Casting Electrical Usage

[sutherpride59]

I'm a little curious just how much electricity i am using on casting my boolits. I tried to search and see if the topic has been discussed before. Does anyone have an idea of how much electricity a standard lead pot uses over the course of an hour. It's cheap now to cast my own due to the crazy market, but I wonder if in better times it might actually be more expensive to cast certain calibers instead of buying the J word. I think it would be interesting to calculate a dollar amount to my production excluding the labor involved.

[imashooter2]

This is the "how fast does a bicycle go?" question. The answer is "depends who’s riding it."

The answer to your question requires you to know how many watts your pot is rated at and how many hours you run it to cast how many boolits.

[nhyrum]

I'm pretty sure you can buy watt meters that will keep track of power usage. But one and spend a casting session with it and find out what you pay per kw/hr and do the math

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[Winger Ed.]

Do a quickie search for 'electrical cost calculator' and plug in your numbers.
It's a EU sight, when it asks for your tariff, go to select your own and plug in your kilowatt hour cost shown on your electric bill.
And select 'dollars& cents' in the little box, but don't put in a decimal point.

For example:
As I recall, my old RCBS pro-melt is rated at 800 watts, and our electricity cost here is right at 11 cents per kilowatt hour.
So,,,,,,,, if I run a 100 watt light bulb for 10 hours, it costs me 11 cents.

If I run my 800 watt pot at the hottest setting, for one hour, and it never turns off:
I use a little less than one kilowatt hour, and it costs me 8.8 cents.

I never counted, or timed it out, but I cast something like 250-300 boolits an hour.
And I take breaks, but leave the pot on.

Anyway:
Watts measures how much power/electricity you use as if it was a volume--
it sort of works like the usage in gallons amount on your water bill.

Depending on your power company, your KW price is probably between 9 and 16 cents or so.
If it ever gets to where casting costs more than buying- at present prices---
your house hold electric cost will be about $150. per kilowatt hour, and the monthly bill
would be in the tens of thousands.

[ak_milsurp]

Far less than your electric oven, when you cook a big turkey

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[GregLaROCHE]

I’m not sure, but I think it costs more to melt and cast range scrap into ingots with propane, than casting boolits in an electric pot. Also, if you leave a half inch of lead in your casting pot, it will heat faster and using less electricity, than starting with an empty pot .

[Bashby]

Do a quickie search for 'electrical cost calculator' and plug in your numbers.
It's a EU sight, when it asks for your tariff, go to select your own and plug in your kilowatt hour cost shown on your electric bill.
And select 'dollars& cents' in the little box, but don't put in a decimal point.

For example:
As I recall, my old RCBS pro-melt is rated at 800 watts, and our electricity cost here is right at 11 cents per kilowatt hour.
So,,,,,,,, if I run a 100 watt light bulb for 10 hours, it costs me 11 cents.

If I run my 800 watt pot at the hottest setting, for one hour, and it never turns off:
I use a little less than one kilowatt hour, and it costs me 8.8 cents.

I never counted, or timed it out, but I cast something like 250-300 boolits an hour.
And I take breaks, but leave the pot on.

Anyway:
Watts measures how much power/electricity you use as if it was a volume--
it sort of works like the usage in gallons amount on your water bill.

Depending on your power company, your KW price is probably between 9 and 16 cents or so.
If it ever gets to where casting costs more than buying- at present prices---
your house hold electric cost will be about $150. per kilowatt hour, and the monthly bill
would be in the tens of thousands.

The first 15-20 minutes it’s probably on non stop, then it’s cycling and on I’d guess less than half. Probably averages out $.03-.05/hr. Bottom line, not much.
FYI, last time I did the math on my electric bill, it came to $0.10/ KWH.

[Bashby]

I’m not sure, but I think it costs more to melt and cast range scrap into ingots with propane, than casting boolits in an electric pot. Also, if you leave a half inch of lead in your casting pot, it will heat faster and using less electricity, than starting with an empty pot .


Not sure either, but I’d say you’re right about propane cost to melt down range scrap.

[sharps4590]

1,000 watts consumed over 1 hour = 1 watt hour.

Amps X Volts = Watts Any of the 3 factors can be derived from that formula, if you know the other two.

[remy3424]

I don't think the cost of the electricity is worth the worry. The mold is the biggest cost you will have. If you only need a few hundred and have any concerns as to costs, skip that one. Even if you buy the lead, on a low volume boolit, the mold will be the biggest expense. If it is a new caliber, you then need a new sizing die, if a new cartiridge, now dies are need...oh the costs! Figuring the cost of the electricity you use is kind of like figuring the price of the lube or PC per boolit. It is a hobby for most, relax and enjoy it as such.

[WRideout]

As a certified cheapskate, I have been using a homemade paint can rocket stove (many videos on Youtube) to do all my lead smelting. Fuel is free; tree trimmings and broken pallets. It takes some time, but I have more of that nowadays.

Wayne

[Bashby]

1,000 watts consumed over 1 hour = 1 watt hour.

Amps X Volts = Watts Any of the 3 factors can be derived from that formula, if you know the other two.

1000 wattsx1 hour=1 KILOwatt hour.

[Hossfly]

Cost .11 per KWH here so I think its cheaper to cast my on, especially if I need a large amount.

[JohnH]

If the cost of running an electric melting pot for casting is so great that it deserves concern, there's prolly a lot more to be concerned about than the cost of a two or three hour run making boolits every two or three weeks.

