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Thread: Recovery rate of clip on wheel weights

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Recovery rate of clip on wheel weights

    I have been doing small batches of clip on WW in preparation for winter casting. For instance this morning I started with 35 pounds, ended up with 28 pounds worth of ingots and 7 pounds worth of sludge. I'll admit that I start skimming the metal clips at a fairly low temperature for fear of melting a zinc weight (three escaped my careful sorting) and that some useful lead is on that dredge. That puts me at 80% recovery from the initial weight.

    What's your recovery rate?

  2. #2
    Boolit Master

    Rcmaveric's Avatar
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    I like to put a big glob of wax or about tsp of oil in there before I scrape out the clips. Helps prevent excess loss.

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  3. #3
    Boolit Master

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    I think I am counting differently, but I got 65% or so out a large lot of WW. The 35% included clips, zinc, and steel weights. Not sure what my ratio whould have been out of pure lead WW, probably better than 90%. You know you've done well when the clips don't clump together. Don't worry too much about a couple zinc weights, just skim when the bulk of the weights melt and the clips stir freely. Just don't keep heating trying to get every last weight to melt. There is usually enough grease to flux the clips clean without any additional.

  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Silvercreek Farmer View Post
    I think I am counting differently, but I got 65% or so out a large lot of WW
    I'm talking melted into clean ingots.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by Don1357 View Post
    I'm talking melted into clean ingots.
    Sure. I got the impression that you were starting with sorted weights. My figure was based on unsorted weights.

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master fredj338's Avatar
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    That is just about right, 80%. That assumes you sorted out the non lead wts of course. Why I like range scrap instead. I can get nearly 90% with crud sorted out. Reality anymore is your bucket of ww will be less than 50% usable, then 80% of that. In Kalif, I stopped ww all together as the buckets were down to about 25% usable so for all the work I was getting about 20# out of a 100# bucket, not worth my time, gas or propane.
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  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    After sorting the zinc, steel and SOWWs, I ran on average 92%. My pot is 10 quart and each pot yielded 100-140 lbs of ingots. I think the larger pot made it easier to control the temp rise. When I get to the slushy phase or just past, I throw in paraffin or cheap candle wax to reduce and raise the surface temp. The lead and good alloys go back into the melt as I stir and the clips give up the remnants of good alloy. It takes a little practice to develop the technique. After the clips are gone, I do the sawdust and candle thing to flux and reduce.

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I generally loose about 10 - 12% to clips on sorted weights. I do get a little slag from the weights that are painted but not much.

    I hand sort all of my weights as my smelting set-up will easily get hot enough to melt any Zinc weight trapped on the bottom of the pot.
    Last edited by lightman; 11-22-2019 at 10:26 AM.

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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