Stainless Steel a suitable metal for a smelting pot?

[7Acres]

Hi guys,
I picked up an old stainless steel keg from the scrap yard today thinking it would make a fantastic smelting pot for the 55 gallon drum smelter I'm about to build. On the way home I remembered that SS isn't very good at transferring heat compared to steel or cast iron. Does anyone here have experience using stainless for a smelting rig?

[Shiloh]

Saw a small one made out of some sort of stainless cylinder. Somewhat smaller than the size of a 2.5 gallon bucket. Never saw it in action, but the guy said it worked.

Shiloh

[RickinTN]

I've been using a 4-quart stainless pot on top of my Coleman stove. With it full I can do about 25 pounds of clip on wheel weights. I know that's not much compared to what some folks do, but the stainless works just fine.

[Mk42gunner]

If I'm not mistaken the pot of an RCBS Promelt is stainless.

Robert

[dragonrider]

The bottom of my smelting pot is made of stainless, 3/32" thick, transfers heat very well. IMO ss is preferable to cast iron or steel.

[williamwaco]

My Lee Pot is stainless.

Works very well.

[zuke]

I'd say yes, go for it!

http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy356/zuke_bucket/pressurecookermeltingpot066.jpg (http://s807.photobucket.com/user/zuke_bucket/media/pressurecookermeltingpot066.jpg.html)

[rockshooter]

zuke- what are the advantages of pressure-cooking your lead? The boolets last longer?
loren

[cavalrymedic]

I use a stainless steel top half of an old pool pump filter as my smelting pot on top of my 55 gal drum, forced air, wood burning smelter. It works well and can melt 300 pounds of scrap lead in under an hour.

Ken

[rmatchell]

I used a cheap stainless pot from walmart it worked fine for the first few hundred pounds then failed. It was thin and cheap and the burner was a lil rough on it I would bet you would be just fine with the keg.

[RickinTN]

zuke- what are the advantages of pressure-cooking your lead? The boolets last longer?
loren
I doubt they last longer, but they probably are more tender!:-?

[WHITETAIL]

I say go for it.
I would trust it.:redneck:

[41mag]

I have close to a 20# SS plumbers pot that works great once the heat soaks through the 1/4" bottom. Once it gets to cooking I just keep adding it slow till it's full. It's great for smelting up a small batch of WW or mixing up some test alloy. For bigger jobs 30-75# I use a big dutch oven.

[quack1]

I use a big stainless salad bowl. It's been in use for over 20 years and is still going strong.
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll300/1quack1/IMG_0001.jpg (http://s291.photobucket.com/user/1quack1/media/IMG_0001.jpg.html)

[zuke]

They expand a lot more reliably.

[44man]

Stainless is great. It does not transfer heat through the pot as well and gets hot spots but it is safe. Aluminum is OUT. Cast iron is best.

[BattleRife]

Hi guys,
I picked up an old stainless steel keg ... for the 55 gallon drum smelter I'm about to build.

Like a beer keg? Those are pretty thin, I would worry more about the strength than anything. How much lead are you going to put into this keg?

[7Acres]

Like a beer keg? Those are pretty thin, I would worry more about the strength than anything. How much lead are you going to put into this keg?

It seemed pretty thick gauge to me. Maybe 3/32". It already had the top cut off. Maybe I'll get the mic on it and see exactly what it is. Here are some photos.

67467
67468

[7Acres]

I'm thinking of cutting it down just above the bottom "flange" (red line in photo below). This way I could cut a hole in the top of the 55 gallon drum and the keg pot would drop in and come to rest at the flange.

I'm trying to get an idea of the capacity my keg smelter pot will have. Need to make sure it's got adequate support. What do you guys think? If I chop it down at the red line is this pot likely to be in the range of 100, 200 or 300 pounds?

67470

[7Acres]

It measures .065". So about 1/16" thick.

[No_1]

I was one of the people who indicated "I have used SS without problems for "X" amount of years" and stuck with that story until that fateful day when the dams of hell let loose and I was left scraping my lead off the concrete with a flat shovel. Take a chance if you wish but head the warnings.

[RickinTN]

Easy enough to calculate it's capacity. I quart of molten lead weighs 23.65 pounds. Find how many quarts your pot will hold and multiply by 23.65. This is molten volume. It seems that raw wheel weights occupy about twice that volume before melting.

[alamogunr]

If you cut it at the red line, how deep will that leave the pot? If it is too deep, you may have difficulty getting a ladle down in there to dip the lead out. Mine is fabricated from a 12" steel pipe and is only about 10" deep. Even so, my #5 Rowell has to leave about 1" of lead in the bottom and from 3" depth on it is a pain to dip out. When I finished a session, I just left from 1-3" and started from there the next time.

[7Acres]

Easy enough to calculate it's capacity. I quart of molten lead weighs 23.65 pounds. Find how many quarts your pot will hold and multiply by 23.65. This is molten volume. It seems that raw wheel weights occupy about twice that volume before melting.

Thanks, that's the info I needed. I can figure it out now. I'll report back what I find.

[7Acres]

If I cut it at the red line 4 gallons of water comes up and stops at the top of the taper and just before before the bulge. See my photo. Based on the math above 4 gallons of molten lead is 378.4 pounds.

67716

Is that just insane to have a 400lb pot? From my research I know most people are more than content with their cast iron dutch oven 100lb pots. I've seen some of you run 200lb pots. But does anyone run a 400lb pot? If not, is it obvious that it would be a bad idea to proceed with my idea here? As long as it's properly supported on a sturdy stand can any of you see potential advantages with a larger than average 400lb pot?

[theperfessor]

My only two concerns would be:

- The energy required to heat up loads smaller than the maximum.

- The "hoop stress" caused by the height of lead in the pot. The static pressure head caused by the height of a column of liquid is a function of the material's density. For liquid lead the pressure increases by .41 psi per inch of elevation. If the lead height is ten inches, the pressure at the bottom is 4.1 psi. Imagine the pressure, which ranges from zero at the fluid surface to the maximum at the bottom, being multiplied by the area inside the pot the pressure acts against. The force generated wants to expand the pot outward, causing a stress in the walls of the vessel. If the material strength, which is reduced by the heat, isn't high enough, the pot will burst outward, usually starting in the side near the bottom of the vessel.

Not saying this would happen, just listing a couple of concerns.

[dilly]

I am no expert but this one makes me uneasy. That is a lot of weight and a failure would sure be disastrous with 400 lbs spilling.

[captaint]

Just considering what would be needed to support even 300 pounds, I would be leery of this deal. I think I'll stick with my dutch oven. Mike

[prs]

Mine is a small SS stew pot of about 10 or 12 quart size, salvaged. Works great for 100# batches of finished alloy heated over a salvaged high BTU propane turkey burner and stand with an old galvanized garbage can with no bottom for a wind foil. 100# of finished product hits almost exactly at the handle rivits.

prs

[7Acres]

I use a big stainless salad bowl. It's been in use for over 20 years and is still going strong.
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll300/1quack1/IMG_0001.jpg (http://s291.photobucket.com/user/1quack1/media/IMG_0001.jpg.html)

Quack1, that's a pretty sturdy setup. What's your base made out of?

[alamogunr]

I just posted a couple of pictures of my pot and support structure here:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?196099-What-size-propane-burner&p=2176880#post2176880

[7Acres]

Alamogunner, nice setup. Boy, that is sturdy. I like the height too. And the depth vs width ratio makes it easy to get your ladle to the bottom while having a wide enough surface area for cleaning out clips, jackets, dross, etc. How many pounds of ingots per session can you crank out with your setup?


I just posted a couple of pictures of my pot and support structure here:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?196099-What-size-propane-burner&p=2176880#post2176880

[alamogunr]

I have done almost 700-800# in one day but it took me 2 days to recover. I was younger then(64). I'm almost 71 now and have almost quit cleaning up WW entirely. I don't think I will run out of alloy.

[BAGTIC]

zuke- what are the advantages of pressure-cooking your lead? The boolets last longer?
loren

No but they come out more tender.

[shadowcaster]

Is that just insane to have a 400lb pot? From my research I know most people are more than content with their cast iron dutch oven 100lb pots. I've seen some of you run 200lb pots. But does anyone run a 400lb pot? If not, is it obvious that it would be a bad idea to proceed with my idea here? As long as it's properly supported on a sturdy stand can any of you see potential advantages with a larger than average 400lb pot?

7Acres.. You've seen my setup. It's a 400 pounder, was simple and cost effective to build, and very easy to use. :-) As for advantages.. mine being a bottom pour, it takes all the hassles away that come with a ladle. Having a wide open top allows for lots of room for fluxing, stirring, scraping, and scooping. Being that it's made from steel it heats evenly and holds the heat. With proper BTU"s it heats up quickly and at almost 400 pounds molten lead, you can make ALOT of ingots in no time. I have plenty of ingot molds on hand for the operation. My burner is beefed up to take all the extra weight.

1/16 inch thick on your stainless keg.. to me that would be a bit thin. I prefer regular thicker steel.

Shad

[quack1]

Quack1, that's a pretty sturdy setup. What's your base made out of?

All you see in the picture is a cut down 5 gal. metal bucket that I use for a wind screen. Underneath is an old hot water tank burner mounted on a frame made of 2" angle iron. The frame would easily hold more than the capacity of the bowl.

[Ziptar]

A Stainless Steel beer keg will work well for smelting provided you have a burner that can heat it up and a stand that will support it. Last year I had a chance to try out a a beer keg for smelting with a Bayou Classic Kick A Banjo Burner Plus - KAB6 Burner (http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/kab6-kick-a-banjo-burner-plus.htm).

The KAB6's stand will support up to 162 quarts, about 325 lbs.

68149

This is it smelting 230lbs of range lead.

68150
68151

The base is very stout and it supports the keg very well.

It worked but it took a long time and allot of gas to smelt all of that lead. If I were going to go it again I would put a wind screen around the base of the burner. There is so much air space below the keg when it is on the stand allot of it is wasted. Blocking the breeze and funneling the heat up under the keg would have melted things much faster.

[45-70 Chevroner]

My only worry would be "IF" it fails can you run fast enough.