pot for melting wheel weights

[odette]

I was given 5 2.5 gallon buckets of wheel weights. Can I use a 5 qt pot that is not cast iron but some sort of aluminum alloy, as it is not magnetic, to melt wheel weights for ingots? Will lead stick to mini muffin or loaf pans? I found some 8 loaf and some 12 muffin pans and wonder if I can use them for ingots

[Bazoo]

You dont want to use aluminum to melt lead in, although I cannot remember exactly why, other than aluminum is a contaminate in bullet metal. You can use either lead or steel loaf or muffin tins, but you'll have problems if they are not 1 piece construction. Some of them have the cups made separate and then folded in place. If they are new and have a clear finish, they'll release better if you use a cup wire brush to remove the coating. Or you could put them over a fire to burn it off, being careful not to melt or warp them in a hot fire.

[redhawk0]

Use a Steel pan or Cast Iron only......Aluminum melting point is relatively low. Heating it also makes it brittle. So...over time, the bottom will just fall out of an Aluminum pan...if you have say 100+ lbs of molten lead in there at the time....you won't want to be anywhere near it. That could land you in the Hospital real quick.

I use muffin tins and candy molds made of Aluminum for my ingots...I also have some cast iron pans, corn muffin pans that I use...both work great.

congrats on getting that many wheel weights...just make sure you don't have any zinc ones in there...it will contaminate the whole batch.

redhawk

[Bazoo]

Whatever you use for ingots, make sure they will fit in your melting pot. Those loaf tins will be large, and you might not fit with a full sized one. You could though, only make them 1/2 thick or so, and get them to fit depending on the size of your pot.

I sort my weights, and clip each one with a pair of dikes to make certain I dont get any zinc in the mix. I dont use a thermometer and make ingots over a wood fire. Also, keep any of the stick on weights that are lead separate as they are near pure lead.

[reddog81]

I found a cast iron pot at a local thrift store. Are you located near Des Moines, IA? You could probably borrow mine if so.

Muffin pans or similar will work. They can take more than a few minutes to cool and they might bend if you try to pick them up.

[fralic76]

Find an old 20 lb propane tank. Take the valve out and fill it with water for a couple of hours. Dump it out and cut it in half, perfect lead pot. That is what I did and use for melting lead. I have made a couple for friends as they had no way to cut it.

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[Grmps]

aluminum will work in a pinch, just keep the temperature under 800°
I use an aluminum pot for a while until I got it too hot and the bottom cracked

[odette]

I will have to find a iron pot or fry pan, maybe Dollar General has something. Will look for slotted spoon and ladel and look at their muffin and other pans. My grandpa had several Lyman ingot molds, but I can only find 1 now. I am 1.5 miles from the MN border. Husband said I better not burn down the shed, but it is my shed, lol. I am guessing that anything more than a 6 muffin or loaf pan could bend or warp easy. Does anyone have experience with larger pans, say 8 to 12 ingot size for 1 lb ingots.
I am going to use a fish fryer from Bass pro that is supposed to be around 58,000 BTU and ladel the lead melt into the ingot mold. Will a fry pan be easier to work with than a high sided pot? I do have a couple thermometers for pots like Lyman Mag 20, so if I keep the heat under 700 degree will there be a problem if any zink gets by me.
I tried to melt the wheel weights in a Mag 20 and that is very slow and was hard to get the clips and crud out of the pot.

[odette]

I might have a few of the old ones and I know someone with a plasma cutter. The rounded bottom might be easier to ladle out of. Thank you for the suggestion.

[knifemaker]

Hit the local thrift stores and you have a good chance of finding a old cast iron pot. I found a Dutch oven pot for less then 20 bucks and it will hold 40-50 lbs of lead with plenty of room to spare. You may also find the old "ear of corn" muffin cast iron trays that are perfect for making your ingots from the melted wheel weights. Also the older steel muffin pans that will also make perfect ingots.

[Tom W.]

I use a cast iron Dutch oven that I found at a flea market. I also bought a turkey fryer and traded off the pot, as I don't want to deep fry a turkey. I had a circular saw blade that I brought from work that was wrecked and put that over the top of the burner to give my pot some stability. My late wife had some restaurant ladels and slotted spoons that work great for skimming and dipping. I also have a Lyman ingot mold as well as a cast iron corn cob looking thing to make ingots.
I would advise against an aluminum pot. They can break when it's least expected. A cast iron pot can crack if you hit it when it's very hot and the moon is just right.....and wait between melting sessions, as you want the lead in the bottom of the pot to harden before you add any more lead, just so the tinsel fairy doesn't make an appearance. It needn't be cold, but it's best if it's solid.

