how many pounds in a 5gal bucket?

[redbear705]

more lead=less crud!

JR

[sleeper1428]

I live in Southern Oregon just a few miles from the Kalifornia/Oregon border and after my most recent experience with WW melting, I have to say that one's locaton may well dictate the yield that one gets from each 5 gal bucket of WWs. I say this because I just finished melting down about 25 gallons of WWs - six 5gal buckets, each filled to about 80+ % of capacity - with a total yield of 250lbs of 1lb ingots from clip-on WWs and an additional 59lbs of 1lb ingots from stick-on WWs. So my total yield was just about 310lbs which is a good deal less than what others commenting on this thread seem to be getting.

The reason I think my yield was so much lower was the fact that a lot of Kalifornia drivers come to Southern Oregon to buy their new tires just to avoid the sales taxes that are imposed in Kalifornia. And since Kalifornia has gone almost completely to zinc or steel WWs - deadline for the change is Dec 31 of this year - I'm beginning to see a lot more of those mixed into the buckets of WWs that I get via my family member who works for Les Schwab who, by the way, has stopped using any lead based WWs and is now using only zinc or steel. I was just amazed how many of those useless - as far as boolit making is concerned - WWs I had to scoop out of the pot along with the steel clips from the lead WWs. About twice as many as I saw when I did my last melting about 4 months ago. And my guess is that the number will only increase as time goes on and more and more tire dealers cease using lead WWs in favor of zinc or steel. So that's why I'm getting all I can from anywhere I'm able 'cause it won't be long before the lead WW will have gone the way of the Dinosaurs!! But I guess there might be a bright side to this story since once the lead WW is gone, my ingots will do nothing but go up in value and pretty soon they'll really be worth a LOT of money!! But since I love casting boolits so much, I'll probably never even consider selling them so I guess it really doesn't matter how much they're worth.

I forgot to mention that my family member who gets me the WWs refuses to charge me anything - I used to take him hunting when he was a kid - but I still give him a few bucks each time as well as making sure that I get all my tires and brakes from the store where he works. Like they say, it pays to have a friend in the business!!

sleeper1428

[Fugowii]

Save the zinc to trade to your junkyard for lead, or sell to him and then buy lead/tin.

I live in Southern Oregon just a few miles from the Kalifornia/Oregon border and after my most recent experience with WW melting, I have to say that one's locaton may well dictate the yield that one gets from each 5 gal bucket of WWs. I say this because I just finished melting down about 25 gallons of WWs - six 5gal buckets, each filled to about 80+ % of capacity - with a total yield of 250lbs of 1lb ingots from clip-on WWs and an additional 59lbs of 1lb ingots from stick-on WWs. So my total yield was just about 310lbs which is a good deal less than what others commenting on this thread seem to be getting.

The reason I think my yield was so much lower was the fact that a lot of Kalifornia drivers come to Southern Oregon to buy their new tires just to avoid the sales taxes that are imposed in Kalifornia. And since Kalifornia has gone almost completely to zinc or steel WWs - deadline for the change is Dec 31 of this year - I'm beginning to see a lot more of those mixed into the buckets of WWs that I get via my family member who works for Les Schwab who, by the way, has stopped using any lead based WWs and is now using only zinc or steel. I was just amazed how many of those useless - as far as boolit making is concerned - WWs I had to scoop out of the pot along with the steel clips from the lead WWs. About twice as many as I saw when I did my last melting about 4 months ago. And my guess is that the number will only increase as time goes on and more and more tire dealers cease using lead WWs in favor of zinc or steel. So that's why I'm getting all I can from anywhere I'm able 'cause it won't be long before the lead WW will have gone the way of the Dinosaurs!! But I guess there might be a bright side to this story since once the lead WW is gone, my ingots will do nothing but go up in value and pretty soon they'll really be worth a LOT of money!! But since I love casting boolits so much, I'll probably never even consider selling them so I guess it really doesn't matter how much they're worth.

I forgot to mention that my family member who gets me the WWs refuses to charge me anything - I used to take him hunting when he was a kid - but I still give him a few bucks each time as well as making sure that I get all my tires and brakes from the store where he works. Like they say, it pays to have a friend in the business!!

sleeper1428

[evan price]

OK, I just shoveled my pile into 5-gallon buckets for safekeeping and set them on a scale to fill.

The bog-standard 5-gallon bucket, when filled to the top, holds about 170 pounds of mixed lead wheel weights.

With the level low enough in the bucket that I could snap on the lid, I had 150 pounds of mixed lead wheel weights in the bucket.

