Wheel weight smelting/smelling!

[supv26]

Today I obtained a box of wheel weights from a friend who has a tire shop. When I got home today I fired up the smelter and started melting them. The weights were pretty clean and I sorted through them by hand before I put them in the pot. Then, after they melted and the junk and clips were floating on top, it would catch on fire and burn! I was almost unable to finish melting them due to the smell!

Is it normal for WW to do this? I don't think I could make boolits if I had to use wheel weights all the time. Last weekend I smelted range scrap and there was no odor at all when I melted that.
:-?

[testhop]

that smell is the reason you smalt out side
it keeps peace in the house
but if you still dont want to mess with ww i am sure someone here will take them off your hands

[WildmanJack]

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy a respirator mask. Make sure it is one that will protect you from lead fumes. You won't be heading the wheel weights that hot but it it willl protect u from lead it will protect you from the rest of the stuff that burns off. Besides, stay UP WIND !!
Jack

[osage]

I now spend a bit more time picking though the pile of ww then with my first melt. Between chew, oil, valve stems and other trash it got pretty smokey in my out building. I set the stick on ww aside for use in my muzzleloaders.

[high standard 40]

Also, a lot of current production wheel weights designed for alloy wheels are painted. A lot of the smell & smoke is from this paint. I have found that this also turns gummy and will adhere to the floating steel clips. As soon as you can get those gummmy clips out of the pot, the smoking and smell stops. I don't remember this being a problem before painted weights.

Charlie........

[supv26]

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy a respirator mask. Make sure it is one that will protect you from lead fumes. You won't be heading the wheel weights that hot but it it willl protect u from lead it will protect you from the rest of the stuff that burns off. Besides, stay UP WIND !!
Jack

I did have a rather brisk wind this evening so it was easy to stay out of the smoke and fumes. Also, a buddy told me that I needed to where a respirator when I cast boolits. According to the literature that came with the Lee mold it said as long as I had plenty of ventilation it would be fine.

[supv26]

Also, a lot of current production wheel weights designed for alloy wheels are painted. A lot of the smell & smoke is from this paint. I have found that this also turns gummy and will adhere to the floating steel clips. As soon as you can get those gummmy clips out of the pot, the smoking and smell stops. I don't remember this being a problem before painted weights.

Charlie........


Yea, I saw a lot of the weights were painted.

[454PB]

A respirator is NOT required, but if you're sensitive to the fumes, get one with HEPA/VOC rating (the cartridges are usually purple in color). The typical disposable nuisance/dust mask does nothing to protect you from fumes. Technically, you are supposed to be fit tested for a respirator to be effective.

[briang]

I found that adding heat from the top with a brush burner will kill most of the smell. Doesn't need to be much, just enough to burn the fumes off.

[supv26]

I found that adding heat from the top with a brush burner will kill most of the smell. Doesn't need to be much, just enough to burn the fumes off.

Thanks for the idea! I have a friend bringing me out another big batch ow WW and I needed something to kill that odor.
Now I can handle some pretty nasty smells and odors, I worked in a slaughter house for several years, but this smell from melting yesterday was something else! I guess I am getting old.........................
Oh, I am going to Lowes today to find a respirator too.

[Hipshot]

Alot of the smell is from powdered rubber from the tires----not much you can do about it. Washing MAY help but you would have to be extra careful when you melt them down.

Hipshot

[FN in MT]

As soon as things start to get melting and SMOKY I add a few chunks of candle wax and light it. The burning seems to take away a lot of the smoke. I add wax throughout the melt and my garage (even w/door open) seems a lot less smoky.

One will go through quite a bit of wax. My wife used to be the Hallmark Rep for MT and when they closed out candles...she brought them home for ME instead of tossing in the dumpster.

FN in MT:Fire:

[The Dove]

I got a bunch of old sinkers from a fisherman buddy of mine one time and I was smeltin them into ingots in the garage not to long ago. Well, the Mrs. walks into the garage and says, "smells like pond water in here"...... I said, "huh, never noticed hun hun?" Dat's all dat wuz said.

The Dove

[booboo1000]

Have any of you tried pure Bees Wax for fluxing, while you are melting W/W. I use it all the time and it seems to work O.K. W/W take a lot of fluxing.

[randyrat]

......I smelted all kinds of junk and yes beeswax works great but i wouldn't waste too much of it on smelting. Use saw dust or leaves something that burns easily, the carbon is what you want.

......I just smelted a bunch of acid core solder and found after it melts, leaves (tree) or dry saw dust works good to soak up the goo. (temp was too low to burn much)

.....Whatever is dry, was once alive and burns well will work. For smoke, the best is to burn it while your smelting it, so a little beeswax would help keep the fire going there fore you would have less smoke. A good fire on top off the smelt and there's no smoke. As mentioned above a weedburner works also.

[Sprue]

Have any of you tried pure Bees Wax for fluxing, while you are melting W/W. I use it all the time and it seems to work O.K. W/W take a lot of fluxing.

Thats quite a commodity going up in flames there.