard Specification for Brass Plate, Sheet, Strip, and Rolled Bar, ASTM International, current edition. (Composition limits and UNS designations for commercial brass flat-rolled products; grades C22000–C28000 and C36000 as referenced in the melting point table.)
3. Haynes, W.M., ed., CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 104th Edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2024. (Elemental reference values: pure copper melting point 1,085°C; pure zinc melting point 419°C and boiling point 907°C; atomic radii for Cu and Zn cited in the solid solution discussion.)
4. American Welding Society, Brazing Handbook, 5th Edition. AWS, Miami, FL, 2007. (Liquidus temperatures for BAg and RBCuZn filler metals; thermal margin requirements for brazing brass base metals; zinc evaporation and atmosphere control guidance.)

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Dr. Liu Che

Dr. Liu Che holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from Dalian University of Technology and completed postdoctoral research at the Mechanical Engineering Postdoctoral Fellowship of Harbin Institute of Technology. His research focuses on core algorithms for large-scale laser equipment integration, laser cladding remanufacturing, and real-time intelligent monitoring systems for processing. He possesses profound academic expertise in cutting-edge fields such as laser beam spatial shaping and the mechanism analysis of laser processing of special alloys. He has led numerous solutions to technical challenges in cutting and surface modification of high-hardness materials in the heavy machinery industry, demonstrating strong theoretical foundations and outstanding engineering implementation capabilities.

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