how many cast pots do I need

[elginrunner]

I'm putting together a shopping list of equipment. I plan on using a propane fish cooker to fire my pots. If I understand correctly, I need one for my cast boolits for pistol calibers, one pot for soft lead for swaging, and one pot for scrap lead smelting. What is the minimum size ? I am looking at these two possibles...

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-7448-2-5-Qt-Cast/dp/B000VXIQZM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1361846534&sr=8-3&keywords=cast+iron+pot

or

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Logic-L8DO3-Pre-Seasoned-5-Quart/dp/B00006JSUF/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1361847114&sr=8-14&keywords=cast+iron+pot

[454PB]

Personally, I don't like cast iron pots.....they are really easy to break. I made my own smelting pot from steel pipe with a piece of plate welded on the bottom.

In my opinion, you need one pot for smelting and one for casting. Though I've done it, I don't recommend casting over an open flame, it tends to burn all the hair off your arms and make your eyes water.

Get an electric pot for casting.

[williamwaco]

Personally, I don't like cast iron pots.....they are really easy to break. I made my own smelting pot from steel pipe with a piece of plate welded on the bottom.

In my opinion, you need one pot for smelting and one for casting. Though I've done it, I don't recommend casting over an open flame, it tends to burn all the hair off your arms and make your eyes water.

Get an electric pot for casting.


Me too.

[SciFiJim]

This was my smelting AND casting setup for a long time. I finally got a bottom pour pot for casting last year. I still use it for smelting. The pot in the picture is a 3 quart stainless steel that I got at Goodwill for $1. The foil around the bottom helps to contain the heat. It will comfortably smelt about 15 lbs at a time. It is easier to maintain quality and watch for zinc in the smaller batches.


http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt47/SciFiJim_photobucket/Castingsetup.jpg

[elginrunner]

Thank you much for the replys and your logic makes sense to me. I'll get a stainless pot for smelting, and a electric pot for casting.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Hi and welcome to the forum. It is not advisable to smelt and cast in the same pot especially if the casting pot is a bottom pour with a valve that can clog. Smelting lead from different sources usually produces a lot of floating and sticking crud that interferes with valve function and contributes to dirty alloy; it takes a lot of fluxing, skimming and cleaning to get things right. So two pots seem to be the way to go. You don't need a separate pot for pistol bullets or rifle bullets unless you insist on maintaining separate allows. The same pot can be drained and the alloy poured into ingots that are appropriately marked for reference. A separate alloy then can be arranged in the same pot for whatever it is that you wish to cast. In the interim you can clean the pot completely which is a regular necessity anyway to get rid of the crud buildup. A number of casters use cast iron pots...usually dutch ovens. They are not the best choice for a few reasons. Cast iron, contrary to what is often believed, is not the strongest stuff in town; it can shatter if struck even when cold and when hot it is even riskier. Even tapping a hot dutch oven can produce a crack and that can worsen. The bottom of a DO often has a logo cast into it and that means that the bottom is thinner at that point. If a good size DO with 20# to 40# plus of molten alloy lets go on you then you will have a big problem and a major mess, not to mention the danger involved. Constructing a pot from steel propane tank cut in half is a safer idea. I have seen the Lodge DO's and some of them are really enormous and you have to consider that it takes a lot more fuel/energy to maintain/manage starting with the melting of a large quantity of cold lead. A good pot for general smelting...ok! A second one for casting if you want to use a ladle, but for convenience in casting a bottom pour one is often a more practical way to go. An excellent (non bottom pour with a good 20# capacity) pot to consider is the Waage; it is electric with a thermostat, extremely well built and highly regarded...the price isn't too bad..around $160. Propane is not cheap and having whatever is using it...roaring cheerfully away for hours under a huge pot with a large quantity of lead in it can really dent your economics. So one suggestion would be to try and calculate how much lead you have to deal with in smelting and then casting, compare electric against propane or other energy sources and what type of pots will meet your needs. Check out possibilities and continue to ask specific questions. Someone will always help you on this forum...there is a lot of good experience around here. LLS

[Wayne Smith]

If you are going to be ladle casting as I do consider what you will cast. I shoot some BP pistols, so I have a pot of pure. I use it for alloying ww's, so I use it quite a bit. I have a pot of pure ww's and I have a pot that I use for alloying. The pure ww's pot is the one I use for melting the raw product and cleaning, then making ingots. At some point I'm gonna get a turkey fryer and get into bigger processing.

[Sasquatch-1]

I have one pot for casting (a Lee 10 lb bottom pour) and several for smelting (because I played around until I found what I like.) I have an eight inch cast iron skillit, a large cheap SS stock pot that I picked up at Big Lots and a refridgerant tank I cut in half. I also have a couple of small cast iron pots for small things. I would reccomend that you find a refridgeration shop and ask for an old tank. They are not refilled and the mechanic will probably give you one. Perfect size for 30 to 50 pounds of scrap.

[blikseme300]

I found out the hard way that a rendering WW's to ingots over gas can lead to zinc contamination as the temperature is typically too high. My solution is to have 2 electric smelters, both PID controlled. The rendering setup is run at 700* maximum as zinc WW's won't melt at this temperature. My self-built smelters have a 70lb capacity so production is not a problem and consistency of alloy is better due to the larger volume during the fluxing stage.

[Randy C]

A lot of people like a 20lb. propane tank cut in half for smelting

[carbine]

Member crocket does a greta job making and selling pots and ingot moulds