Hot plate

[Echo]

I stopped by Wally World on the way home, looking for a hot plate to use in smelting. They had one, but it was only rated at 500 watts, and I didn't think 500 watts was enough. I have a 30-pound cast iron pot to do my rendering in, and had planned to use the hot plate.

What say? Is 500 watts enough for my 30-pound pot?

[35remington]

No.

A thirty pound pot has a fair amount of surface area that is only getting heated at the bottom of the pot on your hot plate. A lead pot of the same size has the heating element coiled around the pot, and about three or more times the wattage. That's still not big enough to smelt in.

For smelting, you need a bigger pot since you're casting ingots in quantity. A high BTU source and a sturdy stand and pot capable of holding more like 100 lbs or more is much more satisfactory than what you envision. You don't have the size or horsepower.

[runfiverun]

a lee 20 lb'er i believe is 1500 watts or so..
the shot maker i have has a stove top burner in it and struggles with 5 lbs of ww's..

[leftiye]

Does the pot weigh 30 lbs., or does it hold 30 lbs of lead? A medium size (12" diameter) cast iron dutch oven will hold close to 100 lbs. of lead.

[Ghugly]

I have the 500W Wally World hot plate that I use for casting. I use a stainless pot wrapped with fibreglass insulation that I've taken to 900 degrees before I got through fiddling with the thermostat. It had a good 30lbs in it at the time. So.........the answer is, yes the 500W hot plate will heat 30lbs of lead. It is not the right way to go for smelting. It works just fine for me for ladle casting. With a big load of lead in the pot and about 3" of insulation (the insulation is not an option, too much heat is lost out the side without it), it holds a nice even temperature.

Take care tho. It was never intended for such duty. I blew out and bypassed the internal safety, and it gave out large amounts of smoke and the thermostat got so hot that the nob melted and fell off. I guess it's given up the fignt now, tho. I just plug it in, fill it up, give it lots of time to heat (an hour or so), flux, and cast big piles of boolits.

[The Dust Collector]

In my early years I used a hot plate but it didn't last long. The hot plate was a quality unit but in no way was it designed to support 30+ pounds or sustain a heat level needed to cast. The element was short lived . There is alot of radiated heat radiated down and the material ( bakelite ? ) the base is made of got alot hotter than normally expected by the manufacturer and it's degradation was rapid ( brittle ). Not to speak of the surface that the hot plate is set upon. That can have ill effects or worse.
This was my experience FWIW.

[August]

I tried it, it didn't work. Ended up with an outdoor furnace, turkey cooker, metal burner thingy that didn't cost that much.

I do use the hotplate, however, for preheating molds. So, all was not lost.

[August]

I tried it, it didn't work. Ended up with an outdoor furnace, turkey cooker, metal burner thingy that didn't cost that much.

I do use the hotplate, however, for preheating molds. So, all was not lost.

[Echo]

Thanks, guys. I suspected as much. I guess it's turkey fryer time.

And this litle pot is about 8" in diameter, and is rated as a 30 lb pot, meaning it will hold 30 lbs of lead.. As I said, I'm not a commercial type, just a hobbiest, and don't smelt all that much - but it looks like a turkey fryer and dutch oven are in my future.

[JIMinPHX]

I use a 750 watt hotplate with a 10 pound pot. I need to wrap something around it for insulation to get the pot hot enough. I usually use a 6 x 4” stove pipe reducer with a piece of slate over the top of it. The 6” end of the reducer fits over the element but does not touch the base of the hot plate. The base of the hotplate does not get too hot, but the pot gets up to WW melting temperature in about 15 minutes. You can do it with a smaller element & a larger pot, but you will need better insulation & more time.

[Bret4207]

My Wally World Hot Plate is 1100 watts, apparently I've got the only one they ever sold. For smelting I use a dutch oven and plumbers gasoline furnace. For casting the hot plate does fine. I'm going to try and find an electric stove element and control someday. That would be "more better".

[44man]

I use my propane turkey fryer stove to make beer! :drinks:
The best thing I ever found was an old propane plumbers stove. It is small and holds a lot of weight.
52 years ago we were chuck hunting in Ohio down a RR track and the stove was sitting in the gravel beside the track. A little clean up and some paint made it serve like a champ all these years.

[454PB]

My "dollar smelter" is a 240 volt element from an electric range. It's 3000 watts, and I've used it to melt up to 50 pounds in one pot.

[Ghugly]

I like natural gas for smelting. My son and I have done over 200lbs in one potful and over 1000lbs in one month, without his wife (after carefull scrutiny) being able to see any difference in their monthly gas bill. After seeing the great, roaring flame under the pot, she was sure it was costing them a fortune in gas. Of course, it costs something but it sure beats the cost and bother of getting propane bottles filled.