Problem alloy..."slushy".

[Kosh75287]

It's tempting to conclude that the alloy is pure or nearly pure lead. But wouldn't pure lead have difficulty filling out the bullet molds? I thought that almost all alloys needed some tin in the mix to assure complete filling of the mold cavities.

At least for me, when I get "slushy" stuff on top and it won't go away with fluxing, the melt will also incompletely fill the mold cavities. When I add more tin, both problems tend to go away. I'll still have a very thin layer of "slush" that still won't go away with fluxing, but it's a very thin layer, and the mold cavities fill out completely. That's just what I'VE observed.

[lwknight]

It's tempting to conclude that the alloy is pure or nearly pure lead. But wouldn't pure lead have difficulty filling out the bullet molds? I thought that almost all alloys needed some tin in the mix to assure complete filling of the mold cavities.

You can cast perfect bullets with pure lead if everything else is right. I only cast pure lead for sluggers but they come out near perfect without doing anything special.

[gobbles23]

I smelted a load of soft lead into alloys today. I had the same issue in my cast bean pot. I Am using a camping stove and the flame wouldn't turn blue, so I had a nice orange flame the whole time. My pot would keep turning to slush as if the pot cooled down a couple hundred degrees. I would cover and leave it sit forever. Fluxing did help temporarily, but I kept temp all the way up trying to melt the slush. I'm guessing that was my problem.

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[triggerhappy243]

i smelted a load of soft lead into alloys today. I had the same issue in my cast bean pot. I am using a camping stove and the flame wouldn't turn blue, so i had a nice orange flame the whole time. My pot would keep turning to slush as if the pot cooled down a couple hundred degrees. I would cover and leave it sit forever. Fluxing did help temporarily, but i kept temp all the way up trying to melt the slush. I'm guessing that was my problem.

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the flame is at it's hottest when it is blue BAD GASS OR PLUGGED ORRIFICE.

[dbosman]

If the camp stove is a Coleman the generator may need to be replaced.
Pull the tank and generator out of the stove and see what kind of stream of fuel you can get out of it.

[gobbles23]

It is the generator. Dad and I have taken it apart and cleaned it, it needs to be replaced

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[The Dar]

If the camp stove is a Coleman the generator may need to be replaced.
Pull the tank and generator out of the stove and see what kind of stream of fuel you can get out of it.

Or you could get one of these, hook it up to a 20lb propane tank and never look back....

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Stansport-Propane-Converter/10899097?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid= 22222222227009712378&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40838442 272&wl4=aud-310687321802la-78280406607&wl5=9028655&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl1 0=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=10899097&wl13=&veh=sem

[gobbles23]

Or you could get one of these, hook it up to a 20lb propane tank and never look back....

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Stansport-Propane-Converter/10899097?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid= 22222222227009712378&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40838442 272&wl4=aud-310687321802la-78280406607&wl5=9028655&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl1 0=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=10899097&wl13=&veh=sem

That could work. Would a hot plate work to melt a pot of lead?

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[triggerhappy243]

Or just get this.

[lightman]

My brother gave me a 100 lbs. or so scrap lead. Some clip on wheel weights, some undetermined. When casting bullets using my Lee magnum melter (I dip), a thick "blanket" of metal comes to the surface. I appears much like Anitmony, but when I hit it with a propane torch it does not want to melt like Anitmony has for me in the past. After awhile it adhears to my RCBS ladle and turns all the colors of the rainbow...Gold, Purple, and Blue. It does not flux back into the melt with my usual mixture of powdered charcoal and parafin. I end up scraping it off the top of the melt. It is not likely zinc inasmuch as the bullets are still filled out. No mater how hot I run the pot, the bullets remain shiny instead of acquiring a frosted apearance. What have I got and what can I do about it?

Some alloys are just problematic and you never really know whats going on. With 100# that you are already working your way through, it will be shot up pretty soon. You can just keep using away at it, or maybe try blending it with something else. I probably would just use it up.

[Springfield]

Get a thermometer. Get the melt up to about 710-725. Flux it with sawdust and stir it good. Then a bit more sawdust and some wax, stir and light. The slush will go back in. At least for me, this works 99% of the time.

[lwknight]

The hotplate could melt small batches for casting but would be too puny for smelting junk.
The turkey fryer burner is cheap and worth every penny. 200,000 btus of lead roasting fun.

[RogerDat]

I had a slush like what I think you are describing when I had less tin AND not enough heat, as in bulk heat. The core temp of the liquid was sufficient when measured with thermometer but the surface was cooling faster than the heat source could deal with. It was fall, in a garage, with a hot plate, I think 750 or 900 watt. Could do alloy with 2% tin fine but the 1/2 percent tin alloy in WW's was beyond ability of heat source to keep all liquid.

I had to dig back in my uploaded pictures but I think these are of that situation. One being a close up of the slush the other being the pot trying to melt. At least I think these are pictures of that. It is odd in a way molten lead the thermometer is in will be at the higher temp that lead melts at but the slush on top is not molten because it is a few degrees cooler. Same as there is molten lead with solid ingots in it in the one picture. The ingots are simply not as high of temperature as the molten lead. Put it on a gas burner and all that went away.

