Propane Tank Pot Questions

[Mike W1]

Thinking about doing one of those. The pot I have holds about 45 lbs and it's a little small for alloying. I'm guessing a propane tank about 7" deep would hold 100+ lbs and that'd make things a lot simpler. My thought is 4 angle iron legs welded to the sides of the pot at a height to set over my furnace would do the trick. Can't weld so wonder if that'd be sufficient strength-wise or is it also gonna need braces between the legs? I'll just use my dipper to fill the ingot moulds. Any ideas or thoughts on this? Present rig pictured below.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u310/Mike4245/Smelt_zpsd6e4c53a.jpg

[Idz]

For my pot I use a HF weedburner torch and place the pot on a couple of bricks to lift it up. Its worked fine for about 600 lbs of lead so far. A windscreen surrounding the pot helps a lot also.

[country gent]

My 25 lb cylinder is cut 2" above bottom radious and holds 100+ lbs I believe a quart of lead wieght 35 lbs so cut your tank tall and fill with measured water and it will give a very close idea on how much it will hold. Look at gargae sales for a turkey frier stand to set it on. I use a weed burner for a heat source. Its set up with 2 valves a lever valve ( simple on off) and a ball valve to regulate heat. This way I can turn on and off and not loose heat setting. Another good idea is to cut a 3" ring from left over tank and use for a full dia stand ring.

[Mike W1]

I know the furnace I have has the ommph to melt the lead, don't need another heat source. Just wondering if 4 legs welded onto the pot is adequate. Want the pot self supporting so the furnace can just sit under it.

[Idz]

four legs of 1" angle should be more than adequate for a 100 lbs, IF you know how to weld them correctly, IF you don't overheat the legs, IF you position them correctly. Look at the auto parts store and see how they build jacks and stands.
My brick supports keep everything close to the ground so i don't have to worry about molten lead dumping in my lap.

[Mike W1]

Thought that might be enough support. I only need the bottom about 10" off the ground in order for the furnace to sit under it. I'll have a professional do the welding.


four legs of 1" angle should be more than adequate for a 100 lbs, IF you know how to weld them correctly, IF you don't overheat the legs, IF you position them correctly. Look at the auto parts store and see how they build jacks and stands.
My brick supports keep everything close to the ground so i don't have to worry about molten lead dumping in my lap.

[dikman]

If you have the base ring still attached to the pot just weld the legs to that then the welding isn't quite so critical (meaning you don't have to worry about blowing a hole in the bottom of the pot!). Just make sure the legs are angled outwards, for stability. My propane half tank easily holds 100 lbs.

[Mike W1]

You wouldn't happen to have a picture of your's so I could show the welder would you?


If you have the base ring still attached to the pot just weld the legs to that then the welding isn't quite so critical (meaning you don't have to worry about blowing a hole in the bottom of the pot!). Just make sure the legs are angled outwards, for stability. My propane half tank easily holds 100 lbs.

[dikman]

I don't have legs welded to mine, if that's what you mean? Mine just sits on the base ring, over the burner (or over the coke in my forge) on a heavy rack I welded up out of re-bar.

[MrWolf]

I just use the base ring also and have put basically a full bucket of ww's in it without any problems.

[Tazza]

I'd personally look at putting three legs on, it is self leveling then.

The only issue i see is the higher you go, the more chance of it wobbling as you flux and scrape the melt. I personally would rather weld direct to the base of the pot and not the ring. You stand more chance of heating the ring up with the burner to red hot and for it to start to flex. If you weld straight to the base, the main weld will not get that hot on a pot with lead in it, but further down the angle may get hot, i'd like to say it won't get hot enough to bend, but that ll depends on the burner you are using.

That is the one thing you don't want, 100lb of molten lead heading towards you.

The alternative that will make the legs not move is to weld them to a thinner sheet metal base. So if they do move, they can not spread out from under the pot. The sheet stops the feet from moving.

My setup is an old cast iron pot and 20 litre oil drum. I cut some holes in it and the top out so the pot fits in nicely. I then get old timber and light a fire under it. I have melted well over 1tonne of lead in that puppy over the years, and the fuel is free.

[retread]

116727

Here's mine made with a couple of 3/16 plates and some scrap 5/8" bars and a couple of cookie sheet from the dollar store for a wind brake. Pot is the bottom half of a propane tank. Simple but effective. Burner is a modified weed burner from Harbor Freight.

[dikman]

Nice one, retread, simple and elegant. Tazza, I've had mine sitting on my forge with lots of heat pouring onto the bottom (more than you'll get with wood or gas) and haven't had any trouble with the base ring getting too hot.

[Blanco]

Not sure if you are interested in spending the $ but this is the one I have and it works great. May need a stand to bring the height up to a working level. The thermometer works on lead too and gets up to 750deg.
As long as your saw horse is stable just use it. I put the cement /concrete hardyboard uder all my equipment that melts lead.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Camping/Outdoor-Cooking/Fryers-Cookers-Accessories%7C/pc/104795280/c/104754780/sc/104276880/Cabelas-Cast-Iron-Fryer-with-Skimmer/1494075.uts?destination=%2Fcategory%2FFryers-Cookers-Accessories%2F104276880.uts&WTz_l=DirectLoad%3Bcat104276880

[Dale53]

I use a Fish/Turkey fryer I bought on sale from Bass Pro for $29.95. I have melted several thousands of lbs. with this set up (fryer + Harbor Freight cast iron dutch oven). The oven holds abut 120 lbs of lead:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/QWinter2009andleadsmelting-1767.jpg (http://s269.photobucket.com/user/Dale53/media/QWinter2009andleadsmelting-1767.jpg.html)

Dale53

[Mike W1]

Can't say it's a thing of beauty but it's stout and fits right over my furnace. Easy part was cutting the tank and I cut above the weld line. If need be it's easy enough to shorten it later. Unfortunately I don't need to mix any alloy for awhile so won't know if this pain in the rump project was worth the time it took me to make the frame. That little opening is so I can get at the gas valve on the furnace.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u310/Mike4245/SmelterPot_zpsa494754f.jpg

[Tazza]

Are you kidding? it sure is a thing of beauty. A coat of paint and it will look the part. The rest is quite clever, the legs won't be able to move even when full of lead. I like the fact that the legs are tied together can can not bow under the weight and slide out.

[dikman]

Excellent job! Should work well. Paint it? :lol:. More trouble than it's worth, much better au natural.