28,000 lbs....yes 28,000

[redhawk0]

Great score....I snagged 500 lbs of lead from my local range and it took me a while to smelt that down. I didn't have but a 25# rig though...I wouldn't do this in more than 75-100# at a time. For one thing...that much hot lead is dangerous if it should accidentally spill. I'd cut a propane tank if I had to do all over again. I wouldn't use ANY water to separate things either. I just let the light stuff float and "dross" it off. The rubber will just burn off and likely you don't have too much rubber in it. Just what came off the backstop in small pieces. If you find larger pieces...pull those out as you go. As stated earlier...just smelt down a few buckets at a time and use them up....store the rest behind the garage or basement for later smelting. Besides...you could use some for bartering too...let someone else do the hard part if you do.

Good luck with it...its gonna take you a while even to do a couple buckets per session.


redhawk

[MaryB]

I do 50 pound batches and only 2 a day max. But i have so many bad joints it is easier to list what still works! Especially the messed up spine.

[Tripplebeards]

Good luck! It took me about a good three plus weeks of working a good half of each day or more to smelt down a little over a ton of coww into ingots. I bet I went through about a dozen and a half or more propaign cylinders. I'd be selling a bunch of it to hire some one to smelt the rest for you...or trade someone a half the lead to do all the smelting into ingots for you.lol One person is never going to use half that lead their lifetime nor have room for it unless left outside in somebody's barn.

[D Crockett]

wish I could draw a picture of a set up that would be great for doing 28,000 pounds of lead you would need 3 guy to do it but I think there would be no problem in doing 1000 pounds a day. I will try to describe it to you there are 3 melting pot with 3 burners that 2 of them have a bottom pore spout on #3 pot pore in to pot #2 pot #3 is where you take out the junk /dross out of the mix then to pot #2 where you flux it I would flux it 3 times then pot #2 goes into pot #1 that is where you have all your ingot molds set up with 2 people working the molds one is pouring the ingots the other is empting the ingots for that much lead I would have at least 20 to 30 molds so you can keep a steady pace going I would give each of my partners a ton of lead for there own use that would leave you with 5 or 6 tons you can sale or trade with that is how I would do it D Crockett

[lightman]

I would love to hear about how he smelts this down and see pictures of his set-up. Me and a buddy can do 1000-1200# of wheelweights in a day with my set-up, but its a hard day.

[AndFereira]

I'd watch the guys who make sailboat keels. I think one guy built a fire under a bath tub and that did the trick

[MaryB]

Keel lead can be whatever they had handy to melt...definitely test with acid for zinc!