Do I really need an electric pot?

[TechAlG]

Title says it all. If I have a decent thermometer, can I get away with simply using the same setup I use for smelting to heat my lead for casting?

[wills]

Use a different pot.

[dk17hmr]

When smelting you pull some nasty junk out of the lead. Some of that nasty stuff might get stuck in your pot and in turn end up in your boolits.....going down your barrel a 1200fps might have some negative effects on your firearm. Cheaper to buy a second pot than a new barrel.

[Doby45]

You don't really NEED anything but molten lead and a mold. Everything else is gravy..

[TechAlG]

OK, so if I use a different pot for casting than smelting, I should be fine, as long as I have some sort of temperature control, right?

[Doby45]

True..

[357maximum]

You do not NEED any electricity to cast great boolits. :holysheep



I use the same slightly modified propane fired turkey cooker base and several different homemade STEEL pots to do everything I need to do. I have a couple of different sized "smelting pots" and several smaller "casting pots" that I keep different alloys in. All my pots are nothing more than a basic chunk of steel pipe with a fitted plate welded onto the bottom. My favorite little casting pot was made from a 6inch lipped "stiffener" for a large compression type fitting used on underground gas distribution systems.


All one really needs is an old pipeliner friend with hoarding tendencies and a welder. ;) Some of us are fortunate enough to know several such fellers. :-P

[snuffy]

Electricity is much cheaper and more easily controlled than any propane heater. I've yet to see a thermostat that works with propane or any flame heat. You'll have to constantly fiddle with valves, turning them up and down to regulate the temp. Try casting inside with a turkey fryer![smilie=b:

If you DON'T control the heat, you'll get inconsistent weights and hardness.

Casting with electricity is a hot job, I wouldn't dream of trying a gas fired pot for casting. You'll have to use a ladle, I never saw a bottom pour gas fired pot. ( I suppose somebody has one, just try to cast with it.)

[BABore]

So you wouldn't dream of using one? Does that mean you've actually tried a turkey fryer burner, or just dreamed about it?:shock: I've been using one for the past 6-7 years with a 40 lb stainless dipping pot. The regulator has two positions. Summer and winter and they're about 1/8 of a turn apart. Temperatures don't vary more than +/- 20 F according to my thermometer. A 20 lb tank of propane last for about 25-30 hours of casting. 357Max used to use a Lee bottom pour pot til he seen the setup I was using. Hmm! I guess he tried it and found it better.

[snuffy]

So you wouldn't dream of using one? Does that mean you've actually tried a turkey fryer burner, or just dreamed about it?

Please don't put words in my mouth. Should I have said I would not consider doing it? Then okay I won't. Yes, I have a turkey fryer for smelting ONLY. If I had to use it for casting, I would not cast! It would mean I would have to do so outside. In a Wisconsin winter, that would be impossible. No garage or other outbuildings.

It amazes me how far around a dollar bill some will go to get at the dime. Saving money by doing with minimal equipment is fine, IF it works. To each his own I guess.

[Frank]

What about carbon monoxide? Smelting is done outside, so the propane is OK. Casting is frequently done inside. Shouldn't there be a disclaimer?

[BABore]

Excuse me!

I did use your exact words "I wouldn't dream of trying a gas fired pot for casting."

You tell folks how you have to fiddle with the control and can't maintain a consistent temperature with a turkey fryer, yet in your own words you've never used one for casting. How do you know? People come here for accurate, experienced infomation, not heresay.

As far as efficiency of gas over electric, I don't know myself. It cost me $16 for a 20 lb propane fill up. At 400 to 600 boolits per hour, it would cost me around 0.1 cents per boolit for gas costs. I'm not going to sweat the difference. I also have never heard of homeowners ditching their propane heating systems and replacing them with electric units to save money.

[BABore]

What about carbon monoxide? Smelting is done outside, so the propane is OK. Casting is frequently done inside. Shouldn't there be a disclaimer?

Frank,

I smelt totally outside and cast in my garage. Right in front of the open garage door year round. Down to 0 F in the winter to 90+ F in the summer. I also use a cooling fan for mold block temperature control and to move out any fumes. Works for me and has for awhile.

[snuffy]

I won't cast from this pot!

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/arrow/websize/P7210032.JPG

Or this one, same as above, different local;

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/arrow/websize/P4110007.JPG

I love to argue as much as the next guy, but I've made my point. Temp control is paramount to quality boolits. That's why I built this pid;

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/bullets/websize/Picture%20114.jpg

I wonder if it's possible to get a pid to control a gas valve? Nah, forget it, there's no way I want to ladle cast everything, besides I still don't have a garage!:roll:

Besides getting singed just reaching into the pot to dip lead is not attractive.

[TechAlG]

Where I plan to cast, we don't have access to an electrical outlet (yet). I smelt over a wood fire. I was thinking of making something up for the turkey fryer which would move my pot up and down (closer or further from the flame), for casting.

I do see the benefits of an electric pot, but I don't have the room to cast at my house, so I want to do it at our woodlot.

I don't ever plan to cast indoors unless I have a garage, so that is a moot point. If I really need to, I will pick up the electric pot and run a heavy extension cord outside, at home.

[jsizemore]

I have a direct vent wall mounted heater that uses a thermocouple from the pilot to provide the electricity to control the thermostat. Since the gas valve only requires milli-volts to control the gas valve then a pid could be used to control it. Same principle of control as a house furnace that runs on 6-24vdc. Plenty of BTU's there to keep some lead liquid and at a reasonable temp variation. Why not.

