Do you clean wheel weights before melting?

[No Good]

Got my first bucket of wheel weights...
do you guys find it necessary to clean them before melting to get the grease etc off? seems like all that stuff could cause problems.
Sorry if I ask too many *** questions... just wanna do it right and safe.
Thanks
NG

[DeanWinchester]

I just toss them in...so long as they're dry of course. Let the cleansing power of fire take care of it. Do it outside, skim off the slag and flux with a little wax. The paraffin will catch fire, you will stir and skim again........and it'll be ready all ready.[smilie=2:

[geargnasher]

The nice thing about WW is that they usually already come coated with a fantastic flux/reducant (grease, oil, dog pee, tobacco spit, etc.) that helps reduce oxides in the smelting process. Just don't throw the WW straight in your casting pot, melt them down and make clean ingots first, then melt the ingots in your casting pot.

Gear

[mooman76]

I just picked out the easy stuff like valve stems and such. It quicker and easier to just scoop out the crud, which you will still have anyway.

[No_1]

There are never too many questions. I dump them out on the driveway, get out the non-wheel weight materials (razor blades, valve stems, cig butts, paper, steel / zinc weights) then shovel it into the smelter. The grease will help with the fluxing process, the dirt will float to the top.

R.

[HammerMTB]

Like Dean, I just throw 'em in there, grease, dirt, paint, whatever on them. It will all burn and flux off once they melt. I do try to stay close by to be sure not to let the pot get way too hot. Tho I sort out the zinc and steel, once in a while I miss one (or a few!) and I don't want the zincs to melt. They will just be floating on top when the lead all melts. Skim 'em off.
I use sawdust as flux, and a wood stick to get to the bottom of the pot.
When I do stick-on weights, I find some of the sticky tape gets stuck on the bottom of the pot. There it will bubble, telling me there is contaminant in the melt. I stir/scrape the bottom with the stick, and it comes clean.
Collect all you can! They are going the way of the Dodo bird.... :roll:

[No Good]

Thank you everybody! I really appreciate your input.
Guess I'm gettin the idea. Stick a heavy pot on the ole coleman gas stove and go!
Get it outside away from the women and children. Skim it clean and pour ingots to use in your casting pot later. You answered questions I had but didn't even remember to ask.

Thanks again

NG

[405]

That's pretty much it. I'll re-state the obvious that was posted earlier. The most common danger is water: make certain they are DRY before dropping into melted alloy already in the pot.

[theperfessor]

Wear safety glasses AT ALL TIMES! Gloves when needed. And adequate clothing and shoes.

[Doc Highwall]

Also use a thermometer and don't let the melt get over 700deg so the zinc WW will float to the top to be skimmed off.

[geargnasher]

And don't forget to wash your hands before touching the doorknob that your 3yr old will hang on just before he/she licks their fingers.... there are some real dangers here although many (like "lead fumes") are a little far fetched. Lead ingestion (and it doesn't take much) can cause pretty serious brain and nerve problems in very young children. Not nearly so much danger for teens and adults.

Gear

[btroj]

Gear is right. Ingestion is a much bigger issue than "fumes". I worry far more about the lead dust around my casting area. Sweeping is not good as it only kicks up dust but a vacuum without a proper filter does likewise. Best bet is probably to wet things down slightly and sweep very carefully.

[Duckiller]

Don't wash, oil is a good flux. sort out valve stems and razor blades while wearing disposable plastic gloves also a good time to get rid of Zinc and steel wheel weights. When making ingots, start with an empty pot and don't worry about a little water the heat will evaporate it before it can get under the lead.. Remove clips from melt and make ingots. Use all the melt. Start your second batch with an empty pot. Load as full as possible. Heating from an empty pot will evaporate water. If you are melting range lead you may get some water under the surface of the melt and this is not good and you may want to crush the jackets to let the water out. Especially when making ingots I would recommend wearing disposable gloves. It keeps really nasty crud off your hands and makes washing up a lot easier.

[Bob Krack]

And don't forget to wash your hands before touching the doorknob that your 3yr old will hang on just before he/she licks their fingers.... there are some real dangers here although many (like "lead fumes") are a little far fetched. Lead ingestion (and it doesn't take much) can cause pretty serious brain and nerve problems in very young children. Not nearly so much danger for teens and adults.

Gear
Truer words do not exist!

