Heating your pot electric hot plate or camp type stove?

[Dadswickedammo]

Been using an old propane camp stove and been a lil worried about fire from fumes weather it be from fluxing or carp smoking from scrap lead.
What do you use and why?

[runfiverun]

I light the top of my pots on fire it helps get rid of the smoke and actually returns the oxides back to the melt.
I melt my scrap on a propane outdoor stove. [camp chef]

[Uncle R.]

I light the top of my pots on fire it helps get rid of the smoke and actually returns the oxides back to the melt.
I melt my scrap on a propane outdoor stove. [camp chef]

I melt my scrap outdoors, in an old cast iron sauce pan on a gasoline fired Coleman stove. It works well. I've tried using an old Coleman propane stove but I had trouble getting enough heat. Gasoline Coleman stoves burn hotter than propane models and you can really tell the difference when you're melting lead.

I know that many use sawdust for flux, but I've been fluxing with beeswax for - well, forever - because that's what Dean Grennell taught me. It's worked very well for me and I haven't seen the need to change. I've been lighting the smoke above the flux on fire for almost as long. Dean Grennell taught me that trick too. It cuts WAY down on the smoke, and I'd rather have a controlled burn than a huge fireball when the cloud of smoke explodes into flame on its own. I like my eyebrows right where they are, thank you.

Now I'm learning again, it seems.
That's why I love this place.
A fire on top of the pot helps to return oxides to the melt?
THAT I didn't know...

Uncle R.

[Bullwolf]

I melt small batches of lead with a Coleman propane camp stove outdoors.

Here's some older pictures I took while I was melting down Lead X-ray backing films, using the Coleman propane stove.






I cast this batch of lead into smaller mini muffin size ingots, for use in my hand held casting pot, or electric ladle.



I flux using both sawdust, and beeswax. Sawdust first for the really dirty stuff, and then beeswax as my final fluxing step. I light the smoke as well, so the fumes burn on the top of the melt.

I don't have any problems retaining heat with the propane camp stove, unless it's extremely windy outside.

When it's very windy out, I set up some kind of wind deflector, or else the will steal much of my heat. Propane stoves work much better off a larger bottle, instead of the small disposable bottles. I use both interchangeably depending on what I have on hand, or what I'm using in the BBQ at the moment.

My Coleman camp stove has been used before for making boolit lube, rendering fat, making candles and other somewhat messy outdoor operations.

I've also used that cast iron pot placed over the coals of a hardwood fire, to melt lead and ladle cast boolits with.






- Bullwolf

[Dadswickedammo]

So looks like I'm right on track with my camp stove and stainless steel pot.
Really taking my time getting all the tools and equipment cleaned working well. Safety equipment and so on. Tryin to keep costs down and quality up almost ready to start casting another week or so can't wait!!

[wv109323]

I use a Coleman gas camp stove. One word of caution. Make sure that the pot extends over several of the rods that make up the grill. Once they get hot, they get weak and with a pot of lead the weight will cause them to bend. I usually limit my smelting to about 10 pounds per pot.

[country gent]

I have tried electric hot plates and they are slow to melt lead. The heating element actually only thruly heats the bottom of the pan. On the white gas or propane models the flames wick up the sides heating a larger area. One reason the rounded bottom pots heat faster is the more effient heat transfer over a larger area. I use sawdust with a little wax added as it chars and ignite it. This cuts down on smoke and speeds the charring of the wood chips. I use a long handled spatula to stir with while its still burning. My casting set up is a turkey frier stand with a harbor frieght weed burner under it ( propane) and a cut off porpane tank for a pot. This pot holds over 100lbs of lead. I can have it molten and ready to cast in 20-30 mins. I ladle cast and flux with wood chips and a small amount of wax as this seems to give me the best result. When fired the flame from the weed burner hits center of pots radioused bottom and slide up the sides heating alot of area inside the support ring.

[Jackpine]

I have smelted hundreds of pounds of wheel weights using a hot plate that I got from Harbor Freight closeout section for less than $5. It is slower than propane or gas, which I have used, but the thing I like, is that it will not get hot enough to melt the zinc weights, when I happen to miss one when sorting. I use a cast iron 2 or 3 quart pot, which perfectly covers the burner.

I set it up just inside or outside of the garage door, depending on weather and wind, when I am doing an all day project in the garage. I start with an inch thick of lead on the bottom, which I keep from the previous session. Having a full covering of lead on the bottom of the pot will melt the first load of wheel weights in half the time. I set the timer on my phone to go off for the time it takes for a load to melt. This will vary, depending on air temp. After the first fill, I will skim clips and add lead, once or twice, before using a stainless steel soup lade to pour into ingot molds. (make sure the handle is riveted on, not soldered!!) Because the pot does not overheat, I am not forced to run away from the main project I am working on, and it really ends up being pretty efficient.

I also use the same pot and hot plate to premelt ingots when casting. I use a Pro Melt pot, with PID, and add lead when down about 1/3. (I think this improves consistency.) By adding premelted lead, in takes a fraction of the time to get pot to operating temp. I add to the ProMelt, dump the accumulated sprues into hot plate pot, add ingots and by then, the ProMelt is up to temp.

I also have a second Walmart hot plate that I use to preheat molds and keep molds to temp when I have adding lead or taking any other break. I use a cheap, less than $10, infrared pistol grip thermometer to check temp on molds. I record what operating temp is for each mold and setting on hot plate to get mold close to that temp.

I know there are better and faster methods, but as you may have read into this, I am cheap and it works for me.

Best to all,

Jackpine

[bbogue1]

I have done a little bit of smelting in the past, but. Only to make SCUBA diving weights. Now I'd like to get to the point where I can cast my own bullets. This thread has been extremely helpful, one question though I am thinking of smelting wheel weights into ingots then keeping them till I can get the necessary equipment. My question is regarding the tin and antimony in the wheel weights. Is the percentage always the same, if so, should I add to raise the percentage in the Ingot?

[lightman]

I've found wheelwrights to be pretty consistent. I do smelt in larger batches because of the doubt. I feel like my 350-400# batches even out some of the inconsistency. Newer weights have a little less alloy than the older weights of 30 years ago. I still use wheelwrights and get good bullets from them.

[Calamity Jake]

I light the top of my pots on fire it helps get rid of the smoke and actually returns the oxides back to the melt.

Runfiver, your going have to splain to me how it returns oxides back to the melt.

I've always fluxed with wax of some kind, smelting or casting, always light the smoke.