I did find I had a couple of buckets that were slightly taller or shorter than the "standard" bucket, and these held about ten pounds more if taller or ten pounds less if shorter.

These were cleaned, sorted wheel weights, with the zinc, iron, stick-ons, and trash removed.

Hope this helps.

[squid1230]

Just sorted a 5gal pail and after the inordinate amount of lug nuts and valve stems I had 4lbs of stick-ons and 65lbs of actual wheel weights. Not too good I would think - good thing they were free. Not too many Fe or Zn weights either.

[First Big Foot]

Hi LB:
I generally walk up to ask with a select sixer in my hand in trade. So far it has worked, and I get 30-40 pounds at a time.
BUT....now that there is a bunch of the weights having zinc and steel for weight, that won't be so good, (see my other entries).
Consider the last time I went to buy an ingot, about 15 years ago, and it was a buck a pound then, you might stlll be getting a good deal.

[Stick_man]

Yesterday, I stopped by one of my usual sources for wheelweights and got a pleasant surprise. It was right near closing time and they were not busy at all, so I got to chat for a few minutes. I asked if I could talk them out of a bucket of used weights (not too hard to do lately) and the manager turned to one of the employees and requested he empty several smaller buckets into one 5 gallon bucket for me. While we talked, the employee even loaded it into my truck for me plus an extra 3-gallon bucket just over 1/2 full. I told him I'd be back next week for another bucket and will bring some "refreshments" for the shop to enjoy. I haven't weighed the bucket yet, but my guess is it will tip the scales are right close to 160# as is. The place has been good for about 250-300 lbs per month of raw weights with about a 70/30 split clip-on to stick-on. I have also found an average of less than 5 lbs of Zn or Fe per bucket but don't expect that to last too much longer.

[carpintx]

I've found that the old cast-iron pans that are used to make corn bread in the shape of a split ear of corn makes an excellent first step in melting down and then casting the wheel weights and/or scrap lead. The ingots then fit into most electric pots nicely.

I cant lift the 5 gallon bucket that I have full of those - perhaps I am getting weaker with age!

[fortrenokid]

Some years back, the tire shop I patronize gave me a 5-gallon bucket of ww's -- this being before the zinc and steel ones became such a hassle -- that was full-to-overflowing. My first thot was that those would last me for years and years to come. Spent a whole 3-day weekend meltin' 'em down to ingots. Was disappointing how big the pile of clips, lug nuts, tire valves, and dross was (plus quite a few cigarette butts) and how small the pile of ingots was. And lasting me for years to come? Between Cowboy Action Shooting and Vintage Military Rifle matches, the pile of ingots was GONE before I knew it. Oh well ... pure enjoyment in the shooting!

[desteve811]

I just scored (4) 5 gallon buckets of ww from my resource for $15 a bucket. woot woot!

[RugerBob]

I got four 5 gallon buckets of wheel wieghts from a friend of a friend. I ended up with 285 lbs in 1lb ingots. After all said and done, I had 1 full bucket of old inspection stickers, valve stems and misc nuts and bolts and ww clips. Glad and grateful that it was free.

[wiersy111]

I picked up 75# of ww's togight for $8. Since I am new here I have some rookie questions/
1. Should I seperate stick ons from clip ons?
2. How do I tell zinc and other prior to melting?

[Matt_G]

1) Yes, do seperate stick-ons from clip-ons.
Stick ons are a softer alloy; but not pure lead.
2) I don't bother to seperate zinc PRIOR to melting. I let the temp of the melt do that. Zinc melts at 780 degrees Fahrenheit roughly. Don't let the melt get any hotter than 620 or so for clip-ons and you won't have any zinc problems. They will just float with the clips and can be skimmed off with them.
If you really want to sort them out, you can use a pair of diagonal cutters to test them. Zinc is pretty damn hard and cutters hardly touch them.
That's a lot of dang work though.
Letting heat do your work for you is the easiest way.
I've done over a ton of WW's this way and have never had any zinc contamination.

[wiersy111]

I think I'll go with the easy way. I hate to make more work for myself. I'm getting the feeling a thermometer is going to be very important.

[VintageRifle]

I got 396lb of wheel weights today for $47. Had to bring my own buckets and a scale. Ended up buying the buckets and the scale just so no one else could get those wheel weights. Now, I just need more buckets or a bigger smelting pot.

[WHITETAIL]

jawjaboy, great pics!

