Casting in basement

[Patrick L]

I'm seeing that several of you cast in your basement. How much of an issue is ventilation ? I do all of my casting in the winter months (meaning cold) in my garage. I have a vent hood rigged up in one of the windows, so I never had to worry about ventilation.

The problem is, I have to run a kerosene heater to keep warm, plus I have to break down my setup each time due to the fact that others in my family are in the garage at various times. I've been thinking about setting up in the basement since I'm the only one that goes down there. I already have my workshop, reloading room, and everything else I do set up down there. But I worry about not having the ventilation hood. I suppose I could rig one up, but that won't be anytime soon (too little time, too much to do.)

I would still do all of my WW melting and mixing out of doors on heavy melting equipment. I'm talking strictly casting bullets out of my premixed ingots with electric pots.

Any input ?

[Johnch]

I case in a home made exaust hood / chamber .
This is mainly to gat rid of the flux smoke ( saw dust ) .
But it also removes any Lead fumes my family fears .

I run the exaust thru a unused dryer vent .

My first one was a big cardboard box with the bath exaust fan duct taped in .

I broke down and made a new one out of 7/16 OSB with a plexy glass sliding door .

If I close the door it would protect the room from the tinsel Fairy . [smilie=l:

Johnch

[wills]

"I'm talking strictly casting bullets out of my premixed ingots with electric pots. "
Ventalation should not be a problem. You will not be getting the alloy hot enough for lead vapor to get into the air. Your only contamination would be from physical contact with the alloy

[Ricochet]

What Wills said. The only time ventilation's an issue is if you use a smoky flux, and I've pretty well quit doing that.

[Patrick L]

Thanks guys. I do take all of the usual precautions regarding physical contamination, so I'm encouraged.

I probably will get around to rigging up a vent anyway, either out of an old range hood or a bath exhaust fan, but I'm into overkill anyway.

[six_gun]

I cast in my basement all year around. I do cast pretty hot but probably not hot enough to heve to worry about lead fumes, but I can smell the lead down there if I don't venelate good.

What I do is I support the suction hose from my shop vac, above the pot. I run a hose from the output of the shop vac, through an outside window. I have enough hose so the shop vac is behind a wall from me and it isn't too loud. All of the smoke from fluxing goes right into the hose so I presume that all of the lead vapor is going the same place.

The only drawback is that when I turn on the TV so I can watch a football game while I am casting, the shop vac causes interference on the TV and I don't get the best reception.

Sixgun

[Cherokee]

I've been casting in the basement for many many years. Heavy smelting is done outside. Just casting has never been a problem and I do have my lead level checked every few years - still normal - which is more than I can say for the rest of my old body!
:lovebooli

[NVcurmudgeon]

Somebody once posted here, or on aimoo, or on shooters, who seemed knowledgeable, that lead does not vaporize until 1200 degrees F. Most of us don't have equpment that will get our alloy that hot, and casting at that temperature would be a real pain in the neck. What we are smelling while casting or smelting is burning flux, or paint, plastic or other foreign matter on wheelweights.

[StarMetal]

Well it doesn't matter whether the lead is vaporizing or not, if you have a wife like mine that hates the smell of whatever comes off it, you won't be casting in the basement anymore. I can't even use a solvent of anykind in the house. I can get away with using Hoppe's #9 borecleaner tho. So I just cast out on the covered patio.

Joe

[hpdrifter]

Starmetal, does your wife ever use fingernail polish. I give mine h3ll [:)]when she does, just for the reason you stated about solvents.