Will this work for melting lead?

[pdgraham]

I'm going to get into "ladeling" (sp?).. I've had a lead ladle for years so I might as well put it to work..

Also.. I'm looking for a more convient way to "render" WW and Range lead into ingots.. a 10# Lee pot is just wrong for the job...

Will something like this work to melt lead?

Proctor-Silex Fifth Burner (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/B000690WNU/ref=dp_nav_1/102-9691945-6937742?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=507846&s=kitchen)

$12.99 .. free shipping..

What should I use for a small pot to melt in?

[powderburnerr]

I doubt that would work ,most have an overtemp switch in the 400 degree range of which some are single service and a few are cool down and resettable . for rendering wheelweights a turkey cooker and a heavy steel or iron pot is the best............. Dean

[SharpsShooter]

I doubt that would work ,most have an overtemp switch in the 400 degree range of which some are single service and a few are cool down and resettable . for rendering wheelweights a turkey cooker and a heavy steel or iron pot is the best............. Dean


I agree, the overtemp relay will put the skidds to your smelting. The turkey cooker is good as is a propane hotplate and a cast iron kettle from Harbor Freight. Without tank and regulator it's around $40. A 40# tank, regulator and hose will run around $25-30. All will last a lifetime of casting.

[pdgraham]

Thanks for the info guys..

I was kind of hoping I could find something that would sit on my little bullet casting bench on the back porch.

Sounds like a regular cooking hotplate isn't going to cut it.. maybe I can find an old Lab hotplate...

[imashooter2]

The very popular yard sale Coleman gasoline stove does the job for a song.

[Willbird]

I bought a hotplate for 9.99 at Walmart, it works just fine for pre-melting ingots in an aluminum saucepan, the element gets cherry red when it is heating, that is hotter than 400 degrees for sure. I have melted so far over 400 lbs of alloy on it, good deal for 9.99 eh ??

It does not put out enough heat to run the HF dutch oven tho, the sides of the cast iron pot are too much heat sink for it.

Bill

[Bret4207]

I bought a $8.99 hot plate at Walmart. For a pot I use a 12 or 16 cup stainless steel measuring cup, holds about 35 pounds of alloy filled right up, which is too much. I fill it to aobut 2/3 full and have a bit over 20 lbs. The pot will heat to above 850* if you want. I went to this set up after trying a bottom pour Lee (crap, bottom pours are tools of satan), the Coleman stove (bulky but works good), and a plumbers furnace (HOT, noisy, works great with my dutch oven). I'm very satified with the setup. Small, compact, quiet, melts in about 15 minutes and hold temp very well. I used my thermometer and made a dial to gauge my temp. For less than $25.00 I have a large capacity ladle set up that works with my Lyman dipper or my 1 lb. Rowell laddle. The only improvement I might try is wraping the pot in an insulating material to help hold the heat better.

[Willbird]

The only improvement on our setup TPR that I think might be wise, is to make a set of legs for our crucibles so the hotplate isnt supporting the whole weight.

Bill

[mroliver77]

I have played with a few of these with good luck. If it has an overtemp switch that can be taken care of easily enough.(You will void the warrenty though<G>)
I helped at Willbirds one day where we casted for hours taking turns at the mould. We had a 2 lb. coffee can on the Wal Mart hot plate as a premelt container that day. It worked well and kept us suplied with preheated alloy to keep the pot up to temp. Using the Bruce B. method and a six cavity 255 grainer one can eat up some alloy. We made quite a dent in Bills pile of ingots that day. For $9.99 it's a steal!
I am using a stove top out of an old camper I had. 2 propane burners. I had to use an adjustable high presure regulator on it. It really puts out now. I HAVE A COUPLE CAST SAUCE PANS and a couple stainless frying pans and assorted other yard sale cookware for lead and lube. I sometimes use it as a premelt for my bottom pour and sometimes I ladle pour. I found that the Lee TL Modern Target Minnie out of pure lead casts much better with a ladle than the bottom pour. Jay

[Cloudpeak]

I used to "render"WW into ingots. It occurred to me that this might not be very effecient. I now have a much bigger pot than my old cast iron Lyman pot that holds much more lead. I bought a cast iron pot with a lid and wood handle at an antique shop for $15. It's 7 1/2 inches in diameter and 5 inches tall. I now melt the WW down, skim the steel clips, flux and start casting. When I'm done casting, the excess goes into the muffin pans or iron Lyman ingot mold. This saves the time and expense of heating the same lead twice. I still seem to end up with plenty of ingots with this method.

With my little Lyman cast iron pot, by the time you cleaned up the metal and cast a few bullets, it was time to add more WW's which really slowed things down. With a bigger pot, once the metal is cleaned up, I can cast a lot of bullets. (All of my bullets are straight WW's pistol bullets used in reduced loads.)

Cloudpeak

[wheezengeezer]

i use a turkey frier burner and a pot made from a 30lb freon bottle.it is an outside job,the smoke and all.just clean the trash from the ww and add to the pile above the molten lead.DO NOT ADD WW TO THE MOLTEN PUDDLE! i have had 150 lb of clean alloy in my pot at one time.needless to say,you need a well braced base and a stable pot. of course it is best to pour ingots from this to slip into your 10 lb pot during your casting session.the 150lb pot of alloy can even have a lot #,such as the date.

[howdy]

I use an old two burner gas hot plate that I have modified to use both natural gas on one side and LP on the other,so that I can cast inside the garage using clean lead to pour boolits in bad weather, or outside when cleaning up WW's to pour into muffin molds. I use a variety of melting pots the main two are a 6 qt pot that holds about 60 lbs, and a 6 inch frying pan. I have been using this frying pan for over 20 years and have poured hundreds of bollits from it. The large pot is for cleaning large amounts to pour into small bread loaf pans,about 10lbs each, and into castiron corn muffin molds that fit into the Lee melter I just aquired last year.

[Bear4570]

I use an old cast iron two burner setup to a 20# propane bottle and an old cast iron pot that I picked up at a garage sale for $5.

All of my bulk lead is melted into ingots this way. Works great for me.


Sportsman Guide carries them, you can get a double for about $40.00

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=219392 (Sportsman Guide)

[yammerschooner]

I use an old cast iron two burner setup to a 20# propane bottle and an old cast iron pot that I picked up at a garage sale for $5.

All of my bulk lead is melted into ingots this way. Works great for me.


Sportsman Guide carries them, you can get a double for about $40.00

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=219392 (Sportsman Guide)


I picked up a double burner exactly like that at Harbor Freight for $13. You may have to wait a couple of weeks for a sale, but it seems to come up on a regular basis.

[Bear4570]

I picked up a double burner exactly like that at Harbor Freight for $13. You may have to wait a couple of weeks for a sale, but it seems to come up on a regular basis.

Never thought of Harbor Frieght, don't get in their to often, but that would be the ticket.

[yammerschooner]

I just got my Harbor Freight ad, and they are not in it for this week. I looked it up online, and they are currently at $20.99. A little patience, and I am sure they will make it back to $13.

Here is the link to what I am talking about.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44894

Upon searching a little more I see they have a single burner for $11, which is probably all you need.

Link to the single:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44893

I do use the two burners on mine, as I will run two pots at the same time to speed things up. Sometimes I will use one for tape weights and one for clip weights. Never seen the single at my local store.