Lead melting

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  • Last Post 20 June 2008
Win52D posted this 30 May 2008

I'm thinking about making my own plumber furnace.  The cost of a real furnace is prohibitive.  I'm looking to use a 5-7 QT Dutch oven for the pot.  For the burner I have several option however I need to know the approx BTUs that I will need.  I'm pretty sure that I can make a complete system for less than $150 possibly even $100

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Wally Enga posted this 30 May 2008

I would highly recommend that you also take a look at a high pressure propane burner --- some of these put out up to 185,000 BTU's and will melt down 100+ lbs of WW really fast.  They work great and sell in the $35 to $45 range.

http://bayouclassicdepot.com/sp10_propane_burner.htm>http://bayouclassicdepot.com/sp10propaneburner.htm

Wally

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Duane Mellenbruch posted this 30 May 2008

While we all want to get the job done quickly, you may want to consider the fact that you could end up with some zinc wheel weights that will ruin the entire melt.   Perhaps you would do better with something that takes a little longer, yet does not overheat the melt and accidently melt those zinc weights before you can skim and remove them. 

Perhaps you are looking at something that puts a lot of heat into the pot and then throttle back once you are at the melting point of lead so you will not exceed 650 degrees? 

Have you checked out the Antimonyman web site for burners and pots?              Duane Mellenbruch  Topeka, KS

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Wally Enga posted this 30 May 2008

Duane,

I agree that when melting down WW's this is definitely not something you want to fire up and leave unattended.

Actually, we have a fairly large temp range to work with here.

WW's will become molten at only a little over 500F and the melting point of Zinc is over 780F.  Just as soon as the WW's become molten and the clips float to the top --- turn your heat source way down and skim off the clips, crud and any Zinc WW's and you won't have any problems.

Wally

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Win52D posted this 31 May 2008

I'm not necessarily looking for speed of melting...just the ability to create  a large homogenous batch.  This way I can have someone like Antinomyman make up different alloy additives so that I can mix the alloy to the desired hardness for both pistol and rifle.  Zince zinc melts at such a high temp then a thermometer should help keep the melt temp below the zinc melt point. 

While I do at times walk away from my pot while melting the melt area is secure from visitors and especially children.  In the past when I did not have such a secure area I never left a melt.

I like the burner that Wally pointed out...I'm just curious how much weight the stand can support.  I figure 3 sections of rebar welded down from the ring would provide the needed support

I looked at Antimonyman's burner...while I'm sure it is top of the line and suitable for production work the price tag is beyond my reach.  This pot will only be used to melt WW and create a sizeable homogenous batch...so it will get used maybe once every season or two

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Wally Enga posted this 31 May 2008

Win52D wrote: ...I'm just curious how much weight the stand can support.  I figure 3 sections of rebar welded down from the ring would provide the needed support

I've had about 150 lbs of WW's on mine as delivered a number of times with out any problems --- may be a good idea to beef the stand up if you go much over that.

Wally

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Win52D posted this 31 May 2008

Thanks Wally!  I was thinking along the lines of up to about 100lbs at a time...What sort of a pot do you use to hold 150lbs?  I was thinking of getting something like a 7 qt dutch oven

 

-Jeff

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Wally Enga posted this 31 May 2008

Win52D wrote: Thanks Wally!  I was thinking along the lines of up to about 100lbs at a time...What sort of a pot do you use to hold 150lbs?  I was thinking of getting something like a 7 qt dutch oven

 

-Jeff

Here's one that will do it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290227998644&ru=http://search.ebay.com:80/290227998644_W0QQ_trksidZm37QQfromZR40QQfviZ1>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290227998644&ru=http://search.ebay.com:80/290227998644W0QQtrksidZm37QQfromZR40QQfviZ1

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singleshot posted this 31 May 2008

One quart is 57.57 cubic inches. Lead weighs 6.555 pounds per cubic inch. One quart of lead weighs 23.66 pounds. use this to determine the weight of lead a pot will hold, and allow AT LEAST one quart for space above the melt.

 

Willis Gregory

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Wally Enga posted this 31 May 2008

Good info , but also consider that you will need quite a bit addtional space for the raw WW's if you want to end up with a 100 to 150 lb batch from 1 cycle.

I'm too chicken to add WW's to a molten pot.  :P

Wally

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Win52D posted this 31 May 2008

Singleshot...thanks for the info that does indeed hep on figuring pot size as well as other things

Wally

I agree about being skittish adding raw WW to a molten pot...the dutch oven comes with lid so the initial melt should be fairly safe.  Here in AZ the day time sun will bake washed WW well and evaporate out the moisture but precautions will be needed to be really safe

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singleshot posted this 31 May 2008

OOOOOPPPPPSSSSS! Slight error- Lead is 6.555 OUNCES, not POUNDS per cubic inch! At least I got the quart weight right!

