Single burner and 4 gallon pot

[BT Sniper]

Spent yesterday smelting down a half ton of lead wire into 2lb muffins. Took me a while to research the best potential burner and pot but here is what I came up with. Of course today I check in here and on the first page I find a thread recommending the same burner so I guess it is nice to know I must have chose a good one.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/008_zpsrg31hucc.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/008_zpsrg31hucc.jpg.html)

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/007_zpserhz4kqa.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/007_zpserhz4kqa.jpg.html)

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/012_zpsazm3oqq5.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/012_zpsazm3oqq5.jpg.html)

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/010_zpskbkpodsh.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/010_zpskbkpodsh.jpg.html)

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/011_zpsgxzal5y4.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/011_zpsgxzal5y4.jpg.html)


I must say this set up worked very well. The stew pot had it's own support stand but I shimmed up the burner stand with an inch worth of plywood to add extra support, this way the pot was supported by both it's own stand and the burner stand. It was very stable and I felt comfortable sitting next to a full pot. At about 3/4 full the pot held 200lbs of lead.

The stew pot would also work well building a fire underneath it I suppose.

Good shooting

BT

[bhl2506]

BT, How long did take to get the first patch melted from a cold start with this burner?

[BT Sniper]

I used a MAP gas torch to help it along, I mite still be there if I didn't :) just kidding....... I don't know how long it would have took without a little direct flame to the lead? I think when I do it again I might use a weed burner too.

BT

p.s. it was 50 degrees outside too, probably would have been a little better at a warmer outside temp but for January 50 felt pretty good for NW Oregon.

[BT Sniper]

After that first pot (about 200lbs) was hot I would poor 36 muffins (72lbs) then add more lead to melt while the muffins cooled. It worked pretty well compared to my previous effort all though a fire pit with wood heat is still hard to beat.

BT

[D Crockett]

just curious how much did that 4 gal stew pot cost ??? and where did you get it ??? D Crockett

[BT Sniper]

I forget where exactly I ordered it from but a quick search shows a few suppliers, the shipping is the kicker, the mfg. has them for $129 but shipping to OR was $57. Amazon has it for $159 with free shipping. That is probably what I did.

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-CI-7411-4-Gal-Tripod/dp/B000VXHKVI

BT

[1989toddm]

After that first pot (about 200lbs) was hot I would poor 36 muffins (72lbs) then add more lead to melt while the muffins cooled. It worked pretty well compared to my previous effort all though a fire pit with wood heat is still hard to beat.

BT

Do you have a picture of your fire pit smelt set up? I think that would be ideal but haven't decided how exactly to do it yet.

[Tazza]

my "fire pit" was a 20 litre oil drum with the top cut out. I then cut a hole to add wood in the front and a hole up the top back for the smoke to escape. I have an old cast iron pot that sits in the hole at the top perfectly.

It actually doesn't take long to get it hot enough to melt. After processing masses of old range lead, i ended up with about 800kg of ingots. It took a good day to do with the help of my dad. As everyone knows, keep some molten lead down the bottom to assist in melting the next batch.

When the drum rusts out, throw it away and make a new one.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

BT Sniper,

I have that same cooker and enhanced it with a few mods to make the heat more focused. Burns less propane to melt now. I think if you search my old posts, you'll find it.

The only thing I don't see in your set up is a good thermometer. Not necessary if you're melting known lead, but if you're doing wheel weights, you'll want to closely monitor and control your temperature so as to not melt zinc and ruin your boolit ingots.

Best Regards,

Dave

[1989toddm]

Tazza sounds good! I saw a pic of a "stove" recently-2 steel wheels welded back to back and stood on end. A door was cut in one side over the welded seam. Depending on the size of your pot, the hub hole can be used as is or enlarged to allow more flame to the bottom. I'll see if I can find the pic again.
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/28/cb27ad249b3d5a5816ea13e05d8e0869.jpg

[Tazza]

Interesting idea, so very simple to knock together. I can see that working well for boiling water, i just wonder how it would go with melting lead.

[1989toddm]

Yea I can't say.