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Thread: Greay crumbly substance on my melt???

  1. #1
    Boolit Master PBSmith's Avatar
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    Greay crumbly substance on my melt???

    If I let my 20-pound melt pot get too low, I get significant gray crumbly material on the surface. I could photograph it next cast, but I suspect some of you know what I'm talking about.

    As long as I keep a full pot, I don't get the gray crumbly. It's only when I get below 1/2 tank that it appears, mainly by scraping and stirring beeswax into the melt.

    I wonder if I'm losing good alloy content here, or this just impurity?

    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy
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    Probably just oxidation, atimony, etc.

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
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    It's good stuff, flux it back in.

  4. #4
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    I get this when I flux with pine sawdust and wax, this is what I shoot for. I leave it on top of the melt.
    It acts as a barrier to prevent oxidation, it also prevents splashes when returning the sprues and helps keep the top of the melt hot (insulation barrier)



    notice the potato masher in the back, I use that to get the flux to the bottom of the melt.
    I finish with the whisk the completes the fluxing.

    I save it and toss it in the next time I smelt, it helps speed up the fluxing process, not sure I get more lead out but I feel better doing that just in case there is some lead in there

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    My gosh Conditor. That has to be the second dirtiest pot i have ever seen. The other one is mine LOL. I do the same after fluxing my working pot. I don't skim this off the top because of oxidation and you might be skimming your antimony off the top if you do it too much. Great pic of your pot by the way! Did you use a lighting system to get that pic?

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Does it look something like this?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 5C62E738-E73B-4A5B-9AEC-574404762449.jpg  

  7. #7
    Boolit Master PBSmith's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carrier View Post
    Does it look something like this?
    Yes, though your salad looks a tad green. What I'm talking about looks exactly like Conditor's potato stew. I don't get this when the pot is full, no matter how or how often I flux.
    Last edited by PBSmith; 01-19-2019 at 01:45 PM.

  8. #8
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    PB flux with both pine sawdust and wax this will help prompt the "potato stew" earlier

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by PBSmith View Post
    Yes, though your salad looks a tad green. What I'm talking about likes exactly like Conditor's potato stew. I don't get this when the pot is full, no matter how or how often I flux.
    Mine was some supposedly pure lead bars I bought from a one time supplier. Needless to say haven’t bought anymore from them.

  10. #10
    Boolit Bub
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carrier View Post
    Does it look something like this?
    I didn’t know you could use broccoli as flux.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master PBSmith's Avatar
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    Not that I doubt all the experts on this site, but when I flux with sawdust what I get floating on the surface when I'm done with the stirring is typically . . . . . . burned sawdust and nothing else. It's the beeswax alone that brings up the crumbly crud.

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy
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    ive had this happen, before i got a PID. I figured out the lead gets substantially hotter the lower it gets. I'm assuming its oxidizing faster the hotter it gets. It quit happening when I started using the PID. but thats just a guess.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master PBSmith's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by montanamike View Post
    ive had this happen, before i got a PID. I figured out the lead gets substantially hotter the lower it gets. I'm assuming its oxidizing faster the hotter it gets. It quit happening when I started using the PID. but thats just a guess.
    That makes perfect sense. If this is what's happening, I could be losing good metals from the alloy and I need to watch the temperature more carefully. Thanks for that tip.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check