Higher Electric Bill Since Casting

[detox]

Just saying. I will have to use electricity more wisely. Such as shorter casting sessions. Cast late at night....rates are lower after midnight.

[snuffy]

Just saying---so what? Compared to the cost of commercial cast, at whatever size they sell them at, and whatever hardness, usually bevel based, AND THE COST, the slight increase of electricity costs are negligible.

[btroj]

I don't even consider electricity as an expense in regards to shooting cast.

I suppose I should include the electricicty for my tumbler too? I also have lights where I reload. Dang it, I use an electric range for making lube too.

I gotta quit shooting, the electric bill is killing me......

[Dusty Bannister]

I will have to use electricity more wisely. Such as shorter casting sessions.
==============
Surely you jest? While you are at the casting furnace, you are not watching TV, playing on the internet, out using power tools in the shop, and otherwise running around the house leaving the lights on.

On the only serious consideration. It requires power to heat up the pot, so if you are serious and not just pulling someone's leg, cast longer sessions, NOT shorter sessions. And continue casting after you turn the power off to the casting pot until castings are no longer well filled out. Dusty

[Wal']

I'm with you there detox.............nothing wrong with conserving power usage, especially these days with our dwindling fossil fuels. :idea:

[HangFireW8]

I've been tracking fluctuating electric bills since I became a homeowner years ago. Unless you heat with wood or something or live in a modern well insulated 435 sq ft cottage, sudden increases in electric bills are rarely casting or electric lights. Usually it has to do with weather or the health of your HVAC or someone messing with your thermostat.

A rogue appliance can hurt a bill but usually they sneak up on you and only do moderate damage. I replaced a large bad fridge with the highest rated energy star and my bill went down less than $20/month. Many blame their water heater but it is the most efficient appliance in the house and when they go bad they usually use less power. (Usually). Replacements use less power due to better insulation or smart thermostats.

Consider getting a P3 power meter and getting your HVAC serviced.

HF

[Vulcan Bob]

Hi there, not wanting to hijack the thread but I'm not an electrician and I understand Volts, amps and ohms but what is the value/measurement of watt's? A measurement of use/consumption if I were to guess. I look at my Pro-Melt and it says 800 watts, I look at the coffee pot and it says 1,200 watts, can I make the assumption that the coffee pot would cost more to run than my casting furnace? If so the casting furnace is a real bargain as it cycles on and off to maintain temp to boot.

[Inkman]

Just saying. I will have to use electricity more wisely. Such as shorter casting sessions. Cast late at night....rates are lower after midnight.

I'm gonna go on record here and say you'll use more electricity by casting in shorter sessions. Add up the multiple times you'll be heating the pot, compared to just casting in longer sessions.

In the end though, like others are saying/thinking, the casting portion of your electric bill is negligable at most.

Al

[timbuck]

Just saying. I will have to use electricity more wisely. Such as shorter casting sessions. Cast late at night....rates are lower after midnight.

Rates are only lower if you have that plan with the electric company. They don't automatically lower your cost after a certain time.

[HangFireW8]

Hi there, not wanting to hijack the thread but I'm not an electrician and I understand Volts, amps and ohms but what is the value/measurement of watt's? .

Watt hours are more useful. If you run an 800 watt pot for an hour with a 50% duty cycle, that's 0.4 kilowatt hours. Probably 11 cents or so.

HF

[detox]

What do you guys think about using one of these to regulate pot temp. I know it will not reduce cost, but may keep pot temp more consistant. Set pot temp on high (or bypass thermostat) and let the speed control do all the work.
http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html

[fredj338]

Sincerely, if you are worried about the few pennies of elec to cast, you probably can't afford to shoot either. The only way to cast for free is over a wood fire. Kalif has some of the highest elec cost in the US, if I cast every week for an 2hrs, maybe $4 added to my bill, just not that big a deal.:veryconfu

[fredj338]

Depending on where you live, your elec may not even be fossil fuel reliant. This kind of thinking is what has the greenies all fired up. Often, they are just wrong. Wind, solar & hydro produce a lot of elec across the planet.

[Don Purcell]

Utilize the time better by using multiple molds while casting or maybe you do that already.

