smelting...

[45pro]

I bought a stainless steel pot to smelt in. It came with a lid. Can i leave the lid on it to build up the temperature faster, then when the lead starts to melt take it off?

[SlowSmokeN]

sure can

[45pro]

Also is it too cold to smelt outside at 40 degrees? wil it be too cold to get it to melt?

[zomby woof]

I would

[Jailer]

If you're smelting wheel weights make sure you leave the lid slightly ajar. If you don't you'll be greeted by a nice flash when you remove the lid.

[turtlezx]

i use a stainless steel pot also works great.
I leave it ajar and have a 1'' vent hole in the top
use the top as a shield while stirring and scooping the clips out

[Mk42gunner]

I bought a stainless steel pot to smelt in. It came with a lid. Can i leave the lid on it to build up the temperature faster, then when the lead starts to melt take it off?

Yes, just as a pot of water heats up faster with a lid, so will lead.

As an added bonus, it will give you a shield just in case something goes terribly wrong and the tinsel fairy trys to come visit you. This isn't very likely if you start with a cool pot to put your cold wheel weights in and let them come up to temp together. If you are doing more than one smelting pot full at one time, make sure you get most of the lead out before putting cold WW in the heated pot.


Also is it too cold to smelt outside at 40 degrees? wil it be too cold to get it to melt?

In my opinion, 40 degrees is about right for smelting; it is cool enough that long sleeves, gloves and a face shield don't bother me; but not so cold as to be a problem with needing to bundle up to the point moveing is awkward.

Robert