how many pounds in a 5gal bucket?

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Stephen Perry,

Kalifornia does have a "K" in it for a lot of us. Since the fifties Kali street rodders have substituted the "K" for "C" in several words. Like Kool, and Kustom, and Komps.

In this particular context, however; the "K" indicates a disdain for Kalifornia's very restrictive form of state government and the Kalifornia mentality that so many of its inhabitants (can't say citizens, too many are illegals) exhibit.

Here is Idaho we have a very popular bumper sticker that reads "Don't Kalifornicate Idaho."

You'll just have to, as the kids say, "Deal with it."

regards,

Rich

[fowl_language]

I wish I could find WW at that price I stopped in at one of the local tire shops today and they wanted $100 bucks for a 5 gal (doubtful more like a 3 gal) bucket, looked mostly like import car weights and I could lift it easily with one hand.

I'll keep surfing around but it's getting ridiculous, shipping on lead off ebay is killing me and I can't find a plumber!

A little off topic but the guys/gals that have posted previously about melting down the WW and pouring to ingots, what is the best method you've found for doing the melting of large quantities? Propane stove top cast iron pans? Thermometers? Thanks for the information, great forum you got here.

FL

[a.squibload]

Search for "propane tank" in Casting Equipment area.

[Longwood]

Stephen Perry,

Kalifornia does have a "K" in it for a lot of us. Since the fifties Kali street rodders have substituted the "K" for "C" in several words. Like Kool, and Kustom, and Komps.

In this particular context, however; the "K" indicates a disdain for Kalifornia's very restrictive form of state government and the Kalifornia mentality that so many of its inhabitants (can't say citizens, too many are illegals) exhibit.

Here is Idaho we have a very popular bumper sticker that reads "Don't Kalifornicate Idaho."

You'll just have to, as the kids say, "Deal with it."

regards,

Rich

Now now Rich
Tell it like it really is.
The reason people hate Californian's, is because they moved here, where good paying jobs were, and still are available, bought a little house that they could actually afford, (It was different then), put up with the smog, traffic, foreigners from a backward assed country, and other breeds of annoying neighbors, long enough to retire with a good pension, sell the house for a half million, (the one they paid 25,000 for) then move to where they always wished they could live, and buy 50 acres of property the locals can't afford to rent an acre of to set a cheap mobile home on, and then build a home no-one that worked in that state could ever afford.
I used to live in Oregon. I saw the envy and hatred many times.
However,,, I had lived in California for a while also and knew the truth.

[Mooseman]

Well this has sure taken a bunny trail...lets stay on subject here.

[fowl_language]

Thanks @a.squipload ... I just ended up hooking an old coleman camp stove to my 20lber it worked good...not great though.


I just did two buckets from the local recycling center.

1 bucket was 100 lbs of wheel weights, second bucket was 130 lbs of wheel weights.

I think because I had to buy the buckets at the metal recycler, a lot of the slack was removed, but none the less, I got about 43 lbs of slack out of it (steel weights and clips).

So that ended up being an average of about 85 lbs or so per bucket, granted one was more full than the other.

From now on I am assuming a loss of 20-30% from slack within a bucket and my negotiations will be adjusted as such.

I think it'll be harder and harder to find true lead in the future stock up while you can!!!

Hope this helps.

[SciFiJim]

I sorted a bucket of weights today. I am finding more steel weights now and less zinc. It seems about half goes into the "not WWs" bucket.

[HenryC460]

I guess we don't have the zinc rot so much here in Northern West Virginia yet. A full bucket weighs about 150# (bathroom scale), and out of that, I get about 100# of usable alloy and 50# of clips, valve stems, and five or six zinc weights. I don't sort. I float the zinc and valve stems out.

[SciFiJim]

I am getting more and more steel weights. I guess that steel is cheaper than zinc.

[Ted]

Just processed two of the remaining six 5gal buckets of Wheel Weights that I have stashed (the wife wants the space in the garage back). Two buckets full to the top or maybe a 1/2" low.

Processed out 186lb of clean alloy. Maybe 80-100 total zinc, aluminum or iron weights in the two buckets. Kept the stick on weights separate to be rendered down later.

http://shadowsfall.org/mandogandgun/?p=3799

Ted

[paininthe10]

Scored two five gallon buckets from a fisherman for $40 . Went to a tire place and they wouldn't even sell me any. It's a hit and miss where I live.

