Need Advice on Lead Melting.

[rjbuilder]

After 13 years I am finally going to try and melt about 200 pounds of cast and lubed boolits that went through the flood during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. They are very crusty and some have mud on them from the flood. All of them still have the lube in the grooves. What I need to know if anyone thinks that the lube will still hold moisture after all these years and pose any danger during the melting process. I know this is a weird one but any advice or first hand knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks.
R.J.

[frkelly74]

Start from a cold pot put a lid on it and melt her down.

[rjbuilder]

Thanks. That sounds good.

[00buck]

Yep
Start with a cold pot

[kevin c]

Do you have a pot big enough to take all 200#? If not, empty it between melts or let any remaining lead solidify before dumping in more bullets. Obvious, I know, but just as advice to any newbies reading the thread.

[country gent]

Starting with the cold pot is good advice. Another trick is a steel pan big enough to sit on top of your pot to use to pre heat the bullets. Preheating the bullets to 250-300* in a separate container for 20 mins or so will also take care of any moisture. But I have seen lube pop and bubble when introduced cold to a pot.

Be sure and wear the appropriate safety gear when doing this. Billed hat safety glasses long sleeved shirt heavy pants and boots heavy gloves. Work in a well ventilated area as the lube in the bullets will produce a lot of smoke and possibly fire at some point, be prepared to handle / control it ahead of time. Be prepared and don't be surprised. A cover on the pot goes a long ways, having a means to remove the lid safely is also important.

[rjbuilder]

I wasn't sure how many responses I would get on this odd topic. What I got was some good stuff. I have about 100 pounds of boolits in a cast iron pot that I will start heating tomorrow. I will have to look for a top that will fit. I'll be pouring into ingots. I am going to let everything cool down before I melt the next batch. Thanks for all the good tips guys.

R.J.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Another possibility would be buying a cheap large electric skillet at a local thrift shop, then preheating the boolits at 200F to 225F to make sure they are dry; They should be quite safe after that, to put in the pot. (Do give them a while to make certain they're dry.)

I'd expect it'll be a bit smelly, and of course don't use that skillet for food afterwards!

[Dusty Bannister]

If you do use the electric skillet, you will end up with a lot of melted wax in the bottom that might flash into flame if heated too much. I think better to just put the bullets in a cold pot, toss some saw dust in on top of that and as the lube melts the saw dust will absorb some of the wax and it will all burn off or just smoke like crazy. Probably better to light the smoke and let it burn and not draw attention.

[Mr_Sheesh]

I did forget to mention putting the lid over the skillet. If it's sealed like that and you temperature cycle it, shouldn't have any problem, just stinky fumes from the lube etc. melting; Mind you - Paraffin Wax's flash points are fairly high, though, which is why I'd think it's safe:

Paraffin wax without additives: 199˚C (390.2˚F).
Paraffin wax with additives: 249˚C (480.2˚F).
Beeswax 204.4 °C (400 °F).

Which is why I wasn't worried about those. I've done that before You could probably get the fumes to burn if you tried, though.

And who knows what's in the lube in their lube grooves? I sure don't. It COULD be something that'd flash at lower temperatures, but it won't burn well if you keep the lid on until it cools to say 100F after each batch.

[rjbuilder]

Thanks all. FYI, all of the boolits were lubed with Micro-lube.

R.J.

[rjbuilder]

Well, I was going to melt down the boolits today but it seems I have a faulty regulator for my propane tank. Just ordered one but delivery will take a few days. I'll be back later with the results.

[lightman]

Hope you can get your operation back up and running soon. My pot would easily hold all of those and I would load them up cold and light the burner without a second thought. I usually don't use a lid but they do add a little protection and help conserve the heat. I would try to light the smoke as soon as possible.

[rjbuilder]

I should receive my regulator tomorrow and will hopefully get started. I found a cast iron cover for the pot and was wondering if I use it should I leave a small opening to relieve some of the pressure during heating. Any suggestions?

[BNE]

As long as it is not screwed down, you should be fine. Leaving a small opening will definitely be fine also.

[Stilly]

You can put water onto molten lead, it will dance around and steam away. The problem is when it is trapped inside something and you put it suddenly into the lead and it does not have time to escape, it then is inside a lead prison and turns to steam and vapes in every direction. So I think that if you put all of your lead or a lot of it into a pot and melt it slowly, it should hopefully be good to go. I think I dabbled with what you are talking about on a small scale and was rather unimpressed with the water turning to steam. I think I even held a 50 AE round and put water into the cavity and then dropped it onto the melt and it failed to explode... Just sizzled and steamed away.

[lightman]

I've melted lots of wet wheel weights and a little wet range scrap. In every case the moisture has cooked off long before the lead melts. I don't trust range scrap and I cover the pot whenever I melt it. Adding wet lead to a pot of molten lead is another story. I've done some experiments of putting water on molten lead and a sizzle and some steam is about all that happens.

[rjbuilder]

I didn't know that about how water reacts with lead. All good information. Thanks guys. I'll let you know how I make out.

[johnho]

I tried this once. And never again. What I got was a bunch of mush with all the lube. Maybe I did it wrong. Next time i'll just add some in to a good pot of lead and go slowly.

[montanamike]

If it's been drying for 13 years I think you're good to go.