Any home brew guys use a brew kettle to smelt?

[fullofdays]

I've been researching all the homemade smelting pots using everything from propane tanks chopped in half to cast iron dutch ovens to fully blown custom welded steel and then this came across my path.

http://www.amazon.com/Beer-Brewing-Kettle-Valve-Thermometer/dp/B003EW8HWY/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1333124921&sr=1-2-catcorr

Has anyone used a brew kettle before to smelt lead? It is triple thick stainless steel on the bottom and double thick walls seem to fits the bill on paper. The only drawback I could see would be the high temp silicone rings in the valve. I'd bet those would melt at 600 degrees. Any home brew guys try one of these brew kettles for smelting WW's and making ingots?

Hmmmm

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21CvlqIO7GL._SL500_SS75_.jpg

[shadowcaster]

Has anyone used a brew kettle before to smelt lead? It is triple thick stainless steel on the bottom and double thick walls seem to fits the bill on paper. The only drawback I could see would be the high temp silicone rings in the valve. I'd bet those would melt at 600 degrees. Any home brew guys try one of these brew kettles for smelting WW's and making ingots?

There are many good pots made from all sorts of materials that work quite well for smelting. I would be concerned about melting any silicone, plastic, or teflon in the valve. Once it starts to leak you could have a big mess on your hands, or god forbid.. bad burns.

What are the dimensions of this pot? I find that diameter and height, both make a difference on how user friendly it is.

I started out with a small steel pot, then graduated to a cast iron dutch oven. I enjoyed the smelting process but not the ladling part of it. With only about $85 dollars invested I built a custom bottom pour smelting pot out of a rim and steel plate that will handle upwards of 300# of lead. I still keep the dutch oven around for small projects.

Shad

[fullofdays]

yeah shad, your smelting pot thread got me searching for a solution that is less welder intensive and more buyer friendly. :-) I'm still considering using an old propane tank and flipping upside down and attaching a fumoto valve (http://www.fumotousa.com/) or valtorc 1000* temperature rated valve on it but dont feel comfortable cutting away on it since I dont have a fab shop or know anyone that wouldn't call me nuts for asking them to cut a propane tank for me.

They make a 15 gallon brew kettle and a 5 gallon brew kettles. The bottom is triple thick compared to a steel cooking pot and the sides are double thick steel. The stock valve would have to be pulled since it has high temp silicone in the seats. I'm thinking that a high temp replacement valve would easily weld in as a replacement. I might have to patent this design and start a business :-)

[mold maker]

Most silicon rubber is good up to about 400 degrees. TFL is destroyed at even lower temps. While there are similar valves of SS and brass, they would have to be welded to the pot, and the double layer might prevent that. In all likelihood the thermometer won't have high enough range for lead.
It looks, at first, like a great idea, but likely wont work.

[runfiverun]

you know the lee drip-o-matic valve is easily duplicated with simple steel rod and stuff.
about three sticks of weld rod would turn a 100 lb pot into a bottom pour.

[fullofdays]

got any links to a DIY build for that? I just found my welder and now need to determine the specs and get to work.

[Moonie]

If I used my brew kettle for smelting how would I make beer??? Now look, I love casting but don't get crazy...

[376Steyr]

A good brew kettle holds a lot of volume. Since lead is 10x heavier than water, a 5 gallon kettle would hold around 400 lbs of lead. Supporting that kind of weight becomes a problem in itself.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Isn't using a brew kettle for anything but making beer one of the seven deadly sins? I think I saw it listed in there.....:drinks:

[fullofdays]

A good brew kettle holds a lot of volume. Since lead is 10x heavier than water, a 5 gallon kettle would hold around 400 lbs of lead. Supporting that kind of weight becomes a problem in itself.

Yeah, i would only think of using the smaller size brew kettle. 400 lbs of liquid lead is entirely too much for a single batch in my backyard operation

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk

[carbine]

Thermostat only goes to 275 degrees.

[fullofdays]

I got a tru tel 1000 degree thermometer that has the same fitting so that's not the issue.

It looks like my bottom pour pot will likely start with a propane tank as a donor pot instead of using a 5 gallon brew kettle.

I have a rowell 8 lb bottom pour ladle which will be a great tool for pouring ingots from a cast iron dutch oven in the meantime while my bottom pour pot is being assembled.

[sukivel]

If I saw you using a brew kettle to melt lead in I would drop my beer...then cry! :violin:

I would like to see some plans on making a bottom pour pot as well...

[fullofdays]

well my rowell number 8 holds 40 lbs of lead so i'm gonna smelt from the ladle and flux and bottom pour into my corn muffin ingot molds...

[Just Duke]

I would be concerned about the metal degradation per the intense heat in the swaged stainless . It might just spit.

[Just Duke]

I would be concerned about the metal degradation per the intense heat in casting. It might just spit.

Here you go. I'll bumped the post as requested. :bigsmyl2:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=36200&highlight=duke%27s+foundry

[Just Duke]

Here's the foundry details. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=34131&highlight=duke%27s+foundry

[Just Duke]

Re post #56 and on down. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=707&page=2


http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc225/partsproduction/batchpot.jpg

Finished this yesterday, holds 550 lbs of alloy. This is just a batch mixer, note 25 lbs of 50/50 solder melted in the bottom.

In the foreground are two wheel weight pigs 115 lbs each. I'm waiting for an ingot mold before I melt the whole soup up.

The valve is all 300 series stainless except for the ball on the handle and the hinge bolt. I'll use an infrared thermometer to know the temperature, any thoughts on the best temp? When I melted the WW they got pretty hot, I'm sure there is zinc sponge in the pigs, that's why I want to pour at low temp.

Note the bullet trap in the background, just finished it last week. I shoot in the shop.
parts

[Lead Fred]

Propane got costing to much, went to an electric pot.

Heck I even have a 1930s kerosine jobby. Still less costly to use a watt or two