Willis

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Win52D posted this 31 May 2008

Thanks for the input everyone!!! :dude:  I decided to go with Wally's suggestion for a burner http://bayouclassicdepot.com/sp10_propane_burner.htm>http://bayouclassicdepot.com/sp10propaneburner.htm plus I added the temp control sensor.

For the pot I went with http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00062WIUC>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00062WIUC it is only 4 star rated on amazon due to seasoning/cleaning issues...the reviewers loved it except for that....seeing as I won't be using it for food those issues are a non concern.

Haven't decided on a thermometer yet though I have seen some out there with a 1000 deg limit for around $20-$25.

Not sure when I will get a chance to try the equipment since I am due to head out to SD for a prairie dog shoot in early July...I'll be spending my weekends making up the 1000 (dare I say it?) jacketed rounds.  I will try to squeeze in some cast round for testing as well.

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Win52D posted this 14 June 2008

The equipment is in and I had the first melting session.  The burner works great.  The 8.5 qt pot holds well over 100lbs (Mine holds 130 easily with about 2-3” of freespace still in the pot.

Being the first time thru with trying to work with this much lead I took it slow.  I expect next time I should be able to process a batch of lead in under 2 hours.

I'd like to thank everyone for their advice...it was impeccable as usual :lovecast:

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largecaliberman posted this 17 June 2008

Win52D wrote: I'm thinking about making my own plumber furnace.  The cost of a real furnace is prohibitive.  I'm looking to use a 5-7 QT Dutch oven for the pot.  For the burner I have several option however I need to know the approx BTUs that I will need.  I'm pretty sure that I can make a complete system for less than $150 possibly even $100

I've seen one that was rigged from a burner from a propane water heater.  The burner was mounted onto a heavy gage angle iron frame.  This one fella had the propane from the tank, routed the gas through a regulator, through a check valve and hosed clamped the end onto the burner.  The “ring of fire” was around 6” and did a pretty good job of throwing out some heat.  He  regulated the flame through the regulator.  Oh yes, about the hose, the hose was around 15' long keeping the tank away from the burner.  He said, “just in case" 

I don't know if this rig is safe for sure but he said he managed to melt tons of the “stuff” with no problem.

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Win52D posted this 17 June 2008

If anyone is interested here is a pic of the setup with the fruits of the first session :)

 

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Ed Harris posted this 18 June 2008

Win52D wrote: If anyone is interested here is a pic of the setup with the fruits of the first session :)  Looks similar to my set up.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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Win52D posted this 18 June 2008

Your setup confirms what I thought after the first session...I need more ingot moulds and a bigger ladle.  The ladle is good for 2 lbs of lead.  After a few casts the ingots were so hot that it took over 5 minutes for the lead to cool enough to be dumped

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devin1955 posted this 19 June 2008

Win52D wrote: I decided to go with Wally's suggestion for a burner http://bayouclassicdepot.com/sp10_propane_burner.htm>http://bayouclassicdepot.com/sp10propaneburner.htm plus I added the temp control sensor. That's the exact same burner I purchased from Amazon. Puts out more than enough  heat, has a large enough grate for a big pot, and is very sturdy. I'm curious about the temp control sensor you refer to though. Is that an option for this unit or something you cobbled up yourself? -Don

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Win52D posted this 19 June 2008

It was an option from Bayou Classics where I got the burner.  It is also usless for lead metling as the highest temp on the gauge is 475 deg.  I plan on using the burner for food prep as well (yes, I will use a different pot :P) so it will come in handy there

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gunarea posted this 20 June 2008

Hey Guys

    A candy thermometer does the job and is easy to find. You are correct to do large batches of alloy, they give consistency. Dump all the crap in, then do your check of weight. Where you dump the new ingots is a concern that should be considered as well as fluxing the big batch. Aluminum diamond plate on a gate act as a heat sink. Getting the whole mess up to counter top level will help make the process much more tolerable and safe. My pot does 300 lbs on a turkey frying burner without flinching. If you are worried about the stand holding the weight, get up on it in the store. As observed, a big ladle and many ingot moulds are needed. Also a heavy gauge dross pot and disposal plan. 

   This picture is of the product of one pot. After 40 years of experience, I don't watch the pot. Just about when the lead begins to melt good, skim off most of the junk and add more crap. Timing will let you dump stuff in without splashing molten liquid all over. The trash cans in the picture were only used as a wind break. All the scrap clips, zinc and copper jackets were taken to a scrap yard and they paid for the gas.  Good luck, keep meltin.

                                                                             Roy    

Shoot often, Shoot well

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