smelting lead pipe question

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I have come into some lead pipe dug up from a water service being replaced

it seems to have been laid in sand

it has some dusty dirt on it but not clods or clumps , i have cut it up into 6-8 inch pieces with an axe on a stump

is it better to wash it or just smelt it and skim the junk off

i know i need to start with a bunch of it in the pot then add heat rather than try and add any to an already melted pot or i will be visited by the tinsel fairy


to wash or not to wash that is the question

[40Super]

I banged my pieces together and got as much dirt off. If it was coated with dirt(not just dusty) I would have given it a quick wash, but the dirt should float and get skimmed off. With any clumps, you have to watch out for ant moisture.

[bearcove]

power wash or spray it off less to skim. Don't add to hot pot.

[runfiverun]

hose it down.
i wash off my ww's and any range scrap i get.
then dump it out on some sheet metal to dry.
no matter what i add my lead to the pot with a shovel, i recieved some burns from some "dry" ww's [once and only once will that happen] on my arm and top of my head the lead shot onto the roof of my garage.
it wasn't my first time smelting either,it was closer to my 50th time.

[rexherring]

Just be careful of where the pipe came from. A few years ago I melted some that had very toxic fumes, good thing it was outside, and I found out it had come from an old high school chemistry lab. Hard telling what was in it.

[frank505]

Be very careful with that stuff. Adding pieces to an already molten pot, it can "shoot" lead out the end of the pipe with some force.

[D Crockett]

I would wash as much dirt off as possable then start with a empty pot put in as much as possable melt it and make ingots out of it and empty the pot start all over that way there will be no steem explosions that is how Iwould do it D Crockett

[Defcon-One]

Huh, I would just smelt it all as is!

Throw it in the pot, outside, and walk away for 20 minutes. Check it occasionally and adjust the temp. as required. Once it is all melted and the crud has burned off and blown safely away. Then flux it well with sawdust, skim off the crud and pour ingots. (Double flux if necessary.)

Less work, less risk (I always avoid water!). It's a no brainer!

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

This was a fresh water service and people were drinking from it till yesterday morning

i also smelt outside

thanks , sounds like either would work wash or not was

[MGySgt]

I never add work (washing/drying). Pick your pieces up bang them together - put in pot, come back in 20 - 30 minutes - flux and pour ignots.

By the way - for large items to be added, I leave and inch or 2 at the bottom molten to hasten the melt.

[mdi]

When you chopped the pipe with an ax, did you flatten the ends? If you have a piece of pipe with closed ends and mebbe some water inside the pipe, you have a pipe bomb...

I'd prolly flatten the pipe to make sure I'm not smelting any water containers.

[lwknight]

No need to bother washing it. Just beat all the junk you can out of it and melt it.
Caution: Melt it slowly and do not add to melted lead , there are chances of trapped water especially in the drains because there is crud that will hold moisture in it.

[dpaultx]

I slice the lead pipe up into pieces about eight to nine inches long on my band saw fitted with a wide coarse toothed blade. The little bits of lead "sawdust" get mixed in with the real sawdust on the saws table and it all goes into the smelting pot as flux.

A table saw equipped with a carbide blade also cuts it just fine.

Doug

[shadowcaster]

No need to wash it off. Just use a heavy brush on the outside, it only takes a few strokes. I cut mine using a limb pruning tool. It slices it off clean in about 1 second per cut and leaves the end open, no smashed pieces. My cut pieces are about 2 to 3 inches long and I then run an old brass 12 ga. bore brush through the inside. 1 quick swipe and your done. I toss them loose in an old milk crate and let them sit by the wood stove for a period of time, it dries them out great. Then it's on to making ingots.. No problems, No worries.

Shad

[-06]

In moving houses I often find lead pipes that need removing(everyone uses plastic now). Have no idea how much I have piled but should last a long time.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I smelted down a batch this morning, before it got hot , compared to wheel weights this is very clean stuff , and no clips to remove

used a nice handful of pine chip horse bedding, stirred with a 1x1 to flux then some candle wax for a second flux , and poured a dozen lead muffins , i need more ingot molds but this will be enough for this weekends casting of round balls and r.e.a.l's

thanks for the help

[Jamesconn]

if there isnt that much dirt just tap it on concrete if you really need to wash it off and start from cold pot and put your extra pipe next to the burner to heat up and evaporate the water and use a lid and wear face shield welding gloves and other safety stuff and watch it from 30ft away.

from previous smelting experience dirt sucks away alot of heat and it takes alot longer to melt I didnt wash of range scrap I got and it took a long time to melt it.