Tin Question

[TNRELOADER]

Sorry for all of the new questions lately but I'm gearing up for my first casting session. I have found three roofing panels that came off of an old barn and was wondering if they could be tin. They are shiny, non magnetic, bend easy and I can melt a hole in them with a simple propane torch. I also have a couple old deep freezers from the 40's that have a similar lining in them. How can I tell if it is aluminum or tin. Thank you.

[dragon813gt]

Melting point is an easy one. Tin melts at 450 while Aluminium melts at 1221.

[mikeym1a]

If you have a lead thermometer, cut up a bunch and put it in your electric pot, and get it to melt. Tin melts at 450degrees F. So, if you can get it to melt in your electric pot, and the temp is only around 450 or 500, you might have tin. If so, good for you! mikey

[NewbieDave007]

I'm guessing lead but the melting temp will tell you for sure.

[bangerjim]

Could also be tin plated thin zinc. They used a lot of weird stuff on roofing! But lead was VERY popular back then for a whole lot of things!

Muriatic acid will tell if Zn. Others can be determined by melt points as outlined above.


banger

[Zymurgy50]

Tin will also "talk" to you when you bend it. You can actually hear it "cracking" when you flex a bar.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Sorry for all of the new questions lately but I'm gearing up for my first casting session. I have found three roofing panels that came off of an old barn and was wondering if they could be tin. They are shiny, non magnetic, bend easy and I can melt a hole in them with a simple propane torch. I also have a couple old deep freezers from the 40's that have a similar lining in them. How can I tell if it is aluminum or tin. Thank you.
I can't add anything on the roofing material, you got good advice so far. Regarding the Freezers, Many commercial refrigeration systems used TIN tubing, known in the metals scraper world as "Block Tin". Any other parts of the old freezers, that you think is tin, can be figured out during the melt temp test.



Tin will also "talk" to you when you bend it. You can actually hear it "cracking" when you flex a bar.
The term I have heard is, thin pieces of TIN and Pewter will "cry" when you bend it.

[Defcon-One]

I'll bet that the roofing sheets are aluminum! No idea on the freezer parts. Tin is just too expensive to use in sheets! So, unless they are really old, think aluminum.

As they said, temp will tell.

[Garyshome]

Sounds like tin to me.

[bart55]

I have melted lots of roofing sheets and most are pure lead .Used to get a lot of block tin from old beer tap lines back in the seventies and eighties when they were being phased out and replaced with plastic lines .there was nothing like beer from a well iced tin line,we had a big system with a chute full of tin lines and the entire chute was a tin runway down to the cooler where the barrels of beer were tapped .As the place got remodeled and modernized I got to scrap all that tin .and all of it went downrange . Wish I knew as much about alloys then as I do now ,wouldn't have used so much of it when I didn't have to . Of course at the time it was pretty cheap and I was getting bars of lino from a few of the printers at the local paper in exchange for a couple of draft beers . (sigh) the good old days ,and I was also still pretty young ,and nothing was aching.

[1989toddm]

Regarding the Freezers, Many commercial refrigeration systems used TIN tubing, known in the metals scraper world as "Block Tin". Any other parts of the old freezers, that you think is tin, can be figured out during the temp test.


I have melted lots of roofing sheets and most are pure lead .Used to get a lot of block tin from old beer tap lines back in the seventies and eighties when they were being phased out and replaced with plastic lines .there was nothing like beer from a well iced tin line,we had a big system with a chute full of tin lines and the entire chute was a tin runway down to the cooler where the barrels of beer were tapped .As the place got remodeled and modernized I got to scrap all that tin .and all of it went downrange . Wish I knew as much about alloys then as I do now ,wouldn't have used so much of it when I didn't have to . Of course at the time it was pretty cheap and I was getting bars of lino from a few of the printers at the local paper in exchange for a couple of draft beers . (sigh) the good old days ,and I was also still pretty young ,and nothing was aching.


How about radiators and AC condensers nowadays? I picked up a condenser out of the dumpster at work the other day on the off chance there might be some worth in it. Did I do good or is it junk?

[dragon813gt]

They're worth scrap value and that's it. They're made of copper, aluminium and steel. The new Microchanel condenser coils are built like car radiators which are aluminium.

[mikeym1a]

So, have you tried melting any of those sheets, yet? I'm curious to know the results. Cheers! mikey

[Petrol & Powder]

I've seen a lot of different roofing materials but most agricultural stuff is designed to be inexpensive. Based on the OP's description, I'm going with aluminum.

[TNRELOADER]

Well guys it turned out that it was old galvanized aluminum sheets would not melt in my lee pot now matter how hot I got it. I still have to look at the inside of the freezers though