OMG!! What a difference a burner can make.

[RacingRedGT]

I originally bought the cheapest fish fryer that Walmart had. $39.99. I started melting with it. Took 3 hours to get it to melt. After 6 hours I managed to cast a measly 93lbs. After being frustrated I did some googling and searched these forums. After a little more research I found out more details about what to look for in a fryer.

Went to lowes and found a bayou classic. OMG. Only a 5 psi regulator on it but I was able to melt an overflowing 5 quart cast iron pot in 20 minutes. Let's just say, life just got a little easier.

I will definitely have to keep my eyes on the temperature because it got hot FAST.

[Sgtonory]

Always nice to melt lots of lead fast. Melting WW or range scrap?

[RacingRedGT]

WW. Have about 600lbs-700lbs left to sort and melt down.

[Pb Burner]

"What a difference a burner can make."

That what my wife says!

[rush1886]

So, in the other direction, how low a flame can you get? Been looking at one of these as a heat source for a smoke house. You mention a 5 psi regulator whereas most of the Bayou Classics I see on the web say a 30 psi regulator. Was this a Lowes specific burner? Model #?

[RacingRedGT]

It was this one.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_83434-1337-2212_0__?productId=3318628

The description says 10psi but the regulator says 5psi.

It's incredibly sturdy also with three legs. I put 2 5gal buckets full of wheel weights on it and put some extra force and it didn't budge. Was planing on adding straps for extra support but I don't believe it's needed.

The flame will go pretty low. I had to turn it down really far once it melted because the temp started raising to 750.

[Vinne]

Got it in Slidell you say...well nice to see a fellow southerner here. Do you have problems getting WWs on your side of the lake?? Around here (south shore) it is all but dried up so I get 1/4 buckets few and far between.

[BruceB]

I've described this before.

I have an ELEVEN-DOLLAR weedburner from Harbor Freight.

Making a rig to point the flame directly at the bottom of my welded-steel pot, it will melt fifty pounds of WW in about ten minutes. The heat is virtually unlimited, and the flame can also be turned very low.

If my total cost for burner and pot support was twenty bucks, I'd be surprised. The weedburner likely costs more these days, but they are still VERY cost-effective.

EDIT: I just went and checked, and a Harbor Freight weed burner that looks just like mine is on sale for...... $19.99!!! (If you go to look, spell the search term "weed burner"... two words.)

You'll never do better than that for what you get in terms of pure HEAT.

[Doc Highwall]

One very important thing that helps tremendously is some kind of wind shield around the burner that forces the heat against the melting pot. Without a wind shield you can lose a lot of heat with even a light breeze.

[MBTcustom]

One very important thing that helps tremendously is some kind of wind shield around the burner that forces the heat against the melting pot. Without a wind shield you can lose a lot of heat with even a light breeze.

I suspect that's a big part of the reason the Bayou Classic worked out so much better for the OP. It has a heat shield/wind break built right into it.

[rush1886]

Thanks for the link RacingRedGT. Guess I'm heading to Lowes today.

[NineInchNails]

All the bayo cast iron burners are shown on this page: http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/propane_cast_iron_burner.htm

I have all 3 burners. For most uses I prefer the middle one. I use the BIG one for large volume applications. An adjustable 0-30 psi regulator makes it easy to run any of them.
http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/7850_propane_regulator.htm

If you ever come across one of those burner tripods real cheap it is worthwhile to upgrade the cast iron burner. I'd recommend the middle size one unless you process BIG batches of lead.

[NineInchNails]

All the bayo cast iron burners are shown on this page: http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/propane_cast_iron_burner.htm

I have all 3 burners. For most uses I prefer the middle one. I use the BIG one for large volume applications. An adjustable 0-30 psi regulator makes it easy to run any of them.
http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/7850_propane_regulator.htm

If you ever come across one of those burner tripods real cheap it is worthwhile to upgrade the cast iron burner. I'd recommend the middle size one unless you process BIG batches of lead.

[brasshog]

I have a cast iron 5qt pot that is only 8" at the base that I want to use in a similar fashion. Can you post a pic of your setup with the pot sitting on it. I'm wondering if I need to build an extra sleeve for the base of mine. Thanks

[Digger]

picked up mine at wally world some time back .. spent a bit more but very happy with it , just shortened the legs , have done a lot of lead with it ...works great !
http://www.walmart.com/ip/King-Kooker-25-Tall-Heavy-Duty-Portable-Propane-Single-Burner-Outdoor-Cooker-Camp-Stove/10661038

[country gent]

One small trick when using the cast iron dutch ovens as a pot is to start at low heat for 5 mins or so before going to full heat. Going full blast from the start dosnt give the pot time to "normalize" to the heat and can cause it to crack.

[RogerDat]

I have one of those $40 wally world fish fryers and it seems to work well. Might be because I'm using it out of the wind. I think something like 20 - 25 minutes to melt 65 lbs. plain lead.

[dikman]

For those who might be interested, if you search the 'net there's info on how to build your own weed burner from bits of pipe and stuff from a hardware store. Pretty simple, and pretty cheap.

[Idz]

The Harbor Freight weed burner was $15 on sale. Don't think you can build one for less than that!

[dikman]

You're right, at that price you wouldn't bother making one. Unfortunately, when I searched for them here in Australia the cheapest I could find was $90!! Hence my post.

[RedHawk357Mag]

Brass I had to modify mine to make it work a little more efficiently. Here is how I made mine work better.
108490108491108492

[Cowboy_Dan]

I got the same one (bayou classic) for homebrewing and was unsure of using it for casting. Glad I saw this thread.