PID temp setting for annealing brass?

[PNW_Steve]

Hey Everyone,

I need to start annealing rifle brass. I stumbled across a slick setup using a Lee pot loaded with salt water to dunk the brass in.

I have built the PID controller and have the pot, now I cannot find the original article that gives the proper temperature setting for the PID and how long to dunk the brass.

Has anyone here fiddled with this sort of thing? Suggestions?

Thanks.

S.

[TjB101]

Johnnys Reloading Bench on the tube has a video of doing this ... explains the ins and outs of the process.

[ChuckO]

Caution, it's not salt water that is used. It is a molten salt.

[prs]

900 stated in video, but NACL liquifies at 1,400F plus; so that 900 may be degrees C.

prs

[rancher1913]

unless you are really poor or just like a challenge, you might be better off buying a rotary gas annealer.

[bangerjim]

A liquid NaCl (table salt) bath would almost impossible in a Lee pot because it does get hot enough. And molten salt is VERY dangerous....even more so that Pb.

Just buy a commercial annealer off Amazon, or build one of the induction ones shown on here recently. Kinda cool! Do a search on her for it.

But NOT molten salt.

banger

[toallmy]

How much brass are you planning on annealing ?
A little torch and a socket in the cordless won't handle your needs .
Just asking

[PNW_Steve]

Thanks for all of the info.

I am hoping to find the original article that set me down this path. Some of the responses above make me think that am missing something.

I have around 1300 cases, at the moment, that need to be annealed.

I think that I will stick to lead in my pot until I get a little better educated.

At least I'll have great temperature control for my lead melting

I ordered enough parts to build multiple controllers in order to make the minimum purchase. If anyone else wants to build one, ping me and we'll see if shipping them makes sense.

[GregLaROCHE]

Why not use molten lead instead of salt?

[PNW_Steve]

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting...sults.6930925/


Found it!

[bangerjim]

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting...sults.6930925/



Found it!

It is NOT normal table "salt"!

This salt has a working range of 300 - 1000 degrees F. There are lots of chemical compounds that fall under the generic name "SALT". Be careful what you use. This stuff will melt in your Lee pot, but is that hot enough to do your job? And what will it do to you pot?

banger

[Dusty Bannister]

How much brass are you planning on annealing ?
A little torch and a socket in the cordless won't handle your needs .
Just asking

Even a candle or an alcohol lamp will get the temperature desired. Might do five pieces with timed application of heat for a few different intervals and see which one is best. Then just roll on. The advantage over hot lead in a pot is that there is no chance of lead sticking on the inside of the case.

Safety is a major benefit. You only need about 300 degrees for a few seconds to stress relieve brass and nothing but soot is left on the case.

[nun2kute]

thanks for sharing, there are other aspects of reloading/casting that I would prefer to skip and/or do differently. but that doesn't mean its uninteresting to read about, to see and understand how and why someone else does it.

[dragon813gt]

Be careful what you use. This stuff will melt in your Lee pot, but is that hot enough to do your job? And what will it do to you pot?

I can answer these because I tried this method. It will definitely melt in your pot. But rust starts forming instantly. The bigger issue is results. I could not get repeatable results and I burnt myself in the process. If there is any moisture inside the case, which can be caused simply by dewpoint in the room, you are going to have an explosive reaction. The hardened salt that sprays everywhere is not easy to remove.

I had to raise the temperature a lot. And even then the salt would stick to the cases. It did not like releasing from the brass in a water bath. Simply put it’s not worth the time or effort. A vertical annealing machine is cheap to make yourself or affordable to purchase. They are easy to setup and the results are repeatable.

[shaune509]

TexasMac has a write up on different methods of annealing with links. Flame, salt, sand and induction. Check it out.
Shaune509

[Ozark mike]

Those lee pots will melt @ high enough temps id come up with something else before i used one of em @ those temps

[oley55]

Those lee pots will melt @ high enough temps id come up with something else before i used one of em @ those temps

Molten salts at the min/max ranges of 500C(932F) -550C(1,032F) may be potentially dangerous, but it sure won't melt a steel pot holding less than 11 ounces of salt..

[Hossfly]

This looks very interesting to me, as I have an old Lyman 10# pot and a PID unit I built for my Lee 20# bottom pour. All I would be out is the price and shipping of that particular salt solution. I can fabricate the holder that you put the cases into for the timing process.