How many ingot molds for propane tank smelting pot??

[wtfooptimax200]

I am in the process of making a bunch of ingot molds to use when smelting with my propane tank pot. My question is how many do I need? My primary smelting mold will result in an ingot that weighs approx. 4.25 pounds. So far I have almost 40 pounds worth of molds. I am thinking that if I make 80 pounds worth of molds I should be able to get by without any waiting for ingots to cool. What do you think?

Also, how many pounds of lead would you run in a propane pot at one time? I was thinking that 100 pounds would be a decent limit. Suggestions are appreciated.

Branden

[crabo]

I would also make some that are about half, or even smaller than what you have. You are really going to cool down your melt when you add one that big.

I use 3 gang molds that have 5 ingots that weigh 3 pounds each. That is plenty of molds for me.

[Pieter C. Voss]

I only have one four cavity RCBS ingot mold--it isn't necessary to wait for it to cool when smelting. As soon as the melt has solidified in the mold I'm turning it over (with pliers) and tapping it on concrete to drop the ingots. Then a couple of seconds on a sponge sitting in a half inch or so of water in a paint roller tray and it's ready for another pour. This with a pot that holds about thirty pounds of lead. I suppose if you have a really big pot you might need an additional ingot mold or two.

[bhn22]

I have about 8 commercial ingot moulds from Lyman, RCBS, SAECO & even a couple of LEEs, I picked up at a gun show at a price I couldn't pass up. I fill them one by one, and set them on the concrete driveway. By the time I get to the last one, the first ones are ready to dump and off I go. I smelt about 45-50 lbs at a time- net weight.

[badbob454]

use as many as you can get to go faster esp. with a hundred pounds of lead

[wtfooptimax200]

I am only using these large ones while smelting. I have also made some that are much smaller (around 1/2 pound) that will be used for bullet alloy. These large ingots will be used mostly for storage purposes as ingots take up much less space than WW.