electric hot plate

[Swede44mag]

I started using a Coleman Gas stove then went to a LEE Dip pot then to a LEE Drip O Matic (gave it to a friend) and finally ended up with a RCBS Pro Melt.
I didn't think a hot plate would get enough to melt lead but I didn't try one either.

Good luck with your casting.

[Longwood]

I use a Coleman dual burner camp stove and a 12" x 6" stainless pot most of the time for smelting.
I rarely do more than 100 pounds at a time now.
The camp stove has a flame that would make horse shoes.
I did about 600 pounds last year with a loaner turkey fryer.
For a very short tme, I used the pot ladle method but soon bought a electric bottom pour pot.

[mold maker]

The single cal-rod burner on my Wally World hot plate, has only H M L and off. Med overheats my molds if left too long and will definitely melt ingots if I don't watch closely. The open coil (like a spring) units are a short circuit waiting to happen. if your mold bridges any part of the coil, it can destroy the unit as well as arc where it touches your mold. If an ingot melted it could really cause fireworks as the lead shorted out parts of the coil. Lead conducts really well when you don't want it to.
Maybe the terminology got mixed, but there is a safety question with any coil unit.

[Bret4207]

I recommend the open coils because the solid tops I bought weren't worth krap. What is best for one person isn;t always going to be best for another. Myself, I can't justify the $$ for and RCBS or Waage. I'd love to have one of each, but my $8.00 investment has been working fine for about 10 years now. That's pretty good in my book.

[H.Callahan]

I have been looking for an open coil hot plate for weeks now. I don't think they make them anymore. I have found a couple on Craigslist, but always have been too late to grab them up.

Is anyone finding the open coil type new anywhere?

BTW, mold, can you explain this?

The open coil (like a spring) units are a short circuit waiting to happen. if your mold bridges any part of the coil, it can destroy the unit as well as arc where it touches your mold. If an ingot melted it could really cause fireworks as the lead shorted out parts of the coil. Lead conducts really well when you don't want it to.
Maybe the terminology got mixed, but there is a safety question with any coil unit.

If this were the case, I would think any metal pan that touched the coils would cause a short. I CAN see a problem with a melted ingot going through the plastic cases of most of those units and messing with the innards, but I don't understand where just touching the coils with something metal is a problem

[dpaultx]

Picked this one up at a garage sale last week for a buck! Works great.



It's an 1100 watt "High-Heat" model made by Superior Electric Products. The dial is numbered from 1 to 11 and it gets plenty hot enough to melt 15 lbs of lead in a two quart S/S pot.

I don't think that these high powered hot plates (anything over about 800 watts) are considered to be "consumer" items anymore but are rather regarded as professional commercial kitchen (or catering) fixtures. I see them listed in commercial kitchen equipment catalogs, but not at Walmart or at other retail outfits.

They're still around, but finding one for a dollar ain't gonna happen very often.

[Bret4207]

I have been looking for an open coil hot plate for weeks now. I don't think they make them anymore. I have found a couple on Craigslist, but always have been too late to grab them up.

Is anyone finding the open coil type new anywhere?

BTW, mold, can you explain this?

If this were the case, I would think any metal pan that touched the coils would cause a short. I CAN see a problem with a melted ingot going through the plastic cases of most of those units and messing with the innards, but I don't understand where just touching the coils with something metal is a problem

These are the low price models I turned up in a 30 second search of at least 1000 watts.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Proctor-Si...ndingMethod=rr

http://www.amazon.com/Continental-El...ords=hot+plate

http://www.amazon.com/Brentwood-Appl...ords=hot+plate



Also, somewhere in the archives here is a photo spread of a ho'made open coil rig. Guy took an element from an old electric stove and the control and mounted it all on a steel frame of some sort that would hold about a ton. It was of course 220 volt, but was likely the ultimate "hot plate" for this type of rig.

[Sasquatch-1]

These are the low price models I turned up in a 30 second search of at least 1000 watts.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Proctor-Si...ndingMethod=rr

http://www.amazon.com/Continental-El...ords=hot+plate

http://www.amazon.com/Brentwood-Appl...ords=hot+plate



Also, somewhere in the archives here is a photo spread of a ho'made open coil rig. Guy took an element from an old electric stove and the control and mounted it all on a steel frame of some sort that would hold about a ton. It was of course 220 volt, but was likely the ultimate "hot plate" for this type of rig.

I have the Proctor Silex and I am not very happy with it. It will do the job but takes for ever to heat up and doesn't always stay hot enough for dead soft mix. I would go with something a little better.

[H.Callahan]

I have been looking in real brick and mortar stores -- Walmart, Walgreens, Target, etc. I guess I may have to resort to mail order. I hate having to pay shipping for something that cheap. Thank you for the links.

I have the Proctor Silex and I am not very happy with it. It will do the job but takes for ever to heat up and doesn't always stay hot enough for dead soft mix. I would go with something a little better.

Yeah, from reading the comments, it seems like all of them have that damned thermal protection circuit in them that causes them to cycle on and off even when you want continuous high heat. Dunno how difficult that is to defeat.

[MikeS]

Here's a link to the hotplate I bought from Amazon for $16.00:

http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-AHP-303-.../ref=pd_cp_e_1

While on their site to get the link I saw a really nice looking dual burner hot plate, it has one large burner that's 1300 watts, and a small one that's 500 watts. This unit would be cool to use as you could have your casting pot on the large burner, and use the small burner to pre-heat your moulds! Here's a link to that unit:

http://www.amazon.com/Waring-DB60-Po...d_bxgy_k_img_b

It's a bit more money at $79.95 but if it's as good as they say, and it doesn't have a thermal overload the would keep it from melting lead it would be a good item to have. Of course for that much money you could buy 2 or 3 of the Aroma units, and be able to place them wherever you wanted on your workbench.

[ku4hx]

The ravages of time. Unlike its retired owner, it still works just not for alloy mixing or casting. Currently it mostly heats a small smoker for me and wife. Purchased circa 1960 at a local Belk's department store.

[10x]

I bought a new 110v hotplate, at Walgrens, about a month ago that has the coils.
I got hot enough to barely boil eggs but nowhere hear hot enough to use for melting lead.

Put a 7" circular saw blade on it and it is perfect for preheating molds and lead to add to the pot....
if you preheat lead ingots, be sure to use a pie plate just in case....

[Doby45]

Yheap, I posted a pic many moons ago of my hot plate for mold pre-heating. Open coil from WalGreens and I used an old circular saw blade and then on the recommendation of Gear I used an old coffee can and made a top. Works like a champ! I will see if I can find the pic.

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/...&postcount=110

Edit:Found the post...

[shadowcaster]

hello;

using a colemen stove for my heat source when melting my casting alloy. the fuel will last a little over one hour then needs refueling. a real pain if casting is going good and you have to stop and restart all over again. the colemen stove is very fast at getting metal on temp for casting. would be nice if i can x'fer the pot from the stove to electric hot plate and not stop after a hour of casting.

anyone use a electric hot plate to keep their melted casting alloy on temp? if so which one are you using. the pot i'm using is @ 4" high and 6" across the top,
@20# of alloy.

thanks for any input.rp

I assume that you have the white gas version of Coleman stove. I can't see how moving 20 pounds of molten alloy over to a hot plate on a regular basis, would be a safe thing to do. It's only going to take once, to have a bad mishap. Not worth doing in my mind.

IMO the Lee 20 pound pro 4 for casting is really hard to beat for the money and convenience of use. I know that some people have trouble with them dripping , but I rarely have even a drip. I run 2 of them side by side so I always have hot alloy ready to go for however lengthy a casting session I want. Hot plate works great for warming ingots and molds.

As for smelting a turkey fryer and a cast iron or steel pot is awesome.

Shad