Range Lead Remelt

[bajacoop]

For my range lead smelting i run 2 14" dutch ovens over 225k burners. I start with an inch or 2 of solid lead in the bottom of each pot and put a dose of material in. The stuff i have seems to be very heavy on jackets so i don't fill the pot all the way. Once i bring it up to temp i skim the jackets and then turn the pot off and let it slush up. Add another batch of material and repeat. I keep doing these smaller batches until i have a good pot full of molten then i flux and cast out my ingots. I use an ingot mold that holds about 70 lbs(4 bricks) so it empties the pot quick. I found that even with the cool down time i can go faster than over filling the pot where i cant get a good stir. Getting the jackets and other scrap stirred down into the hot molten seems to be the most effective way to melt everything down.

[lightman]

I overfill the pot initially, as in mounding it up, when it's melted down and the crud is cleaned out (range scrap, so very dirty!)

My pot is a little bigger than a propane cylinder and with wheel weights I mound it up too. Experience will help but with wheel weights I stack all that will stay on top. I expect range lead or scrap sheet lead to be about the same. Once melted with the clips skimmed off I have a couple of inches of space to allow stirring and fluxing. Having a heavy lid would no doubt help it to melt faster. I load my pot first and spend the waiting time setting up the landing zone and arranging the ingot molds.

[dikman]

We might be half a world apart but we obviously think alike .