Turkey Fryer Tips -- Help!!

[Byron Cromwell]

I am in need of a gas-powered burner setup for my casting operation. I have a handful of SAECO 4-cavities to feed, along with a H&g six-cavity (No, they are not for sale) and I have all the tooling except the pot. Prefer ladle-casting anyway, and I have small quantities of scrap lead to melt down.
So. How would I go about setting up a turkey fryer? I used to use an old-fashioned plumber's furnace but I don't think that's necesary (or even available anymore). I would also like to get a good 20-lb capacity lead pot. Who sells them?
How do I shroud the pot? is this necessary?
Have any of you encountered any safety issues -- fire hazards in normal melting operations, special burner elements or valves I would need to adjust the flame or heat, how to positiion the propane canister, etc? How long can I run the fryer/furnace safely at one sitting?
How much should I expect to pay for a good used one?

Thanks,

Byron

[cajun shooter]

Being that you don't have what region of this country you live in shown, you are asking for the impossible. Type in propane burners and see what you come up with. You want the high pressure regulator.

[LeadThrower]

If you're actually going with a turkey-fryer setup, they're frequently in the 50,000 btu range and that's enough heat to melt 60+ lbs of lead in a large cast iron dutch oven. Look for "King Kooker" on an google search and you see plenty of results. Expect to pay $45-$60 for a new one, cheaper setups can be found. One 20lb tank will last a looong time. I used to clean my bulk scrap lead that way and I could do hundreds of pounds with one tank. I positioned the propane tank upwind and as far as the burner's hose would allow. No heat shroud necessary, but having one wouldn't hurt.

The drawback to using a system like that for bullet casting is that temperature control isn't as nice as a good electric 20-lb pot. Go to Midwayusa.com and look at their lead pot selection for ideas on who makes them and the typical price, or hit ebay with a lead pot search.

[HeavyMetal]

Most of us use a turkey fryer to melt and clean the alloy from it's "natural" state, such as wheel weights, and make ingots that are easier to store.

Some of us also use this set up to make special alloys for different applications because you can make a large batch of alloy, usually 60 to 100 pounds, and this means a more consistant alloy.

For casting out right this may not be the way to go as heat control is usually no where near as "tunable" as on an electric pot.

Noise is also a factor turkey fryers are no where near as loud as plumbers furnace, I have both and the Plumbers furnace sounds like a jet engine!

However if you have concerns about electricity you can make propane stuff work and I'd get a big dutch oven make some sheilding around the flame area and bring that up to the middle of the pot and then figure out a better system to control heat than the stock set up.

Set up like I've described you will have less wind affecting the fire and be able to turn it down to a workable temperature while casting and then turn it up to "smelt".

It will take some work and in the end you may find buying a 20 pound Wagge dipping pot a lot easier, and faster, to get in production with!

Seems somene psted Waage was selling these for 152 bucks and warned of a price increase?

Google Waage and you should get a number if your interested.

[hunter64]

There is about 4.7 gallons of propane in a 20 lb tank and about 91,600 btu per gallon.

4.7 x 91,600=430,520 btu/h in a tank so if the fryer is 50,000 btu/h then you get 8.6 hours at full throttle per tank.

This of course depends on the temperature that the tank was filled at because the amount in the tank will vary depending on how hot it was outside but 8 hours for sure anyways.

[alamogunr]

I used to use an old-fashioned plumber's furnace but I don't think that's necesary (or even available anymore). I would also like to get a good 20-lb capacity lead pot. Who sells them?
How do I shroud the pot? is this necessary?
Thanks,

Byron

I deleted everything from your original post that I was not going to comment on. The links below may help.

http://tinyurl.com/3xf8435

http://www.theantimonyman.com/index.htm

Since most casting/smelting should be done with at least some air movement, a shield is desirable.

John
W.TN