Smelting lead

[TNRELOADER]

Has anyone used a liquid fuel Coleman camping stove to melt lead. I'm trying to figure out how to melt my first ww's. My options are wood fire pit, to hot. Lee 20 lb pot. Or a old Coleman dual burner liquid fuel stove.

Thank you

[AlaskanGuy]

The coleman should work, just do it in small batches.... The wood fire also works... I have an old metal bucket that i use to pour ingots from sometimes... When i wanna use a campfire to melt a bunch of heavy lead chunks.....

AG

[N4AUD]

I still use mine to smelt lead. Works great. I don't do big batches though.

[bangerjim]

Isn't white gas almost priced thru the roof these days?????? Propane is bad enough!

That is why I use a Lee pot for smaller batches. Electric is cheepest and fastest?

[zuke]

I started with a small one burner coleman stove. Still have it but I went with a turkey fryer for the first smelt's then LEE pot's for casting.

[500MAG]

There are guys on here that have used a Coleman for many years. Smelting in the Lee is not great because you can really clog up the spout. You want to smelt and clean out the impurities first before using the Lee, that is if it's the bottom pour.

[JASON4X4]

I run regular gas in my old camping stove and it works good. I use it to smelt my pewter.

[imashooter2]

I smelted and dipper cast for many years on a yard sale Coleman dual burner liquid fuel stove using unleaded gasoline. I found that a 2.5 quart stainless pot was optimally sized. The little Coleman could handle about 40 pounds before melt time got too long. Orienting it so that the wind screens are effective is very important.

[clodhopper]

My first casting years were with a coleman gas fired stove.
Gas is high priced if you are looking for the cheapest way.
But to get started, use what you have.
One gallon of gas will clean up some lead and let you make many bullets, as you learn and have time to figure out what works for you, you will be able to shave fuel costs.
You will have time for scrounging up a bigger, more efficient lead melter while making bullets now.

[ssnow]

It will work, but it limits you to small batches at a slow pace. If that works for you, then go ahead. But you are likely to want to upgrade to a turkey cooker of some sort, as it will get the job done much faster, and it's more economical to use once you are over the purchase price. Considering that they can be purchased rather economically, I'd just buy one and be done with it :)

[TNRELOADER]

Thanks for the replies. I will try to do a small run of ww and see how it goes. I plan on casting with my lee bottom pour. I just wanted another way to clean it up without dirtying my lee up. I will try to keep my eyes out for a turkey fryer. Thanks for the info.

[spec234]

I've seen turkey/fish fryers at yard sales every once in a while for cheap. Walmart carries one for around 40 bucks, but I've read that a few of the folks here have managed to buy them for $30 on clearance at the right time of the year.

[dbosman]

I smelt, and can cast, using a Coleman liquid gas stove.
My pot is a rectangular stainless steel condiment tray for a steam table. $2.00 at thrift shop. I can do a bit under 50# without being concerned about the stove collapsing. The burner has to be wide open, but it works well.
I use a thrift shop soup ladle for skimming, ladling into ingot molds, and as a round ingot mold.