[Digger]

Let's see ..... at the moment , have the shop lights on , bench light , oil based radiant heater , two separate drill motors running with countersink and flat faced bit for reaming , cleaning military brass and pot heating up for a run with the molds ..... oh , and radiant floor heating in the house .
Maybe better go and oil the bearings on that electric meter before it heats up also ...:oops:

Yep , bet I could do better at conserving my bill with some effort ...

[Digger]

Depending on where you live, your elec may not even be fossil fuel reliant. This kind of thinking is what has the greenies all fired up. Often, they are just wrong. Wind, solar & hydro produce a lot of elec across the planet.

Was reading some where that PG+E was in the process of having to raise rates for that very reason as a greater number of customers are applying that very thing .... roof top solar panels , etc.
Cutting into their profit margins as time goes on ...

[Jim]

..... The only way to cast for free is over a wood fire.....

Even with that, you're either paying for the wood precut and delivered or you're paying for the gas and oil you burn in the chain saw you use to cut the wood.

I use more power running my pot and preheater than I would if I didn't cast. I'd be spending a heck of a lot more money, though, if I were buying factory ammo.

A few minutes with a pencil, a sheet of paper and a calculator doing a cost analysis tells me I'm getting off WAY cheaper rolling my own.

[fcvan]

That does it. Dr. Emmet Brown needs to develop a "Mr. Fusion" so that we could power each the latest and greatest gadgets. Marty McFly may have been a slacker but back in the future he will pioneer the use of 3d printers to makes his boolits. It going to take a lot of energy to run that printer and the print head micro melts lead, tin, antimony, and copper into the substrate. This will allow us to toughen up the base and soften up the nose through the printing process. Ha Ha

Seriously, my lead pot has only a 500 watt element and it may be running at 50% duty cycle. My Kenwood TS 930 HF Transceiver uses more juice than that. I've got a buddy whose HF amplifier threw off enough heat he didn't need to heat his shack once the tubes warmed up.

I'm not too worried about the juice I use while casting. I will turn the lights off when I leave a room but I don't turn off the pot when I take a break to make a sandwich.

[41 mag fan]

Have to invent the bicycle that generates electricity, that way i save power and get my exercise in!!

[Wayne Smith]

Sincerely, if you are worried about the few pennies of elec to cast, you probably can't afford to shoot either. The only way to cast for free is over a wood fire. Kalif has some of the highest elec cost in the US, if I cast every week for an 2hrs, maybe $4 added to my bill, just not that big a deal.:veryconfu


Even wood, unless you have your own wood lot, isn't cost efffective. We had gas heat in NH when we were there and a wood stove in the basement. Buying wood was more expensive than heating with gas, this was 25 years ago.

[Shiloh]

I wouldn't even consider the difference. I'm still shooting, mostly centerfire. Many aren't as they can't get ammo. I have .22 for a while.

Shiloh

[ku4hx]

Per Lyman, my Mag20 has an 800 watt heating element. My utility company charges me 9.1582 cents per KWH for all I use over 1,000 KWH in a month. Worst case, if my pot runs at full wattage for every hour, that's .8KW burned. .8*9.1582=7.3216 cents. If I cast for two hours that pretty close to 15 cents. In a two hour session I generally cast about 1,000 boolits. More or less depending on the caliber and how my back holds out. That 1,000 boolits works out to be a cost of 0.015 cents per boolit.

At that rate, if I cast a ton of 9mm 125 grain boolits it'll cost me $16.80. For me, the cost of electricity doesn't enters into it.

[Marlin Junky]

To lower your electric bill:

Cover the furnace while the melt is brought to operating temperature, use only quality ferrous molds, set your furnace at 650F, cast quickly... and unplug your computer and big screen TV. :bigsmyl2:

Optional: Ship your kids off to military school.

MJ

[Elkins45]

Hi there, not wanting to hijack the thread but I'm not an electrician and I understand Volts, amps and ohms but what is the value/measurement of watt's? A measurement of use/consumption if I were to guess. I look at my Pro-Melt and it says 800 watts, I look at the coffee pot and it says 1,200 watts, can I make the assumption that the coffee pot would cost more to run than my casting furnace? If so the casting furnace is a real bargain as it cycles on and off to maintain temp to boot.

