Unintended Consequences- the good kind

[357maximum]

I do 90% of my season's casting in the winter..as I do not like casting in hot weather, I do this casting out in the pole barn ( I would rather be cold than hot). Well it gets cold enough out there to freeze a bucket of quenching water between sessions. Normally I have always emptied the bucket after use and just drew a new one the next session. I do not have to now :holysheep

I winterize alot of forgotten/re-po real estate with that pink RV antifreeze. So awhile back I gets to thinking...hmmm if I use that for my quenching bucket I will not have to empty it everytime. :-P The lazy man in me really liked that idea. So I filled my bucket with a 60/40 mix of RV antifreeze and water and it has been working out great.

Now the neat part:
The last time I cast boolits I towelled them off and let them dry in the house for a bit and then sized. I thought the boolits were going through the STAR easier than normal as it was pretty obvious the difference in pressure required.......this calls for some investigation says me.

Today I cast about 800 RCBS-35-200's out of 50/50, towelled them off and then let them dry inside for an hour or two in front of the heater....... and then I sized them. I was right as normally these do not go through my .3595 die all that easy..not hard mind ya, but not easy either. Them 800 boolits absolutely flew through the sizer and I am a happy caster. Aparrently that cotton candy colored RV antifreeze has a mild lubricating quality. A quality that is still there even after they have been towel dried and left in front of the heater for awhile.....and there is no stickiness like one would assume...I say win/win says I :mrgreen:

I know some of you cast in the cold...just thought I would share,
Mike

[btroj]

Interesting. I cast year round but never in weather cold enough to freeze my quench bucket. Too cold for my taste.

[turtlezx]

is it safe to be handling antifreeze ???

[357maximum]

The pink stuff is sposed to be safe enough to drink according to the jug and the specs and my clients insist on "environmentally friendy antifreeze" ...never tried drinking it but I have bathed in it unintentionally a few times...ain't hurt me yet.

[btroj]

As far as the hazardous nature, it would explain a bunch about Mike......

I doubt there is much risk at all. It won't absorb thru the skin and drinking it would be stupid so what risk?

[blikseme300]

Way too cold where you are for my blood. It hurts just thinking about it! Here for us cold is anything below 60*.

I guess that the anti-freeze has some lubricating quality and this helps with sizing effort. I don't water drop but use Star sizers as well and I found that giving the boolits a light misting coat of lanolin/alcohol mix decreases the force needed to lube & size the boolits. I run a Hornady collator that feeds the 4' tubes I use for feeding the Star and I can easily lube & size 1000/hr without straining myself.

[bhn22]

I believe the pink stuff if propylene glycol, which is non-toxic. Green is ethylene glycol, which can kill you if you ingest enough.

[357maximum]

Way too cold where you are for my blood. It hurts just thinking about it! Here for us cold is anything below 60*.

I HATE THE HEAT...abd it hates me back....I feel like donkey dung anytime the temp gets above 90 or so......I once swam across a 3 acre gravel pit that had about 1/8 inch of ice on it to prove a point to an ex...she thought falling in that water would kill ya instantly....I was young and I proved at least one point that day. :lol: I was down to Florida near Cocoa Beach one time in March and it was 45-50 degrees out and the people walking the beach in mukluks, sweaters and hoodies sure got a kick out of THE YANK out there swimming in the ocean. I had never been to the ocean before and I was damn well gonna swim in it. Was nice once you got used to it actually.

I guess that the anti-freeze has some lubricating quality and this helps with sizing effort. I don't water drop but use Star sizers as well and I found that giving the boolits a light misting coat of lanolin/alcohol mix decreases the force needed to lube & size the boolits. I run a Hornady collator that feeds the 4' tubes I use for feeding the Star and I can easily lube & size 1000/hr without straining myself.

I have used the lanolin/alch trick also but I do not like the residue it leaves behind. How's that automated star work with gaschecked boolits?

[Spruce]

Is Propylene Glycol the stuff that is used in ice cream to keep it soft??

[jsheyn]

How about the lube....still stick to the boolit?

[357maximum]

Yup lube stays where it should.........really no issues other than your hands feeling a bit smoother/softer.

[goodolejim]

This is the RV antifreeze for use in the potable water system in your trailer or motorhome. I wouldn't drink it but it is nontoxic. You just rinse the system in the spring and fill the fresh water tank and off you go.

[357maximum]

Package reads: water/propylene glycol/corrosion inhibitor/dye

The FDA says it's Generally Regarded as Safe...they said that about a few other things but seeing as how PG is used in foods....I am not too scared.

