smelting pot

[XWrench3]

i have a turkey fryer, and a cast iron pot that i have smelted with. but i am not necessarily content with what i have. the cast iron pot has a round bottom for the most part, and i can't help but think that a lot of the heat is simply rolling off the side of the pot into the atmosphere, instead of melting my lead. i tried an aluminum pot, with a flat bottom, which was better, but it was not as large as the cast pot, so the results may just have been because of the quanity. a thought crossed my mind while i was surfing on flea bay. has anyone ever thought of using either an engine or transmission oil pan for smelting out of? they are quite large, have a relatively flat bottom, and seem to be made out of thick enough steel. what are your thoughts on this idea???

[HammerMTB]

Stamped steel pans from small automotive uses are way too thin.
I work in Heavy Duty, and there are cast aluminum pans, and while those would work, the cast iron is really better.
If you want to capture more of your heat, make a sheet steel surround that kind of surrounds your cast iron pot. You can make it semi-permanent, or build it so it can easily be removed for moving your pot.
I have a 6 qt pot, and tho at times it may waste some heat, it is so far superior to my old small electric setup, I don't give it a thought.

[sagacious]

XW3,
Using an aluminum pot over a turkey fryer to melt scrap lead is more than courting disaster-- it's like getting to third base with disaster. Anything is better than an aluminum pot for your use.

You can find an inexpensive stainless steel pot with an aluminum or copper heat-conducting core at Walmart. That gives you the best of all possible worlds. Good luck.

[HangFireW8]

i have a turkey fryer, and a cast iron pot that i have smelted with. but i am not necessarily content with what i have. the cast iron pot has a round bottom for the most part, and i can't help but think that a lot of the heat is simply rolling off the side of the pot into the atmosphere, instead of melting my lead. i tried an aluminum pot, with a flat bottom, which was better, but it was not as large as the cast pot, so the results may just have been because of the quanity. a thought crossed my mind while i was surfing on flea bay. has anyone ever thought of using either an engine or transmission oil pan for smelting out of? they are quite large, have a relatively flat bottom, and seem to be made out of thick enough steel. what are your thoughts on this idea???

I started with a large turkey fryer and the tiny RCBS 10 lb pot (ten pounds if pure lead 1/2 inch from the top edge, less with anything else). It was flat bottomed but the size of the burner ring was larger than the pot. It was very inefficient but it worked.

Next I found a larger round-bottomed plumber's pot that held about 25 pounds with a couple inches for safety. It was kind of inefficient but it worked well.

Finally I found a 10 quart dutch oven, with lid, at a yard sale with a big flat bottom. It works great and is quite efficient.

About the pan idea, if it is stamped it will eventually fail along the sharpest radius. If it is welded, it will eventually fail along the welds.

-HF

[Shiloh]

Steel.

Heavier gauge stamped steel kettle. On this forum there have been reports of lower quality cast iron pots cracking and spilling the molten contents.

Shiloh

[snuffy]

Cast or pressed aluminum pots are dangerous. The melting point of aluminum is 1218 degrees. A propane turkey fryer is quite able to reach that temp in order to get the lead melted. Especially if you crank it wide open to hurry the melt. The aluminum will collapse with all the melted lead on the ground.

A good cast iron dutch oven works the best. Just be sure you don't hammer on the hot cast iron pot. By that I mean trying to knock off that last little bit of lead clinging to your ladle. Cast iron will crack more easily when hot.

[Down South]

One of these days, I will build myself a nice smelting pot from a piece of pipe and 1/4" plate for a bottom. I just haven't run across a scrap piece of pipe suitable for my needs yet.

[Lead Fred]

Before I went to a furnace, which BTW is much nicer.

I found an old O2 bottle in a scrap yard. I cut the bottom 6 inches off and used it as my pot. The bottle was made of 3/8 thick aluminum, and have always been an even heat up pot.

[blackthorn]

If you want to melt WW, or any other dirty scrap, get an old 20lb propane tank (usually free), screw out the valve, fill the tank with water and use a hand held “angle” grinder to cut a piece (3 or 4 inches square) out of the top around the valve. Now that you have the danger of an explosion taken care of, drain the water, lay the tank on its side and cut it off as close to the top "shoulder" as possible. Set the "pot" up solidly on your turkey fryer. This pot will hold WAY more lead than you can lift so be prepared to "dip" it out.

Another "heater" option is if you have a "tiger torch" or even a good "weed burner": take four building blocks and set them on the ground leaving an opening where the ends of the blocks meet. Place a cast (or steel) 45 degree pipe "elbow" in the opening. Place your pot full of scrap lead on the blocks over the top opening of the elbow, fire up your torch and lay it in the lower end of the elbow.

Hope this helps! Have a great day.