I don't think I casted with it until I got it melting well. Is it possible either the heating element or source or the climate in your casting area might be effecting the melt? Or for electric heat source possibly some other load has reduced the amount of power you can draw? A fan slows down when I fire up my pot on a 15 amp circuit so I wonder if a device might have been added that reduces the power to your heat source.





These are just spit balling ideas in the hope that it might help give you an idea to check out.

[lwknight]

I just can't see a 900 watt hotplate getting the job done. You need more firepower to continue to figure out it something is going on with the alloy or it is simply not melting all the way through.

[PBaholic]

Would a hot plate work to melt a pot of lead?

Yes, but you'll have to bypass the thermostat, otherwise it takes forever.

It's nice for an unknown alloy, as it doesn't get hot enough to melt zinc.

[Traffer]

I have some stuff like that but without the colors. I assumed that it was zinc and processed it the way they say with sulfur. That really made a mess. Instead of slush I ended up with bubble gum-ish stuff. Eventually it just turned hard and I put it in the dross bucket. I ruined about half the batch that way. The rest I just used as is. It works fine so I just use it.

[PBaholic]

I just had a batch that I just couldn't get real clean either. Every time I removed the scum on top, more just appeared. Tried fluxing with Beeswax, but no change.

The lead came from a buddy of mine. It used to be a pipe organ. It melted fine, and came back as BHN 8, so it wasn't pure lead. I cast it as-is, but I had a lot of trouble with it. The boolits wouldn't come out of the mold, even after I smoked it. They were bigger than my normal drop, and sized hard. I did about 10 pounds, and gave up on it. Too much trouble.

[WRideout]

Some brands of toilet bowl cleaner are just dilute HCl.
Wayne

[Nose Dive]

Gee guys... hmmmm

I smelt a 'trash smelt pot'...lot's of crud and garbage... I do 'segregate' items of known worth and worthless...'beer cans, paper clips, zinc clips...you know... 'get the trash out' and lead in. and I 'water wash' the smelt material as a lot of my trash comes from a few ranges and I 'gotta dig and go' fast or get shot at. So..cigarette butts, chewing gum, dirt...etc...etc. It all comes home with me.... So...all gets 'segregated' and water washed on my driveway... lay it all out...get the hose...get the 'spray nozzle' and get after it... then it sits all night and 'drys'...(yea,,,sure)...next day...
all the 'stuff' goes in the smelt pot....BUT...FIRST...FIRST...in the the POT FIRST:
1. about 2 or so inches of saw dust...old pine log dust...I like old pine planks from old fences.... Now...DON"T BE STINGY.. 3" is not bad...
2. now over all that goes about 1" or so of SULFUR from the nursery..'go now'...I found it on 'sale' at LOWE's due to the bags getting rained on..
3. add the SMELT Corruption on top...
4. Fire up the propane pot and GO SLOW>>>>GO LOW::::: or...start slow and low...bring things up SLOWLY REMEMBER...THINGS MAY BE WET
5. THIS IS AN OUTDOORS EFFORT... it will smoke...BIG TIME...
6. so as things get smoky...stir softly... and KEEP THE HEAT LOW... the pot will POP...GO SLOW and NEVER OVER 750!!
7. Stir and mix well...scrap off dross..ONCE ALL IS MELTED AND DROSS SCRAPPED from top bottom and sides!
XXX--NEVER---NEVER---NEVER--ADD MORE SMELT MATERIAL TO THE POT ONCE THINGS ARE MELTED.. KABOOOMMM!!
8. Add more sawdust...big hand fuls... mix and scrap...mix and scrape...
9. Add more sawdust...big hand fuls... mix and scrap...mix and scrape...
10. Add more sawdust...big hand fuls... mix and scrap...mix and scrape...
11. Add more sulfur and mix...GET BACK JACK...it smokes and stinks and can BURN YOUR EYES..NOSE..LUNGS..THROAT...KEEP TEMP DOWN!!
12. Add more sulfur and mix
13. now all is still 'cool'...750 at max... scrape bottom sides... top...
14..last show on Earth...add about 10 or so ounces of wax and mix well.... stir and scrape...( i use old 'toilet bowl' wax rings...free, and dirty yes...free)
15.. in some smelts...I do the wax trick two or three times too...
16. now.. pour out in ingots... let cool and harden... say two or three days...

DECISION TIME...

You like it... go for it...remelt and pour into casting ingots and go on.....

IF NO... resmelt in a CLEAN SMELT POT.. RE DO STEPS 9, 10,11, 12...
then add some..some PEWTER... amount of pewter depends on amount of smelt.... NO WE ARE BEING COOL YES? 750 or so...yea?

Mix and scrape... pour into ingots and 'look and see' in a few days... you should be cool to make casting ingots....

Nose Dive

Cheap, Fast, Good. Kindly pick two.

[dondiego]

Why do you add sulfur to the smelt?