Man I did something stupid last night. It just goes to show you, experiece can sometimes breed complacency.
I have had a routine to my casting for years now. At the end of a casting session, I unplug my pots, but leave the vent fan running for 30-45 minutes or so. Then I go downstairs and turn off the fan.
Last night, I unplugged one of my pots, then decided to make just one or two more pours (I like to leave my molds filled between sessions) with the other pot. That little change in the routine did it. I went up stairs, showered, watched a little TV with the wife, and went downstairs and shut the vent fan off. Then we went to bed.
This morning I went to the casting area to snap a picture of the boolits I cast to post on the GB results page. Imagine my suprise (more like horror) when I noticed the second pot still plugged in!! It had run all night, full to the brim of alloy. The only thing that had happened was that the drips had formed a solid pilar from the base to the spout, effectively plugging the drip (20# Lee dripomatic.)
I shudder when I think of what might have happened. Short in wire, buildup of heat in the cabinet, hot drippy lead hitting something it shouldn't, the list of terrible possibilities is endless.
The most frustrating aspect is that I went to such lengths in building my casting cabinet to make it the ultimate in safety and convenience. I have the plexiglass splatter shield. It's self contained, lighted, vented to the outside with an exhaust hood, I even ran a separate heavy duty 20 amp line to it so as not to overtax my home's electrical system. Some of you may recall the extensive threads I ran last fall as I was building it. Here's a few pictures
I think I may pick up some sort of outlet timer for plugging in the pots. I never cast for more than 2 hours or so, so maybe set a timer to automatically turn things off after three hours. Then again, when I do something that actually scares me, I tend to not make that mistake again!
The lesson here is, guys never stop thinking about what it is we do. I think the more experienced we are, the more so this applies (I'm a 20+ years caster.) It is a very safe hobby, but it only takes one careless second to get hurt!
I know what I'M thankful for this weekend!!