Getting water in/out of the mix

[Psypher]

Well, I got caught up last week on 2 cooling batches of cupcakes and left them outside overnight. My dumb freaking luck, it rained.

One cake already gave me a holy-**** moment and gurgled my Lee production pot, a sure sign it had taken on some water. Although I'd dried them off and let them sit in the shed for almost a week, it still had moisture in it somehow. Now I've isolated these suspect cakes and I now need to find out if I just need to put them in my skillet and bring them up to temp and re-cake them.

Is there a way to ensure these don't have moisture in them outside of melting them down and re-caking them?

Trust me, this WON'T happen again. Out of 600 pounds just 15 pounds of cakes wound up this way, all 15 pounds on a single day.

[fastfire]

If you have an old oven or hot plate turn it to 350 keep'em warm for a while to rid the moisture.

[el34]

I'm sittin' here being impressed with the 600lb in the same day!

[runfiverun]

15 pounds.
I'd just empty my pot and put them all in it.
let them melt from cold and you'll drive the water out before they melt fully.

[imashooter2]

15 pounds.
I'd just empty my pot and put them all in it.
let them melt from cold and you'll drive the water out before they melt fully.

The correct answer.

[Hickory]

re-caking them?


This is not a term I have ever heard before.
How about "recasting them."

[country gent]

Yes if the moistue has gotten into pourous material pre heating will drive it out in a vapor. You can do this several ways fillthe pot with them from cold and heat to cast. Set on top of pot rim to heat while casting and use slowly. Heat to 350*- 400* for a time on a hot plate. I would run the pot close to empty on the next casting session then let pot cool to solid and add these ingots. WHen the next session starts pot will heat from cold and burn of any moisture naturally thru the heating process.

[DeanWinchester]

I usually lay "next in line" ingots on top of the pot [where they won't fall in!!!] while I'm waiting on my pot to heat up. Then when I empty the pot, they go in and a couple more rest on top.
I have to keep my ingots in a container outside and they do get moisture on them from the heat/cold of the day and night. Preheating the "next in line" ingots is a part of my ritual and I pay it no attention whatsoever. It's just a habit I have gotten into.

[texassako]

I either start with a cold pot or preheat the ingots on the little electric hot plate I preheated my mold on.

[runfiverun]

if I set ingots on the edge of my big pot they will melt.
I built a 1/2" thick top plate for my big pot and 1/4" top plates for the little guy's.
this prevents bubble-up's from becoming catastrophes [except from the hole for the ingots to slip through] and gives me a nice flat ingot/mold pre-warmer that isn't too hot.
it also adds some mass to the pots and helps stabilize the temperature swings a little bit better.

[milrifle]

This is an admission, not advice, but I had some ingots I left outside in a coffee can that got filled with water. I dried them out for months, but when adding them to the pot, they sizzled. Scared the heck out of me, but that's all they did. Just sizzled. Perhaps I was just living on the edge, but after that experience, I was not too scared to add them to the pot again. I did try to preheat them by laying them on the edge, but they still sizzled. I was somewhat relieved when I had used the last one, but at the same time, I had about come to the conclusion, nothing catastrophic was going to happen. Bear in mind, this was after MONTHS of drying indoors. Hard to believe a lead ingot is porous and absorbs moisture, but it does.

[fredj338]

Putting hem on the edge of the pot should remove any moisture. You only need to get the to 240deg or so.

[osteodoc08]

Im suprised how these things can gain moisture. I dropped a 1# lino ingot that never saw water but it has been humid the last little bit. It has been in my garage. I dropped it in a pot of melt and it started gurgling. A fat boy never moved so fast. Thought I was gonna have a visit from the fairy. Luckily I did not and everything was good.

[DeanWinchester]

I also use a small cast iron skillet the size of my pot to cover it while melting. It holds me heat in for a faster melt. I've gotten really good and sliding in an ingot and sliding the skillet in place in one fluid movement. More than once I've had to hold the skillet handle to contain the gurgles and pops.
Until the alloy is melted and calm, it's not a bad idea to keep it covered.