Lead ingestion and lead inhalation of particulate matter (dust from sweeping ETC) causes neurological damages to all living creatures. It is much much worse on the young ones since their nervous system is still forming. This includes our pets.

On the other hand, most of us old farts have lost so much neurological function - from alcohol, poor diet, lack of oxygen from chasing wild wimmen and so on - there just ain't much left to damage. :mrgreen:

Bob

[Blammer]

I don't clean them, I consider the dirt "flux" and just melt the whole lot.

[Down South]

I usually pick out the stick on WW's and save them to clean separtely later on, I also try to pull out as many of the valve stems that I can. The rest is used for flux.

[garym1a2]

I may over do it but I like to wear a resperator I got for painting cars to keep from breathing so much smoke.

[nanuk]

I'm sorry but I have been lead to believe that lead vapour/fumes are many times more absorptive than solid lead.

the lungs/blood can absorb lead vapour very rapidly, but solid lead can remain in the human body for a long time without causing harm.

I think you guys have it backwards regarding fumes and dust.
Now I have some research to do

==================
update: well I have just done some reading and Wow... I am surprised.

the absorption rate for vapour and dust appears to be pretty much the same (for very fine dust particles)

the reason children are at a higher risk is their exposure can be greater and they absorb it more readily, as so pregnant women.

it seems we don't really absorb lead through the skin by handling it much. ie/ large particles are not that harmful, it is the very fine particles that cause issues. especially inhaled.

this is all fairly new to me. the information on lead that I received during my OSH training years ago is pretty dated I now realize.

Thanks for making this subject an issue, as I just learned important info today. Which will help me recognize risks when my grandson comes to visit.

again, Thanks

[lwknight]

I just try to stay out of the smoke. Its not easy because like they say , " smoke follows beauty " .

[ghh3rd]

Once I get about half an inch of lead melted, I make sure it's well below Zinc melting temp and add "stuff" from the WW pail a handfull at a time by lowering it in with a very large ladle. If there are valve stems, lug nuts, zinc, etc, they will just float, and not melt (even the valve stems), and I just skim them off. I continue to monitor the temp so I don't melt any Zinc.

I used to go through each and every piece going into my pot, and it took forever - now its much easier and I feel I get the same results.

Randy

[Bob Krack]

I'm sorry but I have been lead to believe that lead vapour/fumes are many times more absorptive than solid lead.

the lungs/blood can absorb lead vapour very rapidly, but solid lead can remain in the human body for a long time without causing harm.

I think you guys have it backwards regarding fumes and dust.
Now I have some research to do

==================
update: well I have just done some reading and Wow... I am surprised.

the absorption rate for vapour and dust appears to be pretty much the same (for very fine dust particles)

the reason children are at a higher risk is their exposure can be greater and they absorb it more readily, as so pregnant women.

it seems we don't really absorb lead through the skin by handling it much. ie/ large particles are not that harmful, it is the very fine particles that cause issues. especially inhaled.

this is all fairly new to me. the information on lead that I received during my OSH training years ago is pretty dated I now realize.

Thanks for making this subject an issue, as I just learned important info today. Which will help me recognize risks when my grandson comes to visit.

again, ThanksYour information is quite correct but in my lack of thinking, I failed to mention that the temperatures we (casters) normally subject lead to does not normally produce lead fumes. Please be aware that the dust and residue from spent primers >CAN< be just as dangerous.

No flame intended as I am pretty certain that yours was not either.

Bob

[Hill Folk]

I have a large old plumbers pot for wheel weights, I fire it up outside with enough ww to get a half inch or so melted in the bottom, then scoop raw wheel wights with a large ladle and start lowering it into the melt. Stir flux stir, skim, and keep adding until I have a pot nearly full of clean alloy , I pay attention to the side walls of the pot with scraping them. Pour into ingot molds of choice and grin. Just make sure things are dry.

Hill Folk

[mpmarty]

I separate out the old valve stems and candy wrappers and return them to the tire shop. I buy wheel weights not garbage. I no longer get as much **** in my wheel weight buckets.

[Jlw6636]

Will try my first batch tomorrow. Thanks you all for the information.

[Rex]

Wear safety glasses AT ALL TIMES! Gloves when needed. And adequate clothing and shoes.
Good advice, I had a bucket full setting on the floor by my reloading bench and a live primer found its way in. That is a surprise when the lead melts.

