Cooling ingot molds with water?

[Drew P]

Do you guys use water to cool ingot molds when smelting? I find that setting them in about 1/8” water on a surface will cool them safely (I think) and greatly streamlines the process but I’m concerned my fancy new noe aluminum molds will crack from this. I have two molds that each drop two, 2lb ingots per cast.
Just wondering how people smelt. If I had about 10 more of these molds I could just air cool them but that would be expensive!

My previous mold was a mini loaf pan but it was too flimsy to be safe and ingots were too big. These noe molds arent cheap but they are pretty nice solid cnc aluminum rigs. I know they are worth what they charge because I have a cnc mill! I just don’t want to break them. They work great as a system, I can barely keep between the two molds.

[country gent]

My ingot moulds are home made from 1/8" X 2" X 2" angle iron with 2" end plates on them they are 5 cavities 8" long. On big smelting sessions I have use a tray with about 1/14" of water in it. Once the lead skims over I set them in the pan and they cool quick. I have 5 of these and they run nice. I have also just set them in front of a fan in cool weather and it works good to. I fill and dump in order, ounce all are full I dump the first filled and then the second fill the first and dump #3 then fill number 2 ect ect. this makes a cadence that works good for me. These ingots run about 3 lbs or so. My smelting ladle holds 6 lbs of material

[Grmps]

I wouldn't put my molds directly into the water. I fold a towel in a shallow pan (sticking out above the pan) then fill the pan with water.

[DerekP Houston]

Nope, i just flip them out on some scrap plywood until i run out of space

[sh00ter787]

I do what Grmps does, towel in a shallow pan, then fill with water. Cools ingots down nicely with no chance of water bubbling - just steam!

[JBinMN]

I flip them out of the mold after they solidify onto a piece of metal grate. Air cooled. Let them sit a while & then after they have cooled some I use gloves & stack.

I want to have the choice of adding to the hardness in boolit batches & not before. Some might think that putting them in water to cool won't have an effect & they could be right, but I am not gonna take the chance of altering the pure lead BHN to anything higher, or even an alloy I make, unless I control that step as I make the boolits. Don't want an ingot part of one particular BHN harness & the other part another different BHN. Like the difference in water quenched boolits from air cooled boolits.
Like I said, I may be wrong, but I am not taking any chances on it.

I have considered using a fan, but the method I use, letting them set on that grate, by the time I have finished setting the last ingot, then putting away everything & cleaning up. Maybe have a beer or a cup of java, the ingots are cool enough to move & stack.

Everyone is different. G'luck in your quest for a better way to do things!

[mold maker]

Any extra hardness gained by quenching the ingots will be lost when they are re-melted for casting. As long as you remember or note the alloy nothing is changed.
Quenching could cause water inclusion in the shrinking ingots that might cause problems later on.
I use multi ingot molds and allow air cooling till ready to stack with gloved hands. Just consider the extra molds as an investment, just like the other tools used.

[lightman]

I always shied away from water. I run 7 of the cast iron Lyman style molds (different brands). I can fill them about 3 or maybe 4 times before it gets where I have to wait on them to cool. That will go through about 100# of lead and by then the ole back is ready for a short break. While expensive, you might consider buying another mold every once in a while, spreading the investment out where it does not hurt as much. You might also watch for a piece of steel to use as a landing zone and use as a heat sink. I pour on a piece of 1/2 X 6 inch flat steel bar. It works well but eventually gets too hot to touch and I just take a break.

[LAGS]

When I am casting ingots, I take an old towel and fold it up several layers thick and get it wet to the point that if is not letting water run out, but will let water come out if you press on it really hard, and I set it in an old aluminum baking pan.
I set my Lyman Ingot pan or my other ingot molding pans on it, then pour the lead in.
So far in over ten tears, none of the pans have cracked, even the cast Aluminum molding pans.
Let the pan cool sitting on the wet towel until it stops steaming.
Then I set the full mold off to the side away from the wet towel so there is no chance of steam or moisture entering the ingot mold.
The Hardening time on the fresh ingots is greatly increased, and there is less chance of any water getting in your ingot pan before the next pour.
But be sure any of the other ingot molds waiting to be poured, are set in the up side down position while waiting to be poured, so there is No chance that any moisture can spit into a waiting mold.
Had that happen only once.
It Popped, but there was no Tinsle Fairy.
Also doing the wet towel method, it cools your mold down before you pour in your next batch of material.
That helps with preventing your mold from getting too hot and slowing your hardening time between castings.