[btroj]

Great thing is that a simple warm water rinse would eliminate any slight residue if it bothered you.

[blikseme300]

I have used the lanolin/alch trick also but I do not like the residue it leaves behind. How's that automated star work with gaschecked boolits?

The lanolin/alch mix has very little lanolin in it and is hardly noticeable on the boolits but they are much easier to push through the sizer. I have not yet figured out how to seat GC's automatically, maybe someday.;)

[dondiego]

357maximum - No offense, but based on your picture, I would recommend that you quit bathing in the glycol!

[Walter Laich]

As a rule I try not to drink any of my quenching liquid even if it's straight water ;)

[Garyshome]

It has a lub in it. but I wouldn't want to handle it without gloves of some sort.

[fecmech]

Propylene Glycol is used in salad dressing also I believe. I haven't bathed in it but might as well have for all the years I've had it blowing back in my face while deicing aircraft. I seem to be doing ok to date, although my wife might have a different opinion. We used to go through 80-100K gallons of the uncut glycol and then mix it with water, depending on temp for spraying on our aircraft here in Buffalo. Thanks for the tip Mike, I too cast in the garage in the winter months. I'll get a gallon this week.

[cbrick]

Cold enough to freeze the bucket? I guess it's a matter of what your used to. What I am used to at that temp is sitting in front of the fireplace with a dog on my lap, a good book and maybe a little sippin Jack.

Rick

[nanuk]

cold enough to freeze the bucket?


sounds like most of November, January, February, March, end of October, and beginning of April.... AKA Winter in Central Saskatchewan

[Djones]

Thanks for sharing your observation. How cool....pun intended.

[rnhathaway]

PG is also used in E-cigs for the flavoring.

[Dale in Louisiana]

is it safe to be handling antifreeze ???
Gosh NO!

During winter we have to have special trucks running up and down the roads to pick up all the bodies of people who've just barely TOUCHED antifreeze. Some people have gone into comas just from reading the labels twice!

dale in Louisiana
(Who had a run-in with corporate safety today)

[MT Gianni]

That is good information to know. Thanks, Mike.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Thanks for sharing your findings, it sounds very good, I will give it a try

[Jailer]

cold enough to freeze the bucket?


sounds like most of November, January, February, March, end of October, and beginning of April.... AKA Winter in Central Saskatchewan

Take off those last two, throw in a couple of 75+ days and you just described Michigan.

I'm with Mike. I love casting but it's too hot and sticky to sit out in the garage in the late spring/summer/early fall to cast. Casting is a winter sport.

[btroj]

Hot? I cast in the garage in 90 degree weather all the time. Heck, I have smelted range scrap in 90 degree weather.

If you ain't sweating in Nebraska in the summer then you must be dead.

[waksupi]

Salt.

[357maximum]

I cast in the heat too....only when I get a new mold or I am running really low on something (I.E Excited or desperate times only)...but other than that...NO THANK YOU. The heat coming off the pot in the winter seems refreshing....90+ with high humidity, not so much.

[Beau Cassidy]

If it makes any difference to anyone, the antidote for an ethylene overdose is an IV ethanol infusion.

[357maximum]

Hot? I cast in the garage in 90 degree weather all the time. Heck, I have smelted range scrap in 90 degree weather.

If you ain't sweating in Nebraska in the summer then you must be dead.


This is how it works: Your hot air gets pushed east, when it crosses Lk. Michigan it picks up a ton of water and loses a degree or two. Now I have most of your hot air and a lot of humidity to boot. Maybe if you did your casting/smelting in the winter you would send a warm gentle breeze my way in Dec/Jan and less hot/sticky air my way come July/August. Just a theory.

[blikseme300]

If it makes any difference to anyone, the antidote for an ethylene overdose is an IV ethanol infusion.

Just in case of poisoning I take precautions and imbibe ethanol after casting ingots or boolits. Cheers! :drinks:

[fcvan]

I have heard that some texans smelt in the summertime using only a magnifying glass as the heat source, but not at high noon because the melt gets too hot.

[R.Ph. 380]

I have heard that some texans smelt in the summertime using only a magnifying glass as the heat source, but not at high noon because the melt gets too hot.

Here in the Dallas area, we sometimes have to put the turkey fryer in the deep freeze at noon to keep it from overheating. Personally, I freeze my flames in December so I can use them in July when they'll be cooler than the outside temp.