[sutherpride59]

Well that was eye opening. I went to a sight like winger Ed suggested and my cost for a 3 hour casting session is $0.28 lol. I knew it was cheap but I didn't know it was that dang cheap. Now if only my air conditioner ate so little electricity!

[762sultan]

I look at it different than most everyone else. I enjoy making bullets just for the joy of being alone and doing something I like to do. Cost doesn't enter into it. I have several hundred pounds of bullets that I have made and know I will shoot few if any of them. I have somewhere around 800 to 1000 ingots and probably leave those to the next caster to come along. Gotta go ...the pots warming up right now.

[gwpercle]

I don't really cast boolits to save money ... casting , reloading and shooting are my hobbies .

But I have a little knowlege of electricity , my 1500 watt magnum melter , microwave oven , or hot plate would cost $0.15 per hour to operate at 1500 watts ... but they don't stay on 100% of the time , they cycle off so actual cost is more like $0.08 per hour . That ain't bad !
The propane you spend to fire up your jet burner is probably more ... but I'm not counting that .
Gary

[waksupi]

A years worth of casting costs less than one Starbucks Latte.

[lightman]

Winger Ed pretty much nailed it. You can cast all day, a really long day, and never notice a change on your electric bill. At a dime per KWH an 800 watt pot will use 8cents or less per hour. Smelting scrap lead using propane will cost you much more than your electric pot.

I often have 2 buddies over to cast and we cast for 6 or so hours. I've never noticed the difference in the light bill. As they usually bring beer I come out ahead! :smile:

[Winger Ed.]

I’m not sure, but I think it costs more to melt and cast range scrap into ingots with propane, than casting boolits in an electric pot. .

Oh yeah. Ya just need to run a few numbers:

Your mileage may vary, but if you use those B-B-Q grill swap out tanks that I'll call at 5 gallons-
If they cost,,,,, say,, $15. ($3. a gallon) not counting sales tax to swap, or the cost to go get it,,,,,,,,
And your burn time with one is ,,, say,,, 10 hours--

That's $1.50 per hour to run it, where a electric pot is a few cents an hour.

Now,,, if you can connect it up to run off your house propane, or natural gas-- it'll be a lot cheaper.
But probably not quite as cheap as running an electric pot unless it is super, super efficient with no heat loss.

[fredj338]

Anything that heats draws a lot of elec, but that is still the cheapest part of casting. If you are paying for alloy instead of scrounging, that is where to look to cut cost. A hair dryer is probably comparable in elec use.
https://energyusecalculator.com/electricity_hairdryer.htm

[MUSTANG]

What does it cost: Depends on our electric provider. In Flathead County area of NW Montana there are two rates; dependent on time of day. If one runs the pot from 0001 to 0700, 1000 to 1700, and 2000 to 2400 the rate is the standard rate. Now; if one smells or casts during the 7AM to 10Am or 5PM to 8PM periods, then the "Residential Demand Charge Rate kicks in and it costs much more for these "Premium Hours".

Being retired, we tend to do all our Laundry, dishes, electric tool usage, house warm up heating from night time cool setting, and...... (Including smelting & casting) outside of the "PREMIUM ELECTRICITY PERIOD's". Feel sorry for those with kids and jobs that push them to heavy usage during "Premium" hours.

[megasupermagnum]

I can only speak for my own, as I run Lee 4-20 pots. They draw 700 Watts or 5.8 amps at 120 volts when the elements are heating. When you first plug it in, they run continuously for I'd guess about 20 minutes. Once up to temp, very little. My PID continuously turns them on and off to control temperature. Realistically, they are probably on less than 25% of the time per minute.

According to google, the average cost of electricity in the USA is 13.9 cents per kWh. If we assume 20 minutes of continuous use, then 2 hours of running 25% of the time as an average casting session, that comes out to 8.1 cents each time you cast bullets for a 2 hour session.

By comparison, if you have an electric oven, they appear to draw around 3000 watts. If you use your oven for 1/2 hour, you have just cost 21 cents. I'm guessing it depends on what temp you run it at too. Old electric ovens can be twice that.

[Buckshot]

..............An interesting topic I never considered :-) Not saying it isn't worthy of thought however and not attempting to make light of Southerprides' original question. I pay the bills, and have for the almost 50 years the wife and I have been married, with and without kids at home. I've been on several "MEGA casting marathons". Never noticed any big difference in our electricity bill.

I'd think (although I never bothered to hash it out) that a mega rendering spree would be more of an issue as this generally uses either propane or natural gas. My neighbor was in construction and one job entailed the erection of a radiation proof room in a hospital. A subcontractor out of Texas was handling the lead lining of this facility. He was gifted all the unused 32 LB lead blocks he could haul before the recycler (whom the contractors had called) arrived to pick up the leftovers.

Bless his heart as he hand loaded 2800+ lbs into the bed of his Ford Ranger pickup :-) and hauled it home. And then stacked it to one side of my garage. He said it (his pickup) was "Squatted" down pretty well! In any event, I rendered it all down into a darn big pile of 3 sizes of ingots, using a Propane turkey roaster and a cast iron kettle. I used about 8 gallons of propane and at that time it was about $1.50 a gallon or some such.

At that time scrap lead was going for about $.50/lb so I figured I made out like a bandit.

...............Buckshot

[Burnt Fingers]

If the cost of running an electric melting pot for casting is so great that it deserves concern, there's prolly a lot more to be concerned about than the cost of a two or three hour run making boolits every two or three weeks.

This right here.

If you Hi-Tek or PC the cost to run the oven far outweighs the cost of melting the lead.