Watts are a measure of power. A watt is an amp times a volt, so a 120 volt appliance using 1 amp of current is using 120 watts of power.

As someone else said, the kilowatt hour is a better way to think about electricity, because that's the way the utility sells it to you-- a thousand watts of power delivered for an hour. One kilowatt hour purchase from my local utility costs a little less than $0.09 (I had to look it up), which is probably one of the lower rates in the country.

So this means that my 1000 watt Lee pot would use exactly one kilowatt hour (and cost $0.09) if run continuously without cycling for an hour. Even if the thermostat were stuck in the on position it would have to run for about 11 hours to cost $1.00. Since in reality the pot cycles on/off once it's up to temp, the actual costs might be 30-40% less than that.

Assuming his electric rates are 3X mine, he still should only be paying about $0.25/hour to run a 1000 watt casting pot. The OP must have been making a LOT of boolets!

[HollowPoint]

When I first started casting I hadn't even thought to consider the electricity I'd be using. Even still, a few years ago I went on a Solar-Panel-Binge that lead me to buy one of those cheap little Harbor-Freight solar panel kits; just to see how it worked.

With that little kit I've been able to recharge laptop batteries, marine battery, run my radio, my brass tumbler, and a cooling fan in the summer. (not all at once; just one thing at a time as needed)

That little Harbor Freight setup wasn't nearly enough to run my melting pot but, it gave me enough incentive to invest in a couple of larger panels, four dedicated 12-Solar collector batteries and the related electronics to offset my summer electric bill.

Compared to many others, my utility bill was never that much to begin with. Now with just those two panels and that small bank of 12 volt batteries I can run two small low-amperage evaporative coolers night and day and not even come close to draining my batteries. This negates any electricity usage accumulated by firing up my melting pot.

The longest casting session I've ever done wasn't over two hours so, those two solar panels worked out quite well to offset any cost of running my melting pot.

I hope folks aren't misunderstanding me, the melting pot itself still gets plugged into my home's electrical system, and it still uses up electricity. It's just that with the solar panels, I don't have to use up my home's electrical to run my coolers any more; which in turn, means that I'm successfully cutting my electric bill.

Something else I've done in a pinch when our neighborhood lost power some time back was to use one of those real small gasoline generators. It too was purchased at Harbor Freight. Eighty-bucks along with a twenty-percent off coupon and it made for a cheap emergency bullet casting backup unit.

A two hour casting session still leaves you with enough gas in the tank to go another hour or so if need be.

I can just hear the nay-sayers now. "Yea but when you factor in the cost of the panels, the gas, the batteries; it's cheaper to just use your home's electrical grid to power your casting needs." Oh well; to each his own.

I just wanted to make the point that there are always other ways of getting around the obstacles we bullet caster encounter. When it comes to energy usage, these are two of the ways I've managed to cope.

HollowPoint

[DLCTEX]

Dwindling fossil fuels?? We are finding and producing more fossil fuel than ever before in the U.S. Natural gas is cheaper than in a long time. So cheap that if the well doesn't produce oil, it may not pay to drill. Horizontal drilling and fracking are recovering oil and gas that was unprofitable to produce in the past. If the greenies don't shut down fossil fuels due to phony sciences, we are good for centuries to come. I am fortunate to live where electricity rates are some of the cheapest in the nation so electric cost is the smallest consideration in casting.

[41 mag fan]

Dwindling fossil fuels?? We are finding and producing more fossil fuel than ever before in the U.S. Natural gas is cheaper than in a long time. So cheap that if the well doesn't produce oil, it may not pay to drill. Horizontal drilling and fracking are recovering oil and gas that was unprofitable to produce in the past. If the greenies don't shut down fossil fuels due to phony sciences, we are good for centuries to come. I am fortunate to live where electricity rates are some of the cheapest in the nation so electric cost is the smallest consideration in casting.

