Leaving WW unsmelted

[cabezaverde]

I have lot's of wheelweights smelted into ingots for my regular casting.

Starting to think about leaving the new ones I accumulate unsmelted and just storing them in 30 gallon drums in my barn. Many of them are truck weights, and if cleaned could almost be used as their own ingots, but that is a different discussion.

Any of you keep them unsmelted? Pro's/Con's?

[WILCO]

I smelt as needed with all of my lead.

[Springfield]

I look at it this way. Ingots take up less room than raw wheelweights, plus they are easier to move. Plus right now you have the ability to smelt them, but what if you had to move or became disabled in some way, or maybe you just get new neighbors who would dislike your smelting? Or maybe you need some quick cash, ingots are worth more than raw WW and are easier to ship. Except for the less work involved there really isn't much of an upside to not smelting.

[Ole]

Propane probably won't be getting any cheaper, but that's just my guess.

[zxcvbob]

I might pick the big truck weights out and store them separate (as ready-made ingots) but the rest I would melt down just because they take up SO much less room that way.

The one good thing about keeping them in their original form is you won't be scratching your head 2 years from now trying to remember what alloy your ingots are.

[cabezaverde]

Propane probably won't be getting any cheaper, but that's just my guess.

That is a good point.

[fredj338]

The only upside to smelting them down is storing them. There is about 15-20% waste after smelting & that means you can stack more in the same space.

[chambers]

Smelt them down, easier to store, stamp them with the "WW" logo and you will always remember what they are. I have welded in my angle iron ingot bars WW and use one set only for clip on WW.

[shotman]

has to be a NY guy LOL the clips will rust

[zxcvbob]

Propane probably won't be getting any cheaper, but that's just my guess.That is a good point.

OTOH, you might accumulate so many that you can justify a natural gas smelter.

(I wonder how waste motor oil would work with a blower to force in air so it burns clean? That would be for a REALLY big smelter)

[songdog53]

I smelted all my WW back when they were plentiful down into ingots to save room plus used to free up barrel for more WW. Course they have about all dried up these days but smelt them and mark them and stack them. AS with everything else propane and natural gas will be going up too.

[Huntducks]

All my extra WW are stored in barrels out side.

I would not buy one ingot from anyone these days, but I would buy WW as you know what you getting.

[cabezaverde]

All my extra WW are stored in barrels out side.

I would not buy one ingot from anyone these days, but I would buy WW as you know what you getting.

I guess that is what I was getting at. I have enough smelted to last a very long time already. With these big 8 - 12 oz. truck weights, buyers would know what they are getting if I needed to sell some. As I said earlier, clean them up and they are almost an ingot already.