Me, I'm gonna keep pluggn' in.

[mpmarty]

I smelt over a turkey fryer but cast from a bottom pour LEE or Lyman pot. I use a thermometer and maintain 700* below which my LEE spout freezes up particularly in the wind in winter.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

BTW lots of people COOK in their kitchens with GAS (either natural or propane!) on the range, and don't worry about carbon monoxide . . . Carbon monoxide is a by product of incomplete combustion. (usually an orange flame, and soot)

If you want a disclaimer . . . make sure there is one that also says that it is HOT! ;)

There are also plenty of vent-free fireplaces and heaters being used . . .

[Frank]

BABore:
Frank,

I smelt totally outside and cast in my garage. Right in front of the open garage door year round. Down to 0 F in the winter to 90+ F in the summer. I also use a cooling fan for mold block temperature control and to move out any fumes. Works for me and has for awhile.
I like your method. The 20# furnace runs out too fast with the 6-cavity mold. It would be good to mix an alloy in a bigger pot. Can you get a good temperature, like 750'F, with your setup?

[mooman76]

I cast for over 30 years without an electric pot. I used a coleman stove, turkey fryer and even the kitchen stove. It worked great for me. Now the electric pot is more convienent and it's easier to make more consistant boolits. No reason you can't put out good quality boolits using gas and I have never used a thermometer.

[Centaur 1]

Midway has the Lee 4-20 furnace on sale for $57.99. I really like just plugging it in and walking away. Come back 1/2 hour later and I'm ready to make boolits. I put a piece of metal across the top of the pot with a couple of ingots on top warming up. When I put in a warm ingot I can just keep casting, doesn't slow things down at all.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=645810

[white eagle]

no....

[Bret4207]

It's a heat source, no more, no less. I've cast on everything from a wood fire to a nice bottom poor electric. I've cast with out a thermometer and with one, inside and outside. It all works. I cast from the same pot I smelted WW down in for years. Ya just got to be smart enough to clean it good. Some folks here are making more of this than it really is.

Centaur- if you walk away from a Lee there's a good chance you'll come back to find 20lbs of alloy on your bench!

[btroj]

Bret is exactly right. All you need to do is melt the lead.
Don't over think it. Somehow man managed to cast lead projectiles for years without thermometers or electronic temp controllers. Somehow they managed to survive quite well.
My theory is this- just because you can measure it doesn't mean it matters. Temp control can make a difference in bullet quality. Des this mean we need to hold the temp to a 5 degree window or all is lost? No way.
If you are looking to save money then by all means use what you have. You will do the most important thing of all- learn to cast bullets. Cast em, load em, shoot em. That is the way to learn.

Good luck and go cast some bullets.

[357maximum]

There was a day where I would not have dreamed of using anything but my lee pro-4-20 for boolit casting.................then I tried a setup that was far superior to my setup. I changed my boolit making set-up right sudden like and have never looked back. My boolit quality got better, my groups got smaller and "THE DRIPS" went away.[smilie=w:


I already had the setup as it is what I used for fishing sinkers for many years previous. It just took a friendly bump to the noggin (Thanks Bruce) to convince me to use the great system I already possessed for boolits. My bottom feeding days have been over ever since. :popcorn:

[snuffy]

the great system I already possessed for boolits.

And that is?????????

[btroj]

I am going to guess he has a propane heated pot. That and a dipper will allow many a bullet to be cast.
This stuff can be as simple, or complex, as we choose to make it.

[357maximum]

And that is?????????

........a propane powered turkey frier some assorted steel pots made from steel pipe and a small assortment of ladles.

[RugerSP101]

Title says it all. If I have a decent thermometer, can I get away with simply using the same setup I use for smelting to heat my lead for casting?
I started without one. Then I got a Lee Production Pot IV and never looked back :)

[Southern Son]

I started with a Lee 10#, then got a Lee 20#, now I am using an ol LPG gas tank over a ring burner using LPG. The Lees just wouldn't hold a consistent temperature for some reason or another. Usng the LPG ring burner is kind of slow at take up, but it hold the right temperature and don't need any fidling with the taps.

[Matt3357]

Referring back to the PID controlled gas valve. I actually use on for my smelting. My dad had an old furnace gas valve and a water heater burner with a pilot light. I fabbed up a stand, wired the gas valve and hooked up the PID in the ON-OFF setting. Keeps it low enough not to melt zink. Just melted about 100lbs of lead in about 30 minutes a couple weekends back. Works like a champ. Anything is possible, but I am like most guys, I like my electric pot. Still a fire danger but not near as bad and I cast in a small wooden shed = not fire friendly. Plus bottom pour is where it is at for me, but to each his own.

Matt

[Matt3357]

Also my PID controlled cooker also works well as a fryer, change pots and thermocouples and it will maintain grease temp easy.

Matt

[songdog53]

I have cast boolits in Lee pot and over butane and even used wood fire when figured old gas blow torch was just too dangerous. I use electric Lee pot and over gas nowdays but as all have said before me is all you need is heat source and lead and mold and your in business.

[blaster]

I've used a coleman stove and ladle and a lee drip-o-matic. Give me the drip any day. If you don't have electricity it's a moot point. but given the choice I'd go with electric bottom pour.

[390ish]

I use a 54k BTU propane unit. Melts a BUNCH of lead in 20 minutes, then I ease it off for casting. Thermometers are for nurses.

[Fishman]

Thermometers are for nurses.

While I can't totally agree with this, that is darned funny!