Greenies...and obama have done a good job shutting down the coal industry.
So now alot of the coal produced is getting shipped to China, which is slowly going to wind turbines also.
As many of us in the coal industry believe, coal mines have seen their heyday come and go.
obama will go down in history as the one president who set in motion alternative energy sources, it might take 20+ yrs to get there, but he got us moving faster than any other president in that direction.

[RBDAVE]

Greenies...and obama have done a good job shutting down the coal industry.
So now alot of the coal produced is getting shipped to China, which is slowly going to wind turbines also.
As many of us in the coal industry believe, coal mines have seen their heyday come and go.
obama will go down in history as the one president who set in motion alternative energy sources, it might take 20+ yrs to get there, but he got us moving faster than any other president in that direction.

He got us moving in lots more directions that are unnecessary at this time and are MORE EXPENSIVE also.Maybe he gets another fancy award?

[mold maker]

There just isn't any FREE lunch. Ya gotta pay to play. No matter what the game your in to, it cost.
This is the closest to free that I've found.
Try saving money playing golf, or building fast/custom cars.
Invest in stocks as a hobby, or get rich gambling? It could happen, but its a rare case.
The re-purposed and second hand equipment I use, cost next to nothing, and I can always recoup my investment. The WW ingots and tons of lead is like money in the bank.
The piddly amount I spend on power is not worth mentioning.

[runfiverun]

just don't use the hair dryer that day.

[3006guns]

You guys kill me.......the cheapest way to power your electric melting pot is to first determine that you don't really like your next door neighbor very much. Now find a greedy/stealthy kid and pay him ten bucks to run an extension cord to the neighbor's outside barbeque electric plug (do this at around 1 a.m.) and the other end into your shop.

There ya go! The cheapest, greenest energy you can find!

[dverna]

Just saying. I will have to use electricity more wisely. Such as shorter casting sessions. Cast late at night....rates are lower after midnight.

You really meant to put this in the Humor forum - right??

[smokeywolf]

The only time I worry about electricity usage is when I fire up the 15 hp rotary phase converter and my engine lathe or Bridgeport. Never seen an electric meter spin so fast.
Someday I'll switch the machines over to a VFD.

smokeywolf

[dbosman]

Get or build a PID. Far more accurate and you will know more about what your boolit composition.
The router speed control probably won't do much with a heater and may not work at all. Depends on how it controls speed.

[cbrick]

nothing wrong with conserving power usage, especially these days with our dwindling fossil fuels. :idea:

You really need to turn CNN & MSNBC off.


Sincerely, if you are worried about the few pennies of elec to cast, you probably can't afford to shoot either.

Probably spending as much or more on primers as on electricity. If the electric usage is a concern how did you manage to buy powder?

Rick

[texassako]

The only time I worry about electricity usage is when I fire up the 15 hp rotary phase converter and my engine lathe or Bridgeport. Never seen an electric meter spin so fast.
Someday I'll switch the machines over to a VFD.

smokeywolf

Yep, you never seen a meter spin like trying to run 3 phase equipment on single phase with a rotary converter. I don't mill as much wood anymore, and the neighbors are as thankful as my electric bill since it means the planer and jointer stay quiet. I did not notice an increase in my bill when I started casting.

[3006guns]

The only time I worry about electricity usage is when I fire up the 15 hp rotary phase converter and my engine lathe or Bridgeport. Never seen an electric meter spin so fast.
Someday I'll switch the machines over to a VFD.

smokeywolf

I agonized whether a rotary, solid state converter or a VFD would go on my 1920 Hendey lathe (2hp). I finally bit the boolit and bought a VFD....smartest move I ever made. Not only can I program it to make the motor do cart wheels, I set it up with a small rheostat from Radio Shack so I have variable speeds at the turn of a knob. That old lathe sings like a new one.

[detox]

Previous electric bill-taxed was for 23 days of service (675 usage) $72.75. Current electric bill is for 34 days of service (805 usage) $84.85. So 11 more days of service on this latest bill was the reason for higher cost. I need to investigate better before posting

BTW how do my rates match up to yours?

