A myth about water and molten lead

[Elkins45]

I suggest to you Doubting Thomases that you need only to dip a couple sprues in your quenching bucket and drop them back into the molten alloy to believe.

I have no idea who you think you are arguing with here. There hasn't been a single person who disputes that carrying water BELOW the molten lead surface will cause a steam explosion. But just for the sake of 100% accuracy let me ask a clarifying question: is it your contention that water gently introduced to the TOP of the pot will cause a steam explosion?

Tell you what: the next time I cast I will shoot some video of myself dropping water onto the surface of the melt with a straw or a pipette if I can find one.

Video posted below:

[Elkins45]

Water being dropped onto molten lead. Notice how the droplets skitter across the molten surface on a cushion of superheated steam. This is referred to as the Leidenfrost effect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leidenfrost_effect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q3tN...e_gdata_player

I will try to embed it if I can figure out how.

[Elkins45]

no luck embedding

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

sooooooo, prove it to us by dunking a 1lb ingot into your quench bucket, clenching it between your teeth, and then dropping it straightway from 2 feet above into the full pot of molten lead alloy as a friend videos it on their cell phone.

That is the problem the naysayers have in common; none of them want to back their assertion by showing the believers here that we are wrong.

No offense, of course, but the issue is standing behind your post.

The rest is just organizing electrons into a sentence.

Rich

[Elkins45]

sooooooo, prove it to us by dunking a 1lb ingot into your quench bucket, clenching it between your teeth, and then dropping it straightway from 2 feet above into the full pot of molten lead alloy as a friend videos it on their cell phone.

That is the problem the naysayers have in common; none of them want to back their assertion by showing the believers here that we are wrong.

No offense, of course, but the issue is standing behind your post.

The rest is just organizing electrons into a sentence.

Rich

I gave a polite reply to your PM, but that was before I realized you had posted this insulting response publicly in the thread.

I dont have to stand behind my post. It's not my fault if you don't understand the point of this whole thread. You are either deliberately being obtuse or you lack the reading comprehension to discern the otherwise obvious point. I stood behind my point and your response was to reply with a taunt that isnt even about the point being made. If I made a video of myself pouring a whole glass of water over the pot I'm sure your response would be that I'm cheating because I didn't plunge the glass into the melt.

I'll tell you what: I will happily make the exact video you requested...just as soon as you explain how it has ANY relevance to a discussion of water on the surface of the melt. After all, that's the point of the whole thread.

You've done nothing in this thread except troll it, insult other members, and argue in opposition to a point that absolutely nobody was making. I went back and reread the whole thread just to be sure.

So, I will say it one last time:THE WATER IS ONLY DANGEROUS IF IT GETS BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE LEAD!

[Bret4207]

sooooooo, prove it to us by dunking a 1lb ingot into your quench bucket, clenching it between your teeth, and then dropping it straightway from 2 feet above into the full pot of molten lead alloy as a friend videos it on their cell phone.

That is the problem the naysayers have in common; none of them want to back their assertion by showing the believers here that we are wrong.

No offense, of course, but the issue is standing behind your post.

The rest is just organizing electrons into a sentence.

Rich

What kind of an idiot would deliberately force water BENEATH the surface of a melt? That's what you advocate Rich. That's not what we have been talking about for years here. The point that has been made dozens of times is that unless the water gets under the surface somehow then you won't have an issue. If water does get under the surface then you may well have a steam explosion. It's pretty simple and I don't see what it is you are arguing. I also don't know why you'd want to video another guys reproductive organ, but lets not get into that. This all started with the assertion that a single drop of sweat or a horsefly landing on top of the melt would result in a catastrophic explosion. It's another old wives tale that was repeated for decades that needed clarification. Just as the moss does not always grow on the north side of a tree, or grow on a tree at all for that matter, and just as swimming within 30 minutes of a meal does not guarantee you will cramp up and drown, a drop of water ON THE SURFACE of a melt will not automatically result in a steam explosion.

[Silver Hand]

Today- I had another chance to visit with the tinsel fairy.
I have been on a quest to replace my diminished supply of Boolits in various calibers. Two days and almost a thousand cast well.
My inattention to the weather and a bit of over indulgence left me with a second or two of thoughtlessness. I reached into my tool bucket [brought in from the rain several days ago] grabbed my Skimmer, which has a four and one half inch screen and evidently a hollow stem supporting said screen. The rest is history. Sizzle, Steam and PoP. No burns thankfully.

[jfischer]

My recent meeting with the tinsel fairy, my right hand with welding glove on was over the top of my pot putting some spru cuttings back in the pot. My gloved hand shielded most of the explosion but a glob landed on my unprotected left hand and it sounded like steak on a grill.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2

[Boneguru]

ouch, hope that gets better soon, Thanks for all of the tips, even if it did get a little dicey there for a bit.
Ray

[Rocket Man]

It is basic science. If you under stand physics you won't be asking why. The specific gravity of lead is many times heaver than water. If you mix lead with water lead sinks to the bottom. If you pour a tablespoon of water on melted lead the water boils away. If you throw a wet lead bullet into the lead melt pot is will explode because the bullet goes below the surface taking water with it. Cold bullets adsorb moisture from the air they can be a problem too if you throw one into the lead melt pot. Use your brain it is all common sense stuff.