[gwpercle]

I don't "clean" them but I make dog gone sure to go over every one with a pair of side cutters and get out every steel and every zinc wheel weight.
I usually toss the soft stick on wheel weights in the "scrap lead" pile or have also just melted a few with the COWW's . Doen't seem to hurt anything.
I do get all the paper trash , gum wrappers and such out...but no cleaning .
Gary

[3leggedturtle]

Do it on a breezy day and the fumes and smoke will go away. If its calm, get a fan a point it the way you want smoke to drift. Todd/3leg

[lightman]

When I look at some of these older threads I often wonder about the guys that you don't hear from anymore. I hope they are all doing ok.

I don't clean wheel weights but I do sort them. I also remove all of the junk before I put them in my smelting pot. The brake pads, lug nuts, valve stems, tire stickers, nails, screws, ect. The dirt, paint, grease, road film, ect won't hurt anything except for creating some smoke. I've even melted wet muddy and rusty weights. Just don't add them to a pot with molten lead. As a rule, I won't add anything to molten lead except for flux.

[R Hoskin]

As far as fumes and dust I set up a small fan to blow across the pot I figure by the time it gets to the back of the garage I should be in no danger.

[fredj338]

I usually pick out the stick on WW's and save them to clean separtely later on, I also try to pull out as many of the valve stems that I can. The rest is used for flux.

This is what I do. I have found all kinds of things in a bucket of ww that I really do not want to put high heat to. I had a valve stem blow up my lead once, probably trapped moisture. The smoke from the stick-ons is god awful so those get cleaned first.

[Tom W.]

Don't use an aluminum pot. A stainless steel or a cast iron dutch oven is needed. Aluminum will, not may, give you an unwanted surprise.

[30calflash]

I've sifted through quickly before melting. Get the non useable debris out. In the future I'll be sorting more carefully, especially with newer acquisitions of WW's.

I have a cast pot that gets used for the initial melt down, holds about 30 lbs. I'm pondering on making a larger pot fro a freon tank, to at least double the payload. It would make things go smoother I think.

I've used my casting furnace at times but it does get cruddy pretty fast.

[lightman]

I've sifted through quickly before melting. Get the non useable debris out. In the future I'll be sorting more carefully, especially with newer acquisitions of WW's.

I have a cast pot that gets used for the initial melt down, holds about 30 lbs. I'm pondering on making a larger pot fro a freon tank, to at least double the payload. It would make things go smoother I think.

I've used my casting furnace at times but it does get cruddy pretty fast.

If your heat source is up to it I think you would appreciate smelting in a larger pot. Just be aware that if you increase the size of one thing you will need to increase the size of everything else in order to see the improvements. That is, a bigger ladle, more ingot molds, a larger lay out area, ect. Also be sure that your stand is sturdy enough for the increased weight.

I started with a 10# pot on a Coleman stove and 1 ingot mold and ended up with a 400# pot on a homemade burner and 7 or 8 ingot molds.

[30calflash]

I've a plumbers furnace that can hold a fair size pot. The cast iron one I'm using is from a cattle watering system, round bottom, so it sits on the burner well. The freon tank looks like it will work, maybe a little less curve to the bottom.

I'll not fill it straight away, to make sure it stays put with a load I'll try setting lead into it before melting and test for stability.

And tx for the need to have more of everything to make it work better.

[Hossfly]

I try to seperate the zinc ones out first also steel and all plastic. Then start with good pool in bottom of 50# Freon tank over fish fryer, with propane fire. Keep low and slow anything floating gets skimmed, fluxed with pine chips, at least 2 times then parifin, bees wax saved for casting pot.

Try to get clean ingots to start with to get better boolits later.

[Arkansas Paul]

Heck no.
Ain't nobody got time for that.

And I second the advice about smelting in a different pot than casting out of. It's not necessary, but it's better.
We smelt in an old cast iron dutch oven, and cast boolits out of a Lyman big dipper pot and a Lee bottom pour.

[T_McD]

And don't forget to wash your hands before touching the doorknob that your 3yr old will hang on just before he/she licks their fingers.... there are some real dangers here although many (like "lead fumes") are a little far fetched. Lead ingestion (and it doesn't take much) can cause pretty serious brain and nerve problems in very young children. Not nearly so much danger for teens and adults.

Gear

Agreed