The tinsel fairy is real and she is a brutal teacher

[Love Life]

Moderators-I wasn't sure where to post this one so I apologize if it's in the wrong spot.

Here goes. There have been many discussions on this forum concerning the tinsel fairy, how much water is needed to cause a visit, pre-heating ingots before adding them to the hot pot, and safety gear. Well here is what happened to a friend of mine today.

My friend got into casting his own boolits about a month ago. I gave him all the pointers on safety including the right clothing, ensuring all moisture is kept away from a hot pot, and preheating ingots. I even provided the link to this wonderful site and told him to read, read, and read some more. Well he did read, but I don't believe it was this site. He read on the internet some where that you don't have to pre-heat ingots before adding them to a hot pot.

Well he called me today and the first thing he says is "My pot blew up!! What made it happen?" After asking some questions we figured it out. He added a cold 2 pound ww ingot to his hot pot. According to him about 1 second after he dropped the ingot in lead just erupted from the 20 pound pot. He now has severe burns on his face, arms, and scalp. Burnt off his hair to.

I am now heading to buy myself a clear face shield and to check up on him. Maybe he'll let me take pictures after the customary at least you were already ugly jokes.

I know it has been said before, but after this all I can say please heed all the safety precautions and wear good protective gear while casting.

Dick

[Matt_G]

OUCH!!!

Sorry to hear that your friend had to learn this lesson the hard way.

[BulletFactory]

I just set the ingots on the little electric skillet that was originally just intended to preheat the mold. I had one pop last week and it made one heckuva mess. No injuries though.

[HeavyMetal]

Some times, if you do it just right with just the right combo of ingot temp to hot alloy in the pot, it doesn't explode it just does one heck of a gurgling act with a bubbling rise about 2 inches above the pot!

This will make the hair on your neck ( and several other places) stand at attention!

Please tell your friend I am sorry he had to learn this lesson in such a harsh way and suggest he contact the web poster, show him a picture or two of his burns, and add the word lawyer a time or two to the text.

Maybe that will scare that "dweeb" into being a lot more careful about what he posts!

Once again I hope your freind recovers with no permanant injuries!

[Colorado4wheel]

I never preheat my ingots. I made them myself. Don't know how the moisture would get into the ingot after I make them. Just trying to understand how this would happen.

[cbrick]

I never preheat my ingots. I made them myself. Don't know how the moisture would get into the ingot after I make them. Just trying to understand how this would happen.

Temp difference.

I had the same thing happen several years ago. When I got everything out and heated the pot, added ingots and was ready to flux & start casting there was a 1 pound ingot that had fallen on the floor. It was winter & cold, no water involved, the floor had a rubber mat covering, no cement floor. I bent over & picked up the ingot & dropped it into the pot.

I had no idea I could move that fast. I went straight back about 10 feet landing on my hieny with my feet towards the pot. Nearly emptied the RCBS 22 pound pot, had lead all over the ceiling, three walls, bench & floor. I had lead on my shoes & Levi's but didn't get burned. All I could say was "Holy doggie doo doo Batman". Well, that's not really what I said but this is family forum.

I eventually got all the lead cleaned up except for a little I left on the ceiling as a reminder of what an idiot I was for doing that. Never did get my shorts clean, had to throw them away (didn't want to save that reminder).

I had always heard that when melting lead you should always make sure the area around is you clear and I learned that this is very sound advice, had there been a stool or something behind me to impeed my backwards flight through the air the outcome would have been far worse than a mess.

Yep, I pre-heat my ingots if the pot is already hot and in fact I did that night too. Except for that one.

This hobby is only as safe as you make it and even then only if you keep your wits about you.

Rick

[Matt_G]

Yikes Rick. I'll bet that was a sight!
It's amazing how fast condensation can form when the conditions are right for it. (temperature differences and humidity)

[geargnasher]

I, too hope your friend comes out just as handsome as he was before! That really sucks. An exploding pot of lead seems to be statistically more injurous than an exploding revolver.