[gmsharps]

With smart meters being installed across the US replacing the old analog meters it can be easier to really see what power you are using. There (at least in Texas) is a web site that allows you to monitor what power you are using at 15 minute increments. It's not a live feed and has a day or so lag time. It would be interesting to see how much power you re really consuming with the electric pot. I'll do a check when my one of these days when I get home for good.

gmsharps

[theperfessor]

I have an electric forced air furnace in my shop. In the winter the heat coming from the casting pot and hot plate simply means the furnace runs less. It's the same electricity, seems like a wash to me.

[Wal']

[QUOTE=cbrick;2202978]You really need to turn CNN & MSNBC off.

You crack me up cbrick...........most of us cast to save a few pennies & as soon as a caster try's to save on power costs, you're all over him. [smilie=l:

[olafhardt]

The pencil and paper you use to figure your power usage and your paper light billed can be used as flux.g

[rmatchell]

I never noticed a change on the bills and I cast alot. Now if you want to see a spike in my household electric bill I can show you when my wife was pregnant, now those were some bills.:kidding: I didn't know our AC went that low.

[cbrick]

You really need to turn CNN & MSNBC off.


You crack me up cbrick...........most of us cast to save a few pennies & as soon as a caster try's to save on power costs, you're all over him. [smilie=l:

It's not trying to save a buck, it's the comment about dwindling fossil fuels. New and huge reserves have been discovered in the last few years all over the world including down under. That doesn't fit the political agenda of the propaganda media so yes, you need to turn off MSNBC.

Rick

[Wal']

It's not trying to save a buck, it's the comment about dwindling fossil fuels. New and huge reserves have been discovered in the last few years all over the world including down under. That doesn't fit the political agenda of the propaganda media so yes, you need to turn off MSNBC.

Rick

Then if our fossil fuels are out there in the great abundance you claim..........why are we paying through the nose every time we fill up at the gas pump.

MSNBC is a little hard on my antenna at this distance for NBC. [smilie=s:

[btroj]

Why are we paying more? Government regulations. The cost of discovery and production are far higher due to government interference. I hate to think of how many lawyers a gas or coal company has just to make sure the paperwork is completed. Regulators don't care what you produce, or if it is profitable, as long as the forms are completed properly.

I don't mind the idea of conservation but the casting pot isn't the place to do it. It isn't gonna get much bang for your buck.

If I want to truly save money I shoot less. A drive to the range costs me 10 to 15 dollars in gas. That buys a heap of electricity.

[Wal']

Well I must have it wrong then...........with country's like China buying more & more of our basic fuels there's less for everyone else to go round.
The lawyers we can blame for a lot of things............. but availability & cost of our fuels????????

[btroj]

Not blaing the lawyers, blaming the NEED for all those lawyers. Bet an energy company has hundreds on staff to ensure all I's are dotted and T's crossed in order to avoid government fines and delays. Those lawyers cost money, big money. That cost is paid by US!

It is called the cost of doing business.

Just because more oil is found doesn't mean prices will drop. Ever think business keeps the production level set to maximize profits? Why produce cheap oil for 10 years of you can produce expensive oil for 20?

Wal, sometimes you have to think like a businessman. Business is in it to make money, not provide cheap energy.

[oldfart1956]

Hey I feel you guys pain. Due to an upswing in rates and warmer weather causing me to turn on the A/C in order to sleep during the day, (nightshifter) and doing considerable casting of late my bill skyrocked this past month. Bout hit the floor when I seen that $34 the last month. They're killing me I tell ya! I normally don't go over $30. What? Audie....the frugal Oldfart...

[Wal']

My only point is that our fuels are not an endless commodity..........look at our iron ore down here, they ship 20 million.....yes 20 million tons of it to China every month.

[Wal']

Hey Audie...........come down here for a visit...........my power bill averages $200 a month & I'm real conservative with it.

What are these A/C's you speak of.........:bigsmyl2:

[HollowPoint]

When I purchased the home I'm living in now it came with air conditioning and evaporative cooling.

One of the first things I did was take out the AC.

We never had AC growing up so I kind of got used to not having it. Only "rich people" had AC when I was growing up.
If I had Air Conditioning in my home now I venture to guess that my electric bill would be at the very least twice what it is now.