[BNE]

I have put my ingot mold in water and poured the lead into it. I do this just to speed up the process. It is a little messy as the water spews all over. I would prefer to have more ingot molds, but water is cheaper and I can be careful in the mean time.

[rondog]

I always just tipped them out onto the cold concrete garage floor.....

[pete501]

One solution is have more than enough ingot molds. Easy to make if you can weld and cut metal.

I have used water to quench the mold to speed the process and have had moisture retained in the mold with predictable results on the next pour.

[D Crockett]

here is something to think about the getting a crack in the ingot then have some moisture get in there then you go to use it next thing you know you have a steam explosion. and let me tell you from experience you do not want to go threw that. I for one will not have any water around my melted lead. taking a chance on a steam explosion verses no steam explosion I will choose option 2 every time. I use and make angle iron ingot molds you do not have to wait but just a minute or two for them to get hard and they stack so well. D Crockett

[Grmps]

The post title is a little misleading. the OP wants to know if we cool our molds, not ingots.


I dislike waiting for molds to cool doing large batches so I made 10 5-cavity angle iron molds.

[JBinMN]

Well, I was one who misunderstood, that is for sure... Thanks Grmps for setting things straight.

My apology for misreading the topic the first time.

So, as far as molds go, no, I do not cool between fills. But, I do things a bit different than most sometimes & making ingots is one of them.... I do not use a large pot & dip with a ladle. I use two small pots( electric) that look like this one & similar older one,


and alternate between them. I cut the lead,WW.Tin/pewter,etc., into sizes small enough to fit the pot & add as I go til the pot is filled, remove any dross & then pour into the ingots. then repeat with the other pot. The pots are filled until I decide to stop, not ever being empty. Over & over. Each pot holds 4-5# or so & I pour about 3 # each mold fillup. I reckon I do about 50-100# in a sitting that way. Sometimes I make boolits in between & sometimes I do other things & tinker between pours. I don't make it a chore, nor do I rush in the doins. BTW, Mold is aluminum if that would matter..
I do my alloy making "batch specific" in the bottom pour pot, not in ingots.. I have ingots that are pure Pb,COWW, SOWW,#2, & tin/pewter. Being that my ingots are 1# & 1/2# it is easy to do the math to make the alloys I use as I fill the bottom pour pot.

Of course, I am "small time" in my operations. Those who do more having higher needs & capacities use more gear and use more lead than I do , up to the swagers & magma cast & all, and they would find my method(s) too primitive & slow.

Anyway, I hope I answered your question, even if it didn't help ya.
G'Luck!

[Geezer in NH]

I always just tipped them out onto the cold concrete garage floor.....

Same way I do it. I keep water away when smelting thanks.

[Drew P]

Yes thank you grmps i was not clear about thinking. Not surprise to anyone who know me lol. No I’m not talking about cooling ingots, they can take as long to cool as they like I’m not waiting on them. What I want to speed along is the time from liquid to solid in the mold itself. I’ll make a rig to use a damp towel and keep a pitcher neaby to keep it moist. I don’t think the tinsel fairly is as much a risk when we are talking about adding Lead to water, rather than adding water to Lead. I can dump my whole Lead pot into a barrel of water and I’m pretty sure all I’d end up with is a lot of birdshot. Maybe I’m wrong and I’d for sure be armored up if I was to try that! But I think I can prevent catastrophic results as long as I’m pretty careful.

[Retumbo]

Never use water just more molds

[LAGS]

The "More Molds" method is the safest and best method.
But I was once a newby and poor, and was on a limited budget and space.
So I offer the methods that I feel can be used by people in the same boat so to speak.
But the biggest factor is SAFETY.
But I have found thru the years, that the things I started doing in the beginning, are still usefull today.
Learn the basics first, then you can expand as your hobby grows out of control as mine has.
But you will then have the knowledge to do things in smaller quantities if needed, or to take a step back and not let your hobby dictate to you.

[Drew P]

Wow I had collected more lead than I had realized! Well, Friday’s 407lb score was really what set me over the top. I’m good for a few years, maybe more lol