[a.squibload]

I've found that the old cast-iron pans that are used to make corn bread in the shape of a split ear of corn makes an excellent first step in melting down and then casting the wheel weights and/or scrap lead. The ingots then fit into most electric pots nicely.

I cant lift the 5 gallon bucket that I have full of those - perhaps I am getting weaker with age!

I have used the bottoms of beer cans (inverted), makes a nice size ingot that
pops out easily. Make sure the cans are steady on a flat surface!

[stephen perry]

First we do live in the United States true? Let's see what items do you Orgonians slip across the border and buy and since the this is the US of A transport duty free like the earlier colonists tried to do pre 1783 back to their local principality. That's the beauty of this Country that there is no transport fee (duty) to those that transport from State to State for the local consumers who drive the interstate highways, truck companies pay the transport fees and pass them on to the consumers. Of coarse the local businessman loses out and the State when taxes are not collected. Working in Trans/Flood for San Bernardino County like I do I am well aware of the drivers who gas up in a County or State like Arizona or Nevada burn rubber down our roads leaving no money and call us Californian's (Kalifornian's), you foreigners of the surrounding states of California have nothing on us whether it be wheel weights, produce, shooting, hunting, fishing, or anything outdoorsie.

Look back Gomers from outside of California, who protected the West Coast during the Second World War and where were the majority of soldiers, sailors, airmen trained and stationed. Lots of soldiers, sailors, and airmen and ladies were de-commisioned in California after World Wars 1&2, Korea, and Vietnam some stayed in California to live out their lives like my dad ( WW 2 Vet ) and step dad ( Korea Vet ) and helped build the aerospace, car manufactures, tire manufactuers, beer guzzling companies, housing industry, drag race industry, computer technology, clothing industry, sporting good industry, fishing industry, and more. The States of this great Country all build or provide services that the locals and surrounding States use and enjoy.

So all the loose lipped shooters and loaders from States outside California need to take a lock as Barney would say on the Andy Griiffith show and recognize California as one of them, no better no worse. I wasn't born in Califronia but my dad a WW II vet drove our family mom and 4 yuts, me being 5 at the time, to live in So Cal. I was born in Maine July 4, 1950 the son of Russian immigrants and boot leggin French Canadians. People on the West Coast hire it done when the choose to get intoxicated my reatives made the stuff and bootlegged it.

Gettin back to wheel weights and scrap lead for Cast. Most states if not now in the next year or so will mount lead free wheel weights. And as the pinch is put on tire shops and salvage yards will be encouraged by either laws or money incentives to return distressed lead to authorized return stations. SOOOOOOOO get what you can get now and quit telling the you got em free stories to rub it in to the new Caster that has no source for Cast metal and paying up to and will pay over a buck a pound for what's left. Some of you lead scavengers me included were fortunate to have the connections they have. I still get WW in California, truck WW the 1/2#and 1# variety, I leave the small WW for the other guys, for a price always a price now a 12 pk of Old Milwaukee probably brewed in Irwindale, that's the Miller So Cal brewery.

So the day will come or has come that those with a stash of lead and money will be beaming like proud peacocks and writing about it here and other places making the little guy feel like they have been left out. I have so much WW, not so much money, that if with a thousand pounds of ingots like I have and many buckets of WW I would share with a new Caster refusing to take money out of a young Casters families budget for what I got for near free by slavaging.

I turn 60 today and I have been Shoot Director at San Gabriel Benchrest for 11 years and will be the Shoot Director at Angeles Benchrest this year. Hope to do some Cast Bullet Shoots seperate from my NBRSA Shoots not part of CBA, time will tell.

One last eye opening California heads up. We still shoot, fish, and hunt more than most States in the good old US of A. If I recall correctly RCBS, Sierra Bullets, Berger Bullets, STAR Reloaders, Brown/Six Stocks, SAECO Molds, Penn reels and many shooting ranges, hunting and fishing clubs were and are in California. Other States have theirs and should feel happy they have such.
Done.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR

[SciFiJim]

I was born in Maine July 4, 1950

Happy Birthday, Stephen.

I am in CA as well and still get WWs for free. Supply is dwindling, but still get some.

[stephen perry]

Jim
Find a tire shop that does big work trucks. You will be much happier with the 1/2 lb and 1 lb WW. Less clips to deal with and the ones I have been getting are cleaner than the smaller weights off those Ford's with lousey brakes.

I have been dealing with the same tire shop for 30+ years and make one of the managers a beer deal for the weights. Not the owners they want cash, I always trade for beer long before I dig for cash.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR