Smelting with Turkey Fryer taking FOREVER. Pics.

[psychbiker]

I got my wheels weights in a small pot, gas on high, been going for 30 min and nothing. Seems to be taking forever. Lead is moving down but not a 10 minutes til melting like some Ive read.

Any tips? Was looking to see how to get pot closer to flame. I also plan to cut a propane tank for my pot.

http://i.imgur.com/6c3Op2rl.png

[drfroglegs]

Stirring occasionally makes a big difference. The thermal diffusion through air sucks because air is an insulator, but diffusion of heat through metal is damn fast!

In other words, try to stir things up and put as much material in contact with the molten lead as possible. I've had occasions where the lead is melted on the bottom and the mess of floating clips and such prevents the remaining lead from melting because it is not in contact with the molten lead but rather has to be heated by the air to melt.

[truckerdave397]

Maybe try rapping some sheet metal around the pot to try to hold in the heat.

[country gent]

A sheet metal wind screen or garurd around the pot and burner helps alot also, just dont close off so much flame is oxegon staved at upper end. This ring helps hold heat in and around the pot. If your wheel wieghts are known to be dry. add as pot drops. I dont use the burner from my turkey frier but a modified weed burner, this gives me 500,000 btus to work with I have a heat shield to belowthe burner and one welded to the cut off propane pot. This ring has 8 1 1/2" half holes around the top edge to allow for heat flow. Holding the heat produced in and not letting winds blow it away helps alot. A good hot burner makes a diffrence also. Is your flame burning bright blue yellow a nice even rumble ( similar to a jet flying over) or varying and uneven sounding?

[high standard 40]

Perhaps a different gas regulator is in order. That flame seems a little weak. I would definitely do as already suggested and use some sheet metal to enclose and concentrate the heat to where it's needed. I have an adjustable regulator on my setup. It works quite well.

[Lead Fred]

Just go buy a Lee 20lb furnace, just think of all the fun you will be missing

[psychbiker]

Definitely have to make a shield and up the btu's. It was my first time smelting and I walked away with zero ingots. Pot wouldn't get above 450. Lead looked good, shiny. I added more wheel weights and it never got hot enough. Slurry lead was along the sides. Bet if I came back 20minutes it would have I worked. I went to ladle into a muffin tin and it got soft in the ladle. So not hot enough my assumption.

Bright side I fluxes and got the steel out.

Need a bigger pot so more lead can maintain heat and a better flame.

[Littleton Shot Maker]

Wagge smelters - take a look at them - yes very expensive but you may SEE something there that could help-
Never tried doing it so small- the pot I had was 500 or 600 pounds, took half the day to get hot when full full, so we'd start half- 3/4 empty and start filling as it got HOT ...it was Nat Gas though

Some where there is a thread on just this subject but I think it's at the Shotgun World forum or Traspshooters dot com forum, may it's worth doing a SEARCH on the forums to glean all you can from as many places as you can find-

it looks like it could be closer to the flame too though, YES get a bigger ( around ) but no deeper, or if you go deeper I would not try to 'FILL' it up, asking for troubles there

[Mk42gunner]

I cut the center from a brake drum with a cutting torch to closely (within ½") fit around my smelting pot. It really helps to catch the wasted heat. You already have the biggest helper, a lid over the top.

twenty to thirty minutes seems to be about normal to me for the first melt of the day; but then I normally wait until the coldest day of the year to smelt wheel weights, at least it seems that way.

One thing, the legs on your turkey fryer look a little spindly to support a lot of weight. when I first got mine, it wasa lot stouter than that, and I still didn't trust it for a full 10" dutch oven. After it lost an argument with a pickup tire (daughter driving) I built a new frame from 1 1/4" angle iron that I could rest a V8 on with no worries.

Robert

[jcren]

I think the small pot is hurting you. Most of your heat is escaping around the pot and not heating it.

[RogerDat]

^ +1 on what jcren said.

All good suggestions about heat shield etc. I would get a Harbor Freight Dutch Oven purchased with an online 20% off coupon will pay for itself in time and less propane wasted.

There is a period when the lead is molten temperature but does not yet have enough heat built up to keep the top and edges from getting solid again from contact with air or side of pot at surface of lead. Pushing the stuff trying to go solid back in and stirring it will eventually get enough heat to maintain molten temps throughout the entire melt.

Essentially bottom of pot can be 700* but the total BTU's absorbed by the lead is not enough to have it hold that temp in the face of losses to air and pot sides. Cast iron and lead can soak up a lot of heat before temp changes much. Bigger pot allows for turning flame up to be larger and pump more BTU's into the melt without all the heat going past the sides of the pot.

[knifemaker]

Turkey fryers are not made the same. Your fryer appears to be one of the smaller ones for putting out "BTU's". You may need to get a larger one. I have a cast iron smelting pot that will hold 60-70 pounds of lead at 70% full and it will go from stone cold to full melt in about 20 minutes. I do not use a lid on my cast iron pot and no home made shield to contain the heat. Your smelting pot is about 3-4 inches smaller in dia. then the one I use.

[rush1886]

I think the small pot is hurting you. Most of your heat is escaping around the pot and not heating it.

To me, this is the biggest fault. Think of frying a turkey. You'd be doing so in a large vessel, the bottom of which would completely cover the top of the surface of the burner/stand. Thus, all btu's generated by the flame would be in contact with the pot.

To paraphrase Tim Allen, "Git a bigger pot! More Power!". Look around local thrift stores for a 12" or even a 14" CAST IRON dutch oven. Don't grab an aluminum one.

[Smoke4320]

as said above .. fit pot to available space or make shield to make fryer fit the pot .. I even constructed a heat shield to cover most of the opening around legs . amazing how much heat loss there is in that area especially in a slight breeze

[farmerjim]

what high standard 40 said.
You have a low pressure regulator. Put a high pressure regulator with an adjuster on it. I did this, and it is like a blast furnace.

[2ridgebacks]

152627

Inside that pile of fire bricks is a big pot. 14"dia and 18" tall. Home built. 700lbs is what I think I calculated it at. With a full load of cold lead, with about 100lbs molten in the bottom, it is melted in 20 minutes. That is a 250k burner, but we run it very low. Air flow issues and with the heat retention we melted the nipple out of the propane hose. That is why the foil is there. Heat shield. Fire bricks are your friend. You can also see the steel plate I cut to close the top of the stack. It doesn't take much propane when you hole the heat. That pile of 14lb ingots was only about half of an afternoon. Focus on putting heat to the pot, not making more.

[RogerDat]

Covering the sides does help. If there is not a breeze I have to use a fan to pull (not push) air from the melt out of the garage or shed. Leaning molds up against sides to block the wind makes a difference. I'm guessing firebrick would work even better. Even some scrap metal propped up on sides will make a difference.

But matching pot to heat source is the place to start. Those HF Dutch ovens can handle 125# of WW's or scrap. I use a small pot on a propane fire for ladle casting and it works well (maybe a bit wasteful of propane) BUT same fire under the small pot won't get up to the same temp as the larger Dutch oven. The larger pot just catches more of the burner heat. One does 650* where the other does 700*

[SteveS]

That looks like the pot that I use. Will easily hold 40 lbs or more. I use an old, no name turkey fryer that puts out a much bigger flame than what shows in your picture.

It takes 20-30 minutes to melt the 40 or so lbs.

I'd try an adjustable regulator first along with some wind blocking.

[bangerjim]

Heat shield! End of story.

My plumber's furnace will melt 60-80# or so in less than 10 minutes. Roars like a jet engine....no reg...lots of metal shielding around the flame to pot interface. I control the temp with just a special needle valve on the furnace.

banger

[jeepyj]

I use a simular fryer with a cut off propaine tank with no problems however I also use a heat shield. It will easily do 100 + lbs at a time.
jeepyj

[pretzelxx]

Get more flame on the pan if you can. I used those camping propane canisters with the attachment for cooking. It held up about 30lbs with a skillet and lead. It took me about 20 minutes to realize I needed to stir the first time around. Everything had melted that was touching the skillet but stuff was floating so it didn't sink in and melt. This was winter, about 35 to 40 degrees outside.

[mongoose33]

Maybe try rapping some sheet metal around the pot to try to hold in the heat.

This is what I would have suggested--much of the heat produced by the flame is disappearing out the sides. Get some aluminum sheeting or similar and wrap it around the pot so all the heat is drawn up the sides of your pot, and you'll get more of the btus directed to your pot and fewer just disappearing into the air.

Here's a pic that shows more or less what I mean:

152675

The dotted line across the top is the opening at the top of the cylinder of aluminum sheeting.

[Moonman]

You need a JET BURNER.

[gwpercle]

You got the wrong rig for smelting, the turkey frying burner is not set up for a lot of heat fast. For that you want the Bayou Classic High Pressure Jet Burner #SP-1, that's made for boiling crawfish.
When you have a 30 gallon pot filled with water, you can't be waiting for hours for the water to boil...the jet burner will get that water boiling fast. Its the one that has a big central tube for the flame to shoot out of...sounds like a jet plane.

Gary

[psychbiker]

The regulator is a fixed 10 psi. Should I change to a 20 or 30 psi? What about going straight hose no regulator?

As for the wrong fryer, I checked reviews on Amazon and its used by several to melt lead. Think my pot was too small and no wind shield. Changing the regulator should also increase flow.

Plan on figuring out a shield tomorrow and maybe welding some supports for legs. I stood on it and weight 160lbs, didn't budge.

[high standard 40]

The regulator is a fixed 10 psi. Should I change to a 20 or 30 psi? What about going straight hose no regulator?

As for the wrong fryer, I checked reviews on Amazon and its used by several to melt lead. Think my pot was too small and no wind shield. Changing the regulator should also increase flow.

Plan on figuring out a shield tomorrow and maybe welding some supports for legs. I stood on it and weight 160lbs, didn't budge.

I'd get an adjustable, similar to this one. http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-5HPR-40-Adjustable-Regulator/dp/B0033JF0GE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1446867283&sr=8-4&keywords=adjustable+propane+regulator

Then you can adjust the flame from the propane tank once the burner is lit. This also gives you a lot of flexibility in uses for your burner compared to a fixed pressure regulator. That and a heat shield should solve the issue.

I have been warned by people experienced with propane usage that you should never operate without a regulator.

[pacomdiver]

my cheap Walmart turkey frier has an adjustable regulator and was $45. I use a cut in half 20lb propane tank with 2 u shaped handles welded on, it will hold about 150lb of lead and melt it from range minings heaped up over edges to full melt in about 20 minutes. the propane tank ring on bottom holds the heat much better

[Big Dog]

I cut the center from a brake drum with a cutting torch to closely (within ½") fit around my smelting pot. It really helps to catch the wasted heat. You already have the biggest helper, a lid over the top.

twenty to thirty minutes seems to be about normal to me for the first melt of the day; but then I normally wait until the coldest day of the year to smelt wheel weights, at least it seems that way.

Robert



You got the wrong rig for smelting, the turkey frying burner is not set up for a lot of heat fast. For that you want the Bayou Classic High Pressure Jet Burner #SP-1, that's made for boiling crawfish.
When you have a 30 gallon pot filled with water, you can't be waiting for hours for the water to boil...the jet burner will get that water boiling fast. Its the one that has a big central tube for the flame to shoot out of...sounds like a jet plane.

Gary




I have a SP-1 and without using the 500,000 BTU weedburner torch from the top ..... it takes too long to get the melt flowing (for me) on a 100# of wheel weights

the regulator is matched to that burner assembly, bumping up the pressure too much will result in the flame trying to blow itself out

do the brake drum as a heat shield it will help greatly, if you need to speed up the melt, apply lots of BTU's from the top down in addition to the flame from below

[LongRangeAir]

I didn't read all the post here, but I think I see the problem. I have the same brand. When searching them, I found that they were being delivered with a lower BTU system that was being advertised. ( by less than half), The manufacturer will replace them if pushed to do so. They have given most callers a hard time, but will eventually come thru if you insist!

I am using the HF dutch oven (apx. 20 usd)on mine, and I melted 45-50 lbs in it in under 30 min. Quite a bit under. The flame was a lot larger than the one in you pic.

For what it's worth, the replacements also have a longer hose.

Might want to give them a call.
KnifeMaker

[Motard]

Don't give it up with the Turkey Frier, Mine setup is just similar and it takes only 15min to pricess about 15Kg of WW and scarp lead. I stir a lot and flux a lot with sawdust and olive oil and finally with wax. But I needed to buy a different High Pressur regulator to have it working
153468153469

[NavyVet1959]

The regulator is a fixed 10 psi. Should I change to a 20 or 30 psi? What about going straight hose no regulator?

As for the wrong fryer, I checked reviews on Amazon and its used by several to melt lead. Think my pot was too small and no wind shield. Changing the regulator should also increase flow.

Plan on figuring out a shield tomorrow and maybe welding some supports for legs. I stood on it and weight 160lbs, didn't budge.

It looks like you have one of the "banjo" type burners. I use a similar burner with natural gas for smelting. Having a properly fitted top to your pot will help keep the heat in also. I just needed to increase the orifice size so that it could be used with natural gas. When I used it with propane, I used it without a regulator. I just used the valve on the tank to control the flow of propane to the burner. If I put it on full blast, I could easily get 6 ft flames coming out of it. Totally impractical, but definitely impressive. Pretty good for searing steaks.

If the photos that you provided are with the gas turned all the way up, you need to get more gas pressure to the burner. That could be accomplished via a new higher pressure regulator or just running a straight hose from the tank to the burner. Just be careful that there isn't anything above your burner and pot when you do it (i.e. tree, roof, etc). Since it is possible to have a really large flame if you turn it up, you don't want anything above you that could catch fire. I use a Goodyear black rubber 25 ft air tool hose for my gas supply line. It's rated for 250 psi and that is more than enough for handling the pressure in a propane tank, even if you turned the tank valve on and closed off the valve at the burner. This allows me to keep the tank well away from the burner.

[psychbiker]

I got lucky and saw my parents dust fryer in the shed. Its a Banjo brand but think its their older fish fryer. Burner looks the same but its an adjustable regulator, guessing 0-20psi. The stand is also a little taller, burner closer to pot and a better wind screen. Got a propane tank cut, filled it half way and was pouring ingots bout 30 minutes later. I didnt even have the regulator up full blast. Pretty stoked! I plan on strengthening the stand as I some metal getting red hot.

[NavyVet1959]

I plan on strengthening the stand as I some metal getting red hot.

Most of those burners are not designed to be able to hold the amount of weight that we might put on them while smelting a large pot of lead. I prefer to have a stand that can hold my smelting pot separate from the stand that contains the burner. That way, I can just slide it under the smelting pot stand and adjust the height of it somewhat independently of the height of smelting pot. Cinder blocks with some solid square steel rods going between the layers works pretty good as a support for the smelting pot. Plus, you can design it so that the cinder blocks act as a pretty good heat and wind shield.