Need help with smelting heat

[Magnum1944]

I am new to smelting. I tried to use our out door grill, but it took about 45 minutes to melt about 15 pounds of lead. I am thinking about trying a hot plate. Does any body use a hot plate.? How many watts do I need.? Do you recommend any special hot plate.? Or should I stick with what I have. Any and all help will be very much appreciated. thanks in advance. Magnumman

[500MAG]

I have not seen a hot plate the provides enough continuous heat to get the lead to melt. You may get a small amount to melt but the hot plate will not get to the consistent temp that you need. Get yourself a turkey fryer.

[clocker]

Turkey fryer + cast iron dutch oven was a cheap and easy solution when I started out. You could probably get the grill to work with some effort, but they're just not really designed for throwing a bunch of BTUs at a pot.

[Buck Neck It]

I scavenged a 6 inch burner and switch from a kitchen stove at the dump. Made a hot plate from scrap steel, hooked it up to 220 v, 20 amp, it gets right with the program. I smelted about 30 lbs of dirty stinky stuff in about 20 minutes, using an old coffee can that I could discard when done. I don't know how long my burner will last, but there are more where that one came from.

Normally I use a half propane tank and a modified Reil burner.

[boho]

Academy fish fryer 58,000 BTU $29.99 + an old cast iron pot will do the trick. Find an RV park to fill your propane tank its usually cheaper there.

[guncheese]

i used a coil type hot plate i got at wally world for $18
i used a cast iron skillet for a pot
had to put up some tin or whatever to block the wind
but i smelted a few hundred pounds of range scrap with that setup
not only that
i still use that hot plate and a smaller skillet as my casting pot
works mighty fine

and dont let anybody tell you any different !

[wbrco]

Used a 2 qt stainless steel pot and a white gas Coleman stove this weekend. The only annoying thing is having to pump up the pressure every so often.

[jonp]

I have a hot plate that I use to melt wheel weights and flux. Melts just fine and quickly. Cheaper than using the turkey fryer but I do not do big batches in it more of the size of a 2 quart pan. Big batches use a turkey fryer and a cast iron pot.

[Magnum1944]

Hi, thank each of you for the help. I can now melt the lead without trial and error. Thanks again Magnum1944

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Whatever you settle on, ensure it will hold the weight of a full load of lead. It does not take much to get to 50 lbs, and a dutch oven can get close to 200 pounds. When I got my used turkey burner from my brother-in-law, I tested it by standing on it and wiggling around a bit. Make sure and be safe.

[44man]

Propane is best. Many hot plates have a thermal fuse that will blow.

[mold maker]

There are fish/turkey friers up to 72000 BTU. The higher the better. You can always throttle it back, but wide open is all you'll get. Remember that when running it on high, the metal of the support is also subjected to a lot of heat, making it weaker. It was never intended to hold the weight we put on it, and may well need reinforcement, to stand up to both the heat and weight.
Keep the hose out of your escape route.
I have a friend whose Daughter sustained 3rd burns over 35% of her body from tripping on the hose of the Thanksgiving Turkey being fried. That was over three years ago, and she's still undergoing skin repair surgery. It can and does happen.

[blaser.306]

blaser.306

[Deliverator]

I keep wanting to build a natural gas burner unit to just plug into a line... That would save SO MUCH money on propane... stupid propane...

[mold maker]

My local gas co wouldn't provide a temporary connector, sitting too many leaks and failures to seal off. If I did it they wouldn't supply me.

[44man]

I use an old plumbers furnace for lead but use a turkey fryer to boil beer and make a few other things to drink!
I use stainless beer kegs for such and if you want something HOT, it it is the rims on kegs.

[knobster]

+1 on the turkey fryer and cast iron pot replies.

[trixter]

I use bottom half of propane tank on a turkey fryer, I like the rounded bottom so I can get all of the lead out. I usually do about 120 to 130 lbs (5 gallon bucket of range lead) at a time. Has served me well for 4+ years.

[CRA]

+1 on the turkey frier. Go onto craigslist and get a turkey frier and a cast iron pot from harbor freight. It gets to temp. quickly and stays consistent. You can fit a lot more lead on fryer than you can a hot plate or a coleman stove too. I've tried all of these and all I use now is the turkey frier.

[44man]

Use a thermometer in the lead and adjust to keep it at 600*. That way zinc will not melt in so don't flux until you remove all that floats. Get all clips and those stubborn weights that don't melt out first.