Even a small ball of lint stuck to the ingot can do it. Water is absorbed by just about everything, and once it goes over 212 degrees it expands 1600 times just about instantly, with thousands of PSI of force. I had a spider make one heck of a gurgle once, I used to slowly add ingots, holding them with a glove and dipping them slowly into the pot while listening for the faintest sound of the Tinsel Faerie's grumble, this time it popped slightly without warning and I saw the remains of two or three spider legs smoldering in the lead left in the pot.

[BulletFactory]

Hahahahaha

[Mossy Nugget]

Yikes Rick. I'll bet that was a sight!
It's amazing how fast condensation can form when the conditions are right for it. (temperature differences and humidity)

Wow! bring a cold ingot into a warm, humid shop and moisture condenses on it. Drop it in the pot, Wham! Thank you very much! I would have repeated that mistake as surely as history.

[dragonrider]

Colorado4 wheel, take heed of what is being said here and preheat your ingots before you add them to the pot or you will one day be telling us of your visit from the tinsel fairy. Who made the ingots does not matter, temp difference is the key here, condensation will form on an ingot with the right circumstances. Preheat, the risk is not worth doing otherwise.

[cbrick]

Wow! bring a cold ingot into a warm, humid shop and moisture condenses on it. Drop it in the pot, Wham! Thank you very much! I would have repeated it as surely as history.

More curious than that Mossy. This is California, while it was winter & cold (for CA) it hadn't rained in months, the ingots are stored in the shop and in fact on the floor (rubber covered plywood) at the end of the casting bench, the shop wasn't heated as the ceiling vent when casting just sucks the heat out anyway.

But it happened anyway.

I sure recommend pre-heating ingots when the pot is already hot. Yep, I really do.

Rick

[selmerfan]

I always dip one end of the ingot into the pot until I can no longer hold it with my gloved hand. Haven't had it burn me yet...

[Doc Highwall]

This is a second reason to have a mould warmer. If you set your mould warmer to say 300deg. which is higher then the boiling point of water but not hot enough to melt lead, I put my ingots on the hot plate it will remove any water preventing this. I have a hot plate with a piece of aluminum on top of it with a thermometer stuck into it so I know what temperature it is. When I am goin to cast I place my mould on the plate along with ingots to pre heat them.

[runfiverun]

i keep a 1/2" steel top on my pots at all times.
i use it to hold ingots before they go into the pot, it's also a handy place to keep the mold while the pot melts.
it has saved a few bubble overs, at least confined them to one area.
usually right on top of my pile of shiney boolits.

[Ole]

I bet your friend won't do that again!

[Blammer]

preheat ingots to prevent tisel fairy showing up.

hmm, never heard of that before and I've never done it.

oh well, to each his own.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

Sorry to hear about your friend. That lead burns fast and deep! Thanks for posting. It keeps me from getting careless.

[Love Life]

It has rained here the last 2 days in a row and with all the snow we had this winter and spring there is a lot of moisture in the air. I didn't get to go see him today, but talked to him on the phone again. He says thank you for the good wishes. He took an ingot from the concrete floor(about 50 degrees) and put it straight into the pot. I asked if he heard any gurgling noises prior to the explosion, and he said no. He said it a happened pretty much instantaniously. I have always preheated my ingots when adding to a hot pot based off of the advice on this forum and because its so easy to do it. Just place a stack of ingots on the hot plate while you cast. They melt faster and don't lower the temp as much.

Whether people preheat or not is entirely up to them. I just wanted to pass this experience on so people caould see the possible consequences. I will see my buddy at work tomorrow and see if he'll chime in on here.

[Ohio Rusty]

I had a small half inch lead pipe about 10 inches long, that had set on the shelf for a year, I had assumed it was dry inside. Apparently ther was some moisture trapped inside. I put the pipe in teh pot to melt and I heard a hissing sound coming from the pipe. I moved out of the way, and a lump of molten lead shot from the pipe across the garage like a shot boolit !!

The pot didn't erupt, but it gave me more of a caution type nature to unkown lead and moisture.
Ohio Rusty ><>