During casting of aluminum ingots the molten metal has to be transported from the furnace to the moulds. During the transport heat is lost both to the atmosphere and to the refractory launder system itself. As different dimensions of the cast ingots necessitate different design of the system the difference between the furnace temperature and the temperature in the metal, which enters the mould, can vary significantly. It is therefore of importance to have a good knowledge of the heat fluxes in the launder system and of how the temperature decreases during metal flow.In this work thorough measurements of the temperature have been made in casting tables of different design during casting of different ingot dimensions. Based on the experimental results an analytic model has been derived. Good correlation between calculated and measured temperature losses was obtained. It was also possible, from the results, to obtain an understanding of heat transport from a liquid metal flowing in an open channel, and the relative importance of radiation to the atmosphere and conduction to the refractory.Temperature measurements and modeling of heat losses in molten metal distribution systems