[Redfishertackle]

Idk how much in 5 gallon, but last month I picked up 3 5gal from one shop 2 3gal from another shop all at $10 per gal (2nd shop accully considered 2 3gal as 1 5gal) local scrap yard called a day later with 35lbs of medical sheet lead (my favorite for split shot molding) 2weeks after picking up all this lead I take 535 lbs of lead sinkers to the florida cost and end up with a little over 1200 on about a 300 investment....yes 50 per 5gal well worth it. On a side note to all others having problems finding lead heres what I do. If your heart is set to cast be ready for a long process of finding lead, dont put all your eggs in one basket, 6 tire shops in my area save weights just for me and heres why, 1. I pick them up asap, tire shops dont like having 3 buckets of useless weights waiting around for you if it takes you 2 months to come get em, 2. If the owner fishes or hunts, take him a free 10 lbs of your product as a thank you every 3 or 4 pick ups, the going rate on lead at scrap yards is 1.15 per lb, I get for .60 per lb and take scrap yard owner 10 lbs of 6 oz weights ever 3 months. 3. Cregislist is not just for basic goods, if your scrap yard pays .30 post a add to buy for .40 scrapers browse crieglist for junk washer dryers fridges and cars, they come into contact with lead pipe, and roof fixtures alot when scraping offer more the a scrap yard and they will save lead for you. 4. Last but not least are buckets, walk into one of the tire shops I get lead and you see buckets labeled redfishertackle call 555-5555 when full to have picked.up...get 3 buckets put your name on them and number drop them off with a shop that sells you lead and no more guess work, normal employees call me to say hey I just filled the bucket with lead. Just make sure to take replacemenr buckets when you pick up the full ones.....i may have only been doing this for 3 yrs compared to some of you who have done it 10-20 im still a rookie but In the last yr I have upgraded to 300-500 lbs a month or more and from exprience I can tell you all a smile friendlly face and good convo about football, huntin fishin or what ever goes along ways

[Longwood]

I went to the recycler today to see what they had.
I got 16 pounds of lead and wheel weights, 5 pounds of solder. two large stainless steel pots and huge turkey fryer type pot for $9.
I expect the big pot would cost over a hundred new. It sure will make a big batch of charcoal, all at one time.
I left about a foot of wheel weights in the barrel and may go back and go though them. Then maybe not. I saw a lot of FE and Zn so I only picked the lead stick-ons that were on top of the heap.
They also had about 100 feet of 1 1/2" cable with sheathing but I can see it would be a job to get the lead off of it.
Maybe my tomahawk would work.

[badbob454]

all i can say is save the zinc put it in ingots , and sell it it is worth a little more than lead ... and you may be able to swap pound for pound at the scrapyards .., steel is up too and worth saving ....., keep the landfills for useless garbage , if there is such a thing.....my 2 c worth and not much lead anymore in kalifornia , so grab what you can probably down to 10 lbs in a bucket of the fe and zn wheelweights .... boys its getting bad

[paul h]

My past experience has been that a full 5 gallon pail of ww's after discarding the valve stems, lug nuts, cigarette butts and smelting it down to discard the clips and crud yields 100# and change of ingots. I used to have a reliable tire store that would sell them for $20/pail. Then I had a shooting buddy who had a buddy at a tire store and I could trade him 100 cast 475 or 44 hand gun bullets per 5 gal pail. Both sources dried up and I'm down to my last two buckets

I'd gladly drop a couple of benjamins on $20 buckets.

[Chamfered]

Heavy enuff that my back went out just looking at it.......

[DarthTater]

I'm thankful that I have a friend who runs a tire store.

The last few 5 gallon buckets that I got yielded around 85 pounds of clip on ingots and 30 pounds of stick ons each. I would say that zinc and steel accounted for maybe 20% of the volume, maybe less. Of that, steel accounted for the bulk of the non-lead metal.

Every few weeks I stop by with a couple of dozen donuts and grab another bucket.

[sw282]

l got my first 5gal bucket of ww this week. Weighing in @ 108lbs l sorted , melted into ingots. Net was 60lbs of lead. Forty little 'muffins' of 1 1/2lb each using an old cast iron muffin pan as a mold. The bucket cost me 50rds of 357 reloads.

[bslim]

I picked up 3 - 5 gal pails of WW's yesterday. Sorted them out and came up with 2 pails @ 140 lbs. each, one pail @ 40 lbs. (Clips still on) 50 lbs. of SOWW and 50 lbs. of scrap. Total cost was $50 + fuel to drive 20 miles.

Finished smelting yesterday. With the odds and ends that I had laying around, I ended up with 420 lbs. of rough WW's.
After smelting I had:
50 lbs. of SOWW's
135 Lbs. of steel, zinc, wheel studs etc.
235 Lbs of good ingots.

[sw282]

l got a gal ful Sat and it weighed in @153 lbs. After sorting/smelting l got 101 # ingots. 23#stick-ons. The balance in steel/zinc/trash and a bag of 2 new valve stems. Cost me a 50 rd box of American Eagle 9mm 115gr fmj