I bought a new truck back in 07 that came with air conditioning and it's rare that I ever use it; and it can get pretty darn hot here in Arizona in the summer time.

Funny how old habits can supersede a person's comfort levels.

HollowPoint

[waksupi]

Geologists last week said that the Bakken formation holds three times the earlier estimates. It already had a butt load of oil. Regulations and taxes are what makes the fuel expensive.

[runfiverun]

yep the bakken is full of oil and they are hauling it out of there by the truck load [and rail car] you ain't gonna make a dent doing it like that.
some umm,,, looking for a word that won't get starred out.
never mind, the jerk in charge nixed the pipeline that would have brought oil from Canada and from north Dakota.
we would have had to build another refinery or two somewhere to handle some of it.
he made sure it went to china instead.
now i'm getting all bent out of shape again.

[prs]

Given the electricity consumed by just one of my daughter's showers, I could cast a whole elephant full of boolits.

prs

[David2011]

The Federal and state taxes on a gallon of gas are more today than the total cost of a gallon of fuel was when I graduated from High School. I'm still a good ways from retirement.

David

[Marlin Junky]

Actually, to be precise, our hydrocarbon based fuels are not "fossil" fuels and are indeed renewable resources provided by miraculous mother earth.

Do your own research instead of listening to the complicit media... which is what cbrick is suggesting.

MJ

[Marlin Junky]

yep the bakken is full of oil and they are hauling it out of there by the truck load [and rail car] you ain't gonna make a dent doing it like that.
some umm,,, looking for a word that won't get starred out.
never mind, the jerk in charge nixed the pipeline that would have brought oil from Canada and from north Dakota.
we would have had to build another refinery or two somewhere to handle some of it.
he made sure it went to china instead.
now i'm getting all bent out of shape again.

Lamar,

No reason to get upset now... the puppet has already been inaugurated, again. Concentrate on 2014 and convincing as many voters as possible that we're gonna be, well, screwed if we loose conservative congressional seats.

Hell, I was surprised Barry won in '08; however, the uninitiated (or erroneously informed) voter is our true nemesis.

MJ

[300winmag]

Fire up the stick welder, then you will be happy with the little bit of usage for the lee pot.

[fredj338]

My only point is that our fuels are not an endless commodity..........look at our iron ore down here, they ship 20 million.....yes 20 million tons of it to China every month.


I don't think anyone is going to argue that fossil fuels are endless, but how many lifetimes are left? I would venture more than 100yrs at current usage. Even as the population grows, we find new ways to conserve. Back in the 50-60s, cars got about 10 mpg avg. Today the avg is over 30. Same for elec us & natgas. Heaters & lights are more efficient every year.
Much like the global warming BS, much is made about the issue of fossil fuels & so much of it is pure BS to generate $$ for liberal studies. No problem, no study, no $$, no need for those liberal's to have jobs. It's almost always a follow the $$ when it comes to govt extremist policy.
Back to the casting pot. I use more elec in the rwo weeks my Xmas lights are up than in an entire year of casting once a week.

[300winmag]

Given the electricity consumed by just one of my daughter's showers, I could cast a whole elephant full of boolits.

prs

My daughters figured out how to take much guicker showers after I turned off the hot water on the a few times. While they were living in the shower.

[DLCTEX]

I'm sure the fact that Warren Buffet, Obama's buddy, owns the lion's share of the railroad that hauls the crude oil from the Dakota oil fields and is the only current way to get the oil to refineries has nothing to do with the decision to nix the pipeline. Huge reserves that have been untapped are being opened in the Permian basin where the pointy heads said the field was getting played out. And then more in my home town area further NE that are being touted to make Spindle Top look small, plus the continued frantic drilling here at home are going to put OPEC in a hurt. In order for more production to lower the price at the pump we will need to build refineries as the current ones are at max production. Fat chance of that happening with the government restrictions that stand in the way. Same with electricity production. Fat chance of building new power plants even using cleaner burning gas. It will not happen until gas and electricity get so expensive as to make the people at large demand it. True science can not compete with phony science supported by people profiting from shyster fabricated dreams of Utopia. I'm done on the subject.