king-kooker for smelting? will this work well?

[par0thead151]

king-kooker turkey fryer model # 3018
manufacturer claims it is 56,000 BTU's
i have over 1000# of lead to smelt into ingots, so i am looking for a efficient way to do this. will this turkey frier work well?
should i consider a higher BTU unit?
i am buying it used for 50$(sellers asking price) i will probably offer 40$ as i can get a cooker at home depot for 49.99
what do you guys think?
good smelting tool or not?

[JIMinPHX]

king-kooker is the brand that Cabelas sells under it's house brand name. There is nothing wrong with them, but there is nothing magical about them either. A turkey fryer is a turkey fryer. BTUs are BUTs. The price that he is asking sounds high for a used unit. You can probably get a new one with a pot & maybe even a thermometer for about that price at Walmart, Cabelas, Home Depot or about 9 other places. I would shop around at the stores first, then offer him 1/2-2/3 of new depending on condition. Make sure you find out if other things are included with it or if it is just the burner that he is trying to sell you.

The thing that you want to watch with any of them is the weight capacity. Those things are made to hold a 30 quart pot full of oil & bird. The framework was not designed to hold several hundred pounds of lead at a time. Get a good sturdy pot & a good sturdy frame to go under it. Lead gets very heavy before the pot gets even half full.

Regards,
Jim

[Willbird]

I bought a demo model like that at Dicks for $50.

Menards in fact had kits for $25. Every one I have seen has an adj gas regulator which is almost a must IMHO.

Bill

[par0thead151]

will 60K btu's work efficient enough to smelt the lead?

[Bobby Ironsights]

will 60K btu's work efficient enough to smelt the lead?

No; but you can melt a whole helluva lot of it in record time.

[par0thead151]

No but you can melt a whole helluva lot of it.

isn't smelt a term for melting WW into ingots?
im new go easy on me[smilie=1:

[JSnover]

You'll be fine with that unit, just don't get crazy and buy a humongous pot. I run my King Kooker under an 8 quart dutch oven and it works well. I don't need or want to go any bigger than that.

[JSnover]

isn't smelt a term for melting WW into ingots?
im new go easy on me[smilie=1:

They're just playin with ya, dude. Technically smelting is what we'd do with ore to get the lead out. A lot of us call it smelting when we melt wheel weights or scrap or anything else into clean ingots for boolit casting. You'll be ok, except for turning into a hopeless addict soon enough.

[JIMinPHX]

$50 gets you a brand new burner, frame, pot, bird rack, thermometer, lifting hook & marinade injector at Sportsman's Warehouse. I'd offer a whole lot less for a used one, especially if it's not going to come with all the extra goodies. King Kooker also makes larger counter-height units that cost about $100 new, but would not be better for smelting lead.

Smelting - Definition: A metallurgical thermal processing operation in which the metal or matte is separated in fused form from nonmetallic materials or other undesired metals with which it is associated.
http://metals.about.com/library/bldef-Smelting.htm

If you are scraping crud off the top of the melt to purify it, then you are smelting. The smelting that we do is the tail end of the processing. The heavy smelting work is done long before the material gets to us.

A suitable pot can be found here for $20
http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=dutch+oven&Submit=Go

[hoosierlogger]

I bought one at Dicks sporting goods with two stainless pots, a fish basket, bird holder, and a shelf on the side that is perfect for holding three ingot molds. The downfall? it has a timer on it that shuts off the gas supply after 20 minutes. You have to constantly keep an eye on it and re set the timer all of the time. I just figured out today that if you clip on a pair of vise grips the the knob the spring isnt strong enough to turn the dial. I think I only paid $45 for it last June45

[par0thead151]

thats the exact pot i have...



$50 gets you a brand new burner, frame, pot, bird rack, thermometer, lifting hook & marinade injector at Sportsman's Warehouse. I'd offer a whole lot less for a used one, especially if it's not going to come with all the extra goodies. King Kooker also makes larger counter-height units that cost about $100 new, but would not be better for smelting lead.

Smelting - Definition: A metallurgical thermal processing operation in which the metal or matte is separated in fused form from nonmetallic materials or other undesired metals with which it is associated.
http://metals.about.com/library/bldef-Smelting.htm

If you are scraping crud off the top of the melt to purify it, then you are smelting. The smelting that we do is the tail end of the processing. The heavy smelting work is done long before the material gets to us.

A suitable pot can be found here for $20
http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=dutch+oven&Submit=Go