recovering copper from a smelt

[Boolseye]

Hi community,
I smelt a fair bit of recovered range lead and have accumulated many #s of
copper jackets. Problem is, they're too contaminated with lead to redeem at my local
scrapyard. I'm looking for feedback on removing the last bits of lead–I've done some screening, and that gets some but not all–I can't picture going through it one jacket at a time, even at $2.90/#. I plan to smelt it again, but would welcome input from those who've dealt with this. As it stands, I could only get .27/#, what they pay for lead. Cleaned up it's worth 10x that.
-jesse

[Bjornb]

The easiest way to remove remaining lead from jacket material is to use a weed burner ($19.95 at Harbor Freight) and a second propane tank. Burn straight into the range scrap. Cuts smelting time in half and melts all lead to the bottom of the pot. My recent attempts at dealing with scrap yards have not been very successful. My regular dealer hired a new scale guy. He will not accept a single sliver of steel jackets (tests with a magnet). I therefore shipped off my last 50 lbs. of jackets to Evan Price; he pays a buck a pound plus shipping, and it saves me a lot of hassle.

[Boolseye]

Thanks for your feedback. I may ask you about Evan Price if I fail again at my salvage yard
-jp

[Carolina Cast Bullets]

I smelt mine in a large dutch oven. I make sure all the lead is melted by stirring with a stainless steel slotted spoon (Wal Mart kitchen gadgets, about $7). When I'm sure its all melted to the bottom, I skim off the jackets with a "spider", also from Wal Mart kitchen gadgets. (link below).

My scrap dealer knows me and just takes them as I bring em. Get $1.20 / lb, but its free money since I get the range lead free as well.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Farberware-Pro-Asian-Strainer/17813026

[kbstenberg]

Hey Boolsey I do the Dutch oven also. When I get to the point of skimming the jackets. I hold them under the surface of the lead with my strainer for a couple of seconds, scoop them up and shake the strainer vigorously for several seconds close to the lead surface. To loosen some of the lead stuck in the jackets. I may loose a few jackets back into the pot but they get picked up with the next scoop.
Kevin

[blackbike]

If you refine your smeling prosess a little bit you can get it all out the first time. I went through the same thing.
What i do is to use plenty of saw dust and candle wax, and a little more heat.
When I add the scrap to the melt, put a small hand full of saw dust on top of the scrap, then cover with the lid. In 5 or 8 min. later the saw dust starts to smoke. I like to see the straw color on the lead, that tell me its hot enough. Stir it good and add a bean size of wax and stir again, it will smoke even more, if its just right hot it will self ignite (stand back), if not light it anyway. Stir untill the fire burns out, skim jackets off with a sloted spoon to get cleane jackets off, and dump in a metal bucket. Come back an skim of remaining dirt, saw dust, and what ever else into another contaner. Its ready to pour into ingots.
Once you get it down right, start with a half pot of lead and clean your lead mix jackets up for the scraper.
Use a magnet to get the steal jackets out.
Your lucky I only get $1.80 for them (they a calling them brass)
Hope this helps, bb

[evan price]

Flux & Heat. Flux & Heat. Flux & Heat. Use lots of heat and a good carbon reductant flux... I melt my range scrap at 800 degrees- there's no zinc in it to worry about- I use drained motor oil as flux. I have a 1/4" mesh scoop-strainer that I use to fish out the jackets, and tap and jiggle to get the lead out of the jackets. My jackets are clean. There is a slight "wash" of lead inside the jacket- no worse than a piece of copper plumbing pipe that has been de-soldered.

I start a cold 3-gallon pot. Fill to heaping full with range scrap, shake and settle and top it off. Then put the heat to it- 55,000 BTU wide open, and I've drilled out the orifice in my burner a touch to .010" (#40 drill) so I am hot enough to melt aluminum now, should be around 65,000 btu's. Once the heat starts and I see steam, I dump a cup or two of used motor oil drizzled all over the scrap, then put the lid on and let it all melt.

[Boolseye]

Evan, depending on how I do at the salvage yard I may be contacting you.