[lightman]

Congratulations on the wheel weight score! Check out the sticky on sorting wheel weights. You need to cull the steel and zinc weights and many of us also separate the clip ons from the stick ons. I would not trust an aluminum pot to melt lead in. Go with steel or cast iron. Also do a search on cutting propane tanks. This can be dangerous if the tank is not purged properly.

[redhawk0]

As for muffin tins as ingot molds. I have several 6 pack tins...and yes they bend. but they are easily bent back. I see them in the Goodwill, Salvation Army and Savers donation centers frequently for $2-3 a pair. If I eventually break one, I'll just buy more. I have mini muffin tins too that are 15 to a tin. They also bend but again...just bend them back once you empty them. There is no need to buy new unless its the only thing available. I have aluminum heart shaped candy mold too....it has 15 to a tin. I use them to cast Pewter ingots because they are smaller and each ingot is perfect for adding to a 10# pot.

I mix my raw materials in large batches and pour into the larger muffin molds for storage...then when I want to mix an alloy, I take the various raw materials, mix up a 60-100# batch and pour that into the "ear of corn" cast iron molds....these fit better into my 10# bottom pour pot and I can easily tell them apart from the raw material ingots (obviously)

Its just the way I do it...oh...one more thing...if you have a Harbor Freight close by....purchase a Letter/number stamp kit...that way you can hammer information onto your ingots like composition of raw material or whatever alloy you've mixed up. (a marker works too...but over the years has a tendency to rub off)

redhawk

[lightman]

I didn't comment on the muffin tin question as I had no experience with them. I'm glad someone else posted about them. Making a permanent mark on an ingot is a great suggestion. I have started doing this but I wish I had done this years ago. I have too many to go back and do now! I helped a buddy do about 1000-1200 of his yesterday.

[Dragonheart]

Ditto on cutting the top off an old propane tank, however a close fitting skirt around the tank cuts the melting time in half. This one is about 3/4" away from the tank walls, traps and holds the heat. 200+ pounds of ingots in a single cook.

[William Yanda]

DANGER Will Robinson, DANGER! Danger! The melting point of Al is above that of lead, the problem is that it weakens before it fails. Add the pressure from tens of pounds of molten lead and you have a disaster in the making. The expense of a stainless soup pot, either new or from a thrift store is a cheap preventive measure.

[jsizemore]

I use 6 or 12 muffin tins that are well used from the thrift store or flea market. The well used ones will release the ingots without issue. They may smoke a little from burning off cooking grease and oil. That's a big plus. I pay about a buck each. If you buy enough of them you can leave them to cool. My COWW ingots weigh about 2lbs. each. I use Ecco brand tins. I've got enough tins to pour 150lbs/pot plus backup. That's better then 20lbs. in a 12 cavity and I've never had one fold up on me.

If you can find cast iron it will hold heat better. A 4 quart stainless pot will work. A tall skinny pot is hard to work in. Get a metal spatula to scrape the bottom. Much better coverage that a spoon.

[lightman]

I recently searched for a stainless stock pot to melt solder in, not wanting to use my much to big steel smelting pot. I finally gave up. About 18 thrift stores did not have anything. The cheaper ones from Walmart or those found online were very flimsy looking and many of them had a layer of aluminum laminated between thin layers of stainless. Nice heavy pots were available from restaurant supply places but were pretty expensive. My Son found a stainless steel cover used on above the ground telephone splices. Looks kind of like a heavy duty stock pot. And no, I don't recommend "borrowing" one from a pole on the side of the road!

[samari46]

i use an 8 quart dutch oven which holds about 100lbs of molten bullet allot. When first starting up from cold fill the pot with much lead or other alloys put the lid on and slowly heating things up and I use a lyman casting themometer to gradaully bring temps up to where I want them and pnce its up to full temp start ladeling all the lead out. Then continue on until all the lead or wheel weights are fully melted. I got a large stainless steel spoon with holes so's I could get all the clips out. The ladle is a cast iron one given to me by a friend. Frank