stainless steel pan for smelting.

[krallstar]

Title says it, Looking into a 2qt ss pot. What should i be looking for. Are there ones that i should stay away from.

[finstr]

When I'm smelting small quantities of wheel weights I use a stainless saucepan that the wife was gonna throw away. It holds aprox 2 quarts of liquid. I put it on my turkey fryer burner and never,ever pick it up by the handle!! if its got lead in it! It's a cheap pot but it'll withstand the heat for a long time. You don't need anything too special....

[WHITETAIL]

Yes SS is OK to use.

[krallstar]

Great, i found 1 on ebay for less than $10.00 shipped.

[shadowcaster]

A SS pot is a good place to start for smelting. Avoid the temptation to pick it up, and be very aware of your feet and legs while pouring with a ladle.

Shad

[snowman]

Why stainless? I really prefer cast iron, but I'm not sure if I'm missing out.

I've heated lead in stainless, and it didn't do much for me...I like that the entire bottom of the pan gets hot with cast iron, not jjust the part closest to the flame.

[shadowcaster]

Why stainless? I really prefer cast iron, but I'm not sure if I'm missing out.

I've heated lead in stainless, and it didn't do much for me...I like that the entire bottom of the pan gets hot with cast iron, not jjust the part closest to the flame.

The OP was inquiring about a stainless pot..

No.. you are not missing anything. I have had very good luck using cast iron. I started with a dutch oven and graduated to my bottom pour smelter, and still use cast iron as my ingot molds. I still keep the original dutch oven around in case I need it.

Shad

[krallstar]

I am right now using a cast iron skillet for smelting. I am looking for something alittle deeper. I have access to indoor range lead and want to put more in the pot.

[nwellons]

My wife gave me her ss pot, Dutch oven size. It works great but I did ruin one of the plastic handles so far but handles don't matter since you don't pick it up when hot anyway.

[SciFiJim]

Look for one with a copper bottom. That helps to spread the heating.

[Defcon-One]

A 7-9 quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven on a turkey fryer base is the way to go.

Buy a good one, mine is a Lodge, and it will last forever and won't crack like the cheaper Chinese ones.

Mine holds up to 100 pounds which really help the production rates. When smelting wheel weights I can do up to 60 lbs. at a time and still have room for safely fluxing and stirring out the clips.

[evan price]

I am using a 3-gallon stainless steel stock pot I found in the scrap heap at the junkyard. (RevereWare, unfortunately, hate to ruin a nice pot like that but it was free so...)
SS won't crack like cast iron can do if uneven heating occurs. Plus it was free. I have a couple of them now.
3 gallons is an easy 250 pounds in one lot.
Look for a nice thick one that won't flex when you try to bend it. Heavy restaurant grade preferred. Mine was RevereWare which had a laminated aluminum & steel bottom "for even heat" but I got it too hot and melted the aluminum off of it and now it's single wall.

[DRNurse1]

Free is great! Stainless and cast iron are good choices, and recycled propane tanks are good, too.

I have the cast iron dutch oven I started smelting around 75# at a time, and one of Ray in NH's recycled propane tanks which holds 250# [I do not recommend filling it after I had to clean 250# off of my driveway]. I rarely have more than 250# at a time, but would consider having two recycled propane cylinders if I had occasion to smelt >200# with any regularity, like spilling a batch on my driveway.

I have one of Ray in NH large ladles as well to which I added a wooden handle. I am considering adding a bottom pour ladle to improve that tool but am still accumulating funds. I have a bunch of 4 cavity ingot moulds, as well, which speeds my efforts.

Smelting for me is an all day effort but I usually can accumulate enough alloy for my annual competition and practice efforts in a couple of these episodes.