Smelting a TON (literally) of wheel weights - respirator?

[steve urquell]

Looks like the MC/P100 combo respirator is recommended for lead vapors(MC=multi=contaminant) and particulates(P100). $42 on Amazon and the cartridges are replaceable.




https://www.thereloadersnetwork.com/...ullet-casting/

[ascast]

I like the double drum thing, looks very nice. I once had a similar rig made of concrete sluce pipe on end. Pipe had big holes broken out so..wood fire in the bottom and all the stuff on top. Once it got burning I could leave it for a hour or more. That reduces the exposure time. I had to remelt it all but the second time round it was dirty lead NOT a bucket of god only knows what so no bad stink.

[Charlie Horse]

Here's my small scale set-up. It works very well. Maybe you could do this on a larger scale. The hood works way better than I had hoped.
People say not to smelt in your production pot but I do it regularly with no adverse effects. Why do you have to do the whole ton? It's amazing how much you can smelt in a Lee Pot in an afternoon. I can do a years worth. Get a separate one for smelting.

[bandanaman]

I cast in a spare room in my basement and took a fan assy from a large gas space heater and mounted in a window with a hood and that sucker will slam the doors and put out a match and I still use a respirator. I have one similar to the one pictured above with the P100 filters .Look for them on sale if you can. The way I look at it no amount of turpentine or bore cleaner is going to get the lead out. Once you got it you got it. I even have my doctor order a lead test when ever I need any kind of blood work done.......they don't check for this unless you specify....you get used to the respirator and I don't find it so bad.....

[kevin c]

…Why do you have to do the whole ton? It's amazing how much you can smelt in a Lee Pot in an afternoon. I can do a years worth...

Action pistol shooters can easily go through 30,000 rounds a year. That’s around 600# of alloy to make my 147 grainers, and I like them to all be made from the same alloy, preferably the same lot. Volume processing of the raw metals and then combining them into final alloy in 240# lots (the largest I can manage with my equipment) works best for me.

[Rapier]

Most tire shops also do break jobs. Go back a bit and you had asbestos break shoes or pads. So if you have a good bit of breakdown to do, a good idea to be outside and with moving air, away from you.

[lightman]

I've smelted a ton in a day several times. I did it in my shop with a 36 inch exhaust fan in the gable end and a 48 inch floor fan running in the door way. You could see the smoke move out of the door. It was easy to stay up wind of it. I didn't wear a respirator but its never a bad idea. I used a ladle and skimmer from RotoMetals that had handles about 2 ft long.

[kerplode]

I use a 3M 6300 mask with 3M 2097 P100 filter cartridges

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JZ1MK6
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JZ1MK6

[Bigslug]

Looks like the MC/P100 combo respirator is recommended for lead vapors(MC=multi=contaminant) and particulates(P100). $42 on Amazon and the cartridges are replaceable.




https://www.thereloadersnetwork.com/...ullet-casting/

Yup. That's the right idea. As others have mentioned, with a wheel weight smelt, it's not just the lead, it's all the reasonable suspicion of and unknown crap stuck to them.

The chimney idea looks like a really good one - combine elevating the fumes over your head with working upwind of the pot will reduce the work those filters have to do.

Goggles or mask with a seal for eye protection would also be smart - not just for surprise visits from the Tinsel Fairy, but tears from your eyes ultimately drain into your throat. Might as well keep them clean too.

[Apple Man]

When I am smelting, it is done outside with a high pressure gas burner.

I can no longer get my 20# LP tanks filled for a plumber's pot so I made a steel shield with cover for a high pressure burner. I have pots in 60, 80 and 100#s sizes.

[oger]

Get a good quality respirator not some phony mask. I spent my whole working days in an Oil Refinery and believe it isn't worth taking a chance on your luck. I have used fans and other assorted things but when they gave me a blood test for lead content in my blood it was twice the max allowed.

[FISH4BUGS]

Get a good quality respirator not some phony mask. I spent my whole working days in an Oil Refinery and believe it isn't worth taking a chance on your luck. I have used fans and other assorted things but when they gave me a blood test for lead content in my blood it was twice the max allowed.

I ordered one.
I am ready to conquer the wheel weights!
Interesting that these are very old (maybe 20 years+) and there are darn few zincs in it.
I am estimating 100lbs mixed in a 5lb bucket, I should easily be able to get 80 lbs of ingots out of it.

[jsizemore]

When the COWW's are sorted I get a 90% lead recovery rate.

[parkerhale1200]

indeedgo with the mc/p100 mask.

OR something like this:





Once in ~5 to 7 years i melt also a 300 kg+
I cast every two months almost also.
It was a hassle to set this up, but man i really wish i did this years earlier.

Have fun and stay in good health

[RogerDat]

Squirrel cage blower out of an old furnace moves a lot of air and can be found cheap from furnaces that are being replaced due to heat exchanger leaks.

One of the biggest sources of easily absorbed lead is brass post firing. Primer leaves a residue of easily absorbed lead. Stopped climbing into pallet sized box of brass at scrap yard to dig 5 gallon buckets of brass to sort without mask and coveralls and my lead levels which were up but not "dangerous" and if work related wouldn't have required remediation, just testing every 6 months. They dropped by half when I reduced exposure to dirty brass.

When I eliminated dry tumbling by tossing a dash of mineral spirits in tumbler media I wasn't breathing in dust, added wearing rubber gloves when washing brass in 5 gallon bucket because one can absorb some of those lead compounds through the skin, my levels dropped more. Now that I wet tumble brass and the scrap yard went corporate so one can't dig through the bin and purchase from it I'm down to lead level that doctor said would be of concern if I was an infant and we didn't know what the source was. Point is there are other sources besides melting and casting of lead for us to end up with elevated levels in our blood.

When it comes to smelting old WW's I would be more concerned about the asbestos from older brake pads and the solvents and chemicals, as well as coatings that are used to prevent WW's from corroding aluminum rims.

[rintinglen]

Oh, and you Grizzly Adams types need to be clean shaven to derive complete protection. Your beard does not work well as a sealant nor a filter.

Proper use and fit of a respirator is very important. If you wear a beard, you won't get a good seal. If you buy a wrong size, you won't get a good seal. I did fittings as a safety officer/hygienist at the LA DWP for a couple years, and assure you that you want one that fits. One of the few instances we had of actionable lead poisoning occurred when one of our painters was removing lead paint and couldn't find his own mask so borrowed an old one from somebody else. Every time he moved his head he was creating gaps that allowed the lead-laden dust entry to his lungs as the ill fitting mask swung away from his face. Two weeks was enough that his blood-lead level more than doubled. He was removed from lead clean-up work and inspected ladders for a couple of months while drinking a 8 oz. of orange juice a day until his blood-lead level dropped down to an acceptable amount.

I will say that if all you were smelting was lead and you were doing it outdoors, a mask would not be necessary. The fly in the ointment is the other stuff that is in your bucket of wheel weights or range scrap...asbestos, Arsenic, pesticides, rodent droppings, grease, petroleum products, wood and paint chips and who knows what else. A proper fitting mask will help protect you from airborne particulates and vapors. I use a 3m Medium half mask with the pink n-99 filters (I probably should use an organic vapor/particulate one, but I have a bunch of the p100's and since I am smelting outdoors in the open, I seem to be protected well enough.)