[FAsmus]

Rocket;

You say; .."cold bullets absorb moisture from the air"..

This is not so! Lead is not a form of sponge - it is mainly solid stuff, not porous.

To say it like it is, cold lead can be a place where water condenses right from the air around it - thereby becoming a hazard if the (bullet, ingot, wheel weight, ~ whatever..) ~ is added to a pot of molten alloy without preheating the material first.

Good morning,
Forrest

[hickfu]

Wow good thread! I have one visit since I started casting my own. I was melting pewter in my dutch oven to pour into small ingots for adding to my mix of WW and pure lead. I was just sitting there watching it and hadnt added any new meterial in around 5 minutes. I had something on my glasses and I stepped back and took them off to clean them, while I was cleaning them the pot just exploded and I got 1 little piece of molten pewter in my eye. Luckily it got better after a couple weeks, but I never did figure out what made it happen as it was a nice sunny day, I was outside with no breeze and blocked in between a travel trailer and a wood fence. All I can think of was a bird dropping something into the pot but I didnt see it so I dont know. This did 1 thing, it made me aware of what can happen with molten anything in a pot.... I cast boolits from a 20# electric pot and I store my ingots inside the shed, I have a small toaster oven sitting a couple feet away so I heat up all the ingots I will be using in the session in the oven and then I still put them onto the top of the pot to keep them hot before letting them go into the mix, It helps me feel safe.



Doc

[ffg]

I don't want water close by when I am casting .

[Ranger Green]

100% correct. I always get a chuckle when someone says that a drop of sweat falling into the pot will cause a huge explosion. Pouring water on molten lead just makes a huge cloud of steam.

Newbies should be aware, though, that water near the pot can lead to water droplets on ingots and tools, and that can lead to accidents. Be careful.

Too late!

[lovedogs]

Doby45...This is way off topic but just had to mention this to you. I have no idea where Powder Springs is but the best dog I've ever known, my 12 yr. old Border Collie, was born there. I just noticed your location and had to tell you. She is papered all the way back to Scotland.

[delt167502]

The quickest and the safest way is to preheat your next load for your casting pot or your scrap melting pot. You can pick up a elect. grill at a yard sale for around 5$ or just set a pan on top of your pot .By the time you are ready for more lead it will be dry.
Common sense can help to. Happy casting.

[SAWebbx1]

I have seen a bug cause an eruption while smelting with propane under a propane lantern on a warm dry night. Big moth went in with enough velocity and lead alloy came out with more velocity. Didn't happen to a buddy, it happened to me. Saw it happen. It was as if the scales fell from my eyes and I came to believe. And I was sober. No beverages in caster or pot. Bug. Big effing bug. Not much spatter on my glasses but plenty for an object lesson. I have been assured it is possible to put a lit cigarette out by dropping it in a bucket of gasoline. I might watch someone I didn't like try it. From a distance.

[Arctic Blues]

When I smelt, I fill up my empty pot.
I don't add to the pot until it is at least almost empty.

When I cast, I start out with a almost empty pot.
Put a the ingots in it I can. Then, I stack ingots on top of the pot to preheat them and cover the whole mess with a reusable piece of tin foil to help hold the heat in.

Usually, I will stack the mold in with the ingots to help keep it warm also.

I preheat the ingots because I am tight and it saves time as well.
Helping to ensure they are bone dry is a benefit I never though about until I started reading this post.

Thanks for all the information!
Knowledge is true power.
This site helps us all and is a wonderful tool!

[like it all]

Hey fellas , I'm the one who first asked about water quenching bullets. I tried it, it works rather well. It still makes me nervous when I hear my little lead creations sizzle as they enter the water. Most of my casting procedures are out of the Lyman cast bullet handbook I purchased in 1973. I did take the precaution to place my water bucket on the floor with it having only a foot of water in it. Since I cast sitting on a shop stool, my 20lb production pot on a work bench,the splashes never come anywhere close to the pot , as it's on my far left, pot on the right. My ingots are stored on wood donnage in the corner of the shop, being in a hot dry climate, moisture is never a problem. My culls are held back until I'm ready to recharge the pot, laying on a towel in the hot sun, and added with a ladle little at a time. I always cast with a pair of heavy leather work(gauntlet style)gloves and a set of bibs over my street clothes. This hobbie can be as safe or as dangerous as "we" make it. Again I learn more and more on this forum. I appreciate all the help you guys have afforded me. Thanks

[1bilmr59]

Good Info, Thanks For all the post