best source of heat?

[like it all]

I have finally decided to use a separate pot for making my alloys and melting new lead for casting. I just purchased an RCBS 10#cast iron pot to do all preliminary melting in, saving the production pot for casting. My dilemma is what source of heat shall I use? A burner for a turkey roaster would be overkill, they usually require a 12" or bigger diameter vessel. I'm not sure if an electric hot plate would get hot enough, or if it did, could it handle the sustained heat? Would a side burner on a gas grill be able to handle it(not one I cook on).
The guys that do larger batches seem to go with the big burners used for outdoor cookers, but I only cast in 20 lb. batches and don't need the volume.

[WILCO]

I'm not sure if an electric hot plate would get hot enough, or if it did, could it handle the sustained heat? Would a side burner on a gas grill be able to handle it(not one I cook on).

Hi Like it all!

I'm a small batch smelter and caster.

All of my smelting work is done on a wire coil hotplate, using a cast iron skillet w/lid.

Depending on the hotplate wattage, amount of lead to be smelted, use of a lid and wind blocker, you should be able to get it hot enough to smelt.

The side burner should work too, as it's a greater source of heat.

[62chevy]

I have the same RCBS pot and use an electric hot plate from Walmart. Found it on line and had it shipped site to store. Your store may have them in stock mine didn't. Anyways it's a Elite Cuisine 1000 watts. Model ESB-301F ... http://www.walmart.com/ip/Elite-Cuisine-Single-Flat-Burner-Hot-Plate/8467244

It works okay takes a bit to get up to temp but making a wind break and using a cover helps a lot.

[like it all]

Thanks for the tips on wind break and lid fellas.

[62chevy]

Glad I was able to pass something useful along.

[Idz]

some useful information:
A grill side burner is about 8000 BTU/hr = 2345 watts
turkey fryers are about 30000-50000 BTU / hr output
a weedburner torch is up to about 500,000 BTU / hr
it takes about 28 BTU to heat and melt 1 lb of lead
(melting efficiency with a windscreen is about 15% so 187 BTU / lb is needed. Not including heating the pot))
a 20 lb propane bottle holds about 430,000 BTU of energy

[62chevy]

some useful information:
A grill side burner is about 8000 BTU/hr = 2345 watts
turkey fryers are about 30000-50000 BTU / hr output
a weedburner torch is up to about 500,000 BTU / hr
it takes about 28 BTU to heat and melt 1 lb of lead
(melting efficiency with a windscreen is about 15% so 187 BTU / lb is needed. Not including heating the pot))
a 20 lb propane bottle holds about 430,000 BTU of energy

That's good info! Thanks.

[like it all]

Went to Wally Mart this AM., found the the electric plate for 19.97 , 1000 watts. Took a look for propane burners and found a Coleman for 23.67, 10,000 btu. I have a supply of propane bottles for camping. Bought the Coleman as price was close and glad I did. I smeltered 35 lbs. of Linotype into ingots in an hour and 40 minutes . It's one of those burners that sit on top of the 16.4 oz. propane bottles, the RCBS pot sits nice and snug on it. I used the ingot mold as a cover to get the heat up faster. A five gallon steel paint bucket makes a perfect wind break. I appreciate the tips, as they made a chore into something rather easy.

[62chevy]

Went to Wally Mart this AM., found the the electric plate for 19.97 , 1000 watts. Took a look for propane burners and found a Coleman for 23.67, 10,000 btu. I have a supply of propane bottles for camping. Bought the Coleman as price was close and glad I did. I smeltered 35 lbs. of Linotype into ingots in an hour and 40 minutes . It's one of those burners that sit on top of the 16.4 oz. propane bottles, the RCBS pot sits nice and snug on it. I used the ingot mold as a cover to get the heat up faster. A five gallon steel paint bucket makes a perfect wind break. I appreciate the tips, as they made a chore into something rather easy.

Good to know because I've been afraid to buy on of those burners thinking it to week to hold that much lead. Or did you reinforce it some how. one Youtube video used a metal wast can to hold a much bigger pot than the RCBS #10 but no luck finding a metal trash can now days. Should buy one and give it a try cause 2 hours is darn quick.

[jmort]

"Good to know because I've been afraid to buy on of those burners thinking it to week to hold that much lead."

These guys just took the bottom off a waste paper basket to support weight. Seems to work well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh4mdoR4Tdk

[62chevy]

"Good to know because I've been afraid to buy on of those burners thinking it to week to hold that much lead."

These guys just took the bottom off a waste paper basket to support weight. Seems to work well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh4mdoR4Tdk

That's the video I was talking about. going to look online to find a trash can as my Walmart is small.

[like it all]

The burner seems to handle the RCBS 10 lb. pot full of metal just fine, seems it probably would handle more, but I personally wouldn't. The burner will handle up to 8" diam. pots per Coleman, but that's full of water ,not lead. Setting the whole rig in a steel 5 gallon can, acts as a wind break and a safety ring as well.

http://r1.coleman.com/ProductImages/TinyThumb/2000004124_500.jpg

[oscarflytyer]

I smelt with a big cast iron dutch oven pot and turkey burner. If you do so - BE CAREFUL and do NOT get it too hot too quick IF you might have any zinc!!!!

For casting, my preference is a Coleman white gas stove. Use a 20 lb small cast pot and it works perfect. I am also a dipper. Like the Coleman because it is very easy to adjust and maintain a constant temp.

[dikman]

For the last lot of smelting I decided to use my (coke-fired) forge instead of the camping stove. It melts lead real quick and cuts the waiting time dramatically. Just another option (for some) :bigsmyl2:

[like it all]

My smelting set up with camp stove:[ATTACH=CONFIG]84406

[D Crockett]

dikman be careful with the forge if the temp is to hot you could get the lead to boil and the fumes off that is dangerous just a heads up there and would you pm me as to where I can get some coke for my forge I am in the middle of building one

[dikman]

Yep, I'm aware that it has the potential to boil the lead, but I don't leave it in the fire long enough for that and I make sure that the air blast isn't too high - I turn it up to get some heat into the pot and then close it down a bit (otherwise it will melt the steel pot before too long!!).

As for coke, I'm in Sth. Australia, so unless you live here I can't be of much help. My usual supplier has stopped selling it (as I just found out!) but I've finally managed to find another one, unfortunately not as close. In the meantime as I've run out of said coke I've cleaned out the forge and I'm going to try using wood temporarily to smelt the stuff I've just scrounged. It should get up to heat quite well with an air blast, but as the forge pot isn't huge (don't need a big one for coke) it's going to need almost constant feeding of wood. Should be an interesting experiment, if nothing else.

It's now a few hours later, and using wood in my forge worked. Melted the stuff pretty quick, but it was messier than using coke and a bit harder to regulate, but a lot faster than using propane. Also made a fair bit of smoke and everything came out soot-blackened! All things considered, though, it has to rate as a successful morning with 150 lbs. of ingots made.