melting lead

[muskyking3]

Can anyone tell me if a hot plate is good enough to melt lead.I have a dutch oven pot with a lid about 1 to 2 gallon. I want to melt a larger quanty of lead & put in ingot for my lee pot. Thank You

[Jon]

I'd be careful how much lead you put on there. They aren't usually made for too much weight. Other than that, it should work ok. I think most people use a turkey fryer burner though.

[jack19512]

Yes, it works just fine although a little on the slow side. This single hot plate is all I have ever used and I have smelted a lot of lead with it. Don't try to use too big of pan with it and make sure to use a pan that will hold up to the heat and weight of the lead. Both the hot plate and pan were purchased at Walmart.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a63/jack19512/DCP01460.jpg

[jack19512]

Also, always leave a little lead in the pot as in my pic. It really helps the next batch to melt quicker.

[Russel Nash]

yeah, what Jon said ^^^

from another thread I started here, I learned that the RCBS Pro-Melt was good for 800 watts.

I have several hot plates from another project (bending wood).

They are all 110V and are rated at 1,000 watts.

Like Jon said, watch how much weight you put on that thing. The undersides of all the ones I have are plastic.

[RugerBob]

I would not recomend the newer hot plates. I heard and thought the same as you. I bought a new hot plate , and even at high temp it shuts down on its own. I use it now for just heating up my molds. Bob

[jack19512]

I would not recomend the newer hot plates. I heard and thought the same as you. I bought a new hot plate , and even at high temp it shuts down on its own. I use it now for just heating up my molds. Bob







When I bought mine it had the thermostat and I had to by-pass it eliminating the temp control. Has worked very good for a long time now with no problems. I'm not advising anyone to do this, just saying what I had to do.