Is this good enough for smelting setup?

[Jal5]

I can pick this one up for $20. Is it heavy duty enough for smelting? I don't plan on doing really big quantities at least not right away. Just getting into this and want to keep the expenses on the low side. This is the last piece of equipment I need to get started. thanks.

Joe

[cbrick]

The burner/stand is very similar to what I use but I would have serious reservations about an aluminum pot. I have never used an aluminum pot myself but from numerous posts I've read on this very forum I'm glad I haven't and won't. Also, that pot looks to be fairly large and could hold a couple hundred or more pounds of lead, doubtful that stand would hold up that much weight.

Look for a cast iron or stainless pot to use instead, they can be found at yard sales, Goodwill stores etc. fairly cheap.

Rick

[Jal5]

Yeah I wasn't planning on using that aluminum pot as I have a cast iron dutch oven from a yard sale. It was the burner and stand that i was questioning.

Joe

[fryboy]

20 bux for the burner and the regulator ? ( the pot is a freebie - make soup or turkeys in it ) not too bad , i mean i've used a lil coleman stove before .....lolz prolly have to modify the top rim a bit , kinda looks like it just unclips anyways , possibly part of some of the "some assembly required " on the original box , dont think i'd try to do 300 pounds at a time in it but ...fire it up ! a future upgrade mite be a longer hose and possibly if needed a wind/heat shield and ummm way better than that old coleman stove ;)

[lwknight]

Full speed ahead Captain!!

[WILCO]

Just getting into this and want to keep the expenses on the low side.

Get a hot plate and one of those chinese cast iron skillets for now. I do all my smelting like that and it works plenty well enough. Save your dutch oven for cooking. What brand is the dutch oven anyways?

[imashooter2]

That burner for $20 and the cast iron Dutch oven you already have are a near ideal smelting setup. I say buy.

[Jal5]

I picked it up tonite, $20 for the burner, AL pot which I will use for cooking, gear for frying turkey, plus two other boiler pots total 3 pots plus lids. I think I did OK. Now to clean up the burner and hook it up and see how good it works. I may reinforce the burner too on the stand piece if I don't like how it looks.

Can't wait to start smelting!

Joe

[goon]

Sounds like it would work. My "smelting" set up right now is a $9 cast iron pot and a $9 cast iron ladle, both from the bargain sections of antique stores, three cinder blocks, and a trench dug in the yard with a fire built in it.

Yes, I do think I should go more scientific. It's not the most consistent system. But it did allow me to smelt down a bunch of dirty soft lead into muffin ingots. So you're still a step ahead of where I was.
Just keep in mind that lead is heavy.
You may not realize how heavy it is, but it's not at all hard to put sixty pounds of weight on something once you add lead into your cast iron pot. So just make sure the stand is sturdy enough for that.

[zxcvbob]

See if you can find a big stainless steel bowl that will fit on that burner ring and stay put. You can probably find something for about $1 or 2.

I use a spare 1.5 quart Revereware saucepan with lid and a $5 electric hotplate to render scrap lead into ingots (muffins) -- about 10 pounds at a time. Since I tend to get scrap lead 15 or 20 pounds at a time, it works well for me. I have a Lee 20# lead pot for casting boolits.

[timkelley]

Find out fast if it is strong. Lay a piece of plywood or facsimile across the stand top and sit or climb on. If it bends then reinforce if not good to go.

[Jal5]

Thanks for the ideas. It looks pretty strong, I will put the board across and see if it holds my 200#, I doubt I will be melting my scrap lead at that weight though. That top rim and supports just clip on the burner ring to hold the big pot steady on the burner, they come off and I wouldn't use them for the melting of the scrap lead.

Joe

[BillP]

Thanks for the ideas. It looks pretty strong, I will put the board across and see if it holds my 200#, I doubt I will be melting my scrap lead at that weight though. That top rim and supports just clip on the burner ring to hold the big pot steady on the burner, they come off and I wouldn't use them for the melting of the scrap lead.

Joe

Lead is 750 lbs a cubic ft and a large smelting pot can hold 200 lbs easy. Do the math to see what your loading is, it's safer.

bp

[Down South]

Get a hot plate and one of those chinese cast iron skillets for now. I do all my smelting like that and it works plenty well enough. Save your dutch oven for cooking. What brand is the dutch oven anyways?
How long would it take to clean 4 or 5 five gallon buckets of WW like that? LOL, It takes a while with a good burner and a large dutch oven. A yard sale dutch oven is the trick or a homemade pot made out of 12" or larger pipe.
Yes the aluminum pot needs to be used for cooking and not cleaning lead. A steel pot will work if you can find one or cut the top off of a freon bottle.

[a.squibload]

Like this?

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_69sguoFlVzY/TM3U1pb1RRI/AAAAAAAAADM/fWzgUnn--CE/smelt%20pot.JPG

I'm getting closer.
Think my rebar stand is a little spindly though, will add braces.
I wanted it tall to work with while standing.
The wife suggested I could drive the legs into the ground, might be more stable.

[Jal5]

I used my setup this afternoon for the 1st time- see my other thread.
Worked fine. I should devise a table/platform to work from since my back will give out stooping over like this on the concrete. I need to devise a lid for that dutch oven too since it didn't come with one, any ideas? You can see it on the picture on that other thread.

thanks,

Joe

[Down South]

Like this?
I'm getting closer.
Think my rebar stand is a little spindly though, will add braces.
I wanted it tall to work with while standing.
The wife suggested I could drive the legs into the ground, might be more stable.

Nice setup...

[a.squibload]

Thanks, I got the general idea from Fugowii.
OK, can't lie, I copied it EXACTLY! In a general sense of course.
Hope he doesn't have a patent on it.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showpost.php?p=970126&postcount=25

Haven't added handles yet, saw one propane pot here with integral handles,
when he cut the bottle he left big tabs sticking up above the top line of the pot.
Too late for that on mine.
I'll probably settle on drilling holes for heavy wire, or some such thing.

[hk33ka1]

Be careful with heavy loads of lead. Once the pot and stand get hot sometimes the stand can bend easier. So what started out sturdy may collapse after 30 minutes of heat. 180 or so lbs that had not gone completely molten collapsed my Bass Pro turkey frier. I use that burner on a different stand now and no problems.

[dunkel]

I'm kicking myself for passing up a thrift store find. A perfect three quart pot. Along with cast iron cooking utensils, including a ladle. Figured I'd just keep looking and by the time I headed back to get it after striking out everywhere else, it was gone.