Cleaning a casting pot?

[trevj]

I'm doing this the hard way, I figure, but it's been fun, so that's worth something, too!

I have an old Saeco bottom pour pot that I have used to process wheel weights into muffin tin and angle iron ingots.

I dug it out from under the bench, with an eye to checking it out and maybe cleaning it up in prep for starting to do some casting, now that it's not 40 below outside, and the ice might sink back to the bottom of the lake for a while.

It was coated in a white/yellow powder that seemed to never run out when I started at it with the wire brush, not helped by the roughness of the pot's cast surface.

So I dug out the portable sand blaster and had a go at it. It cleaned up pretty well.

So, what I wanted to know...

How much build-up is normal for a casting pot using fairly clean ingots?

I ran about 150 pounds through this pot last fall, making ingots. In the process, there was all the other crud and corruption that comes with grotty old wheel weights, that went into the pot.

It never sat long enough, or got hot enough, to melt any of the few zinc weights that I missed during the sort, but there was a fair amount of grease, rubber, and general dirt, that landed in the pot with the weights, mostly getting skimmed into the scrap metal pile with the clips. In short, I don't figure zinc is an issue.

Just wondering how long I should expect this to stay fairly clean, if I stick to clean ingots?

Cheers
Trev

[anachronism]

I have no clue, but I would suggest that you first try universal solvent, before going to such extremes in cleaning your pot. Most pot deposits are soluble in universal solvent, you can use a brush to loosen the really stubborn bits. It's not as much fun as using power tools, though.

[mold maker]

I'd say just about forever if like you say, only clean lead, and sawdust (Pat martins CFF) or similar flux is used. Likely the crud came from the crap on and in the WWs. There will always be some oxide to deal with, but flux takes care of it.
My pots are dirtier on the outside than inside.

[timkelley]

Grotty! I love grotty, it is so expressive. Funny how folks who speak the same language, don't. :-D:-D

[trevj]

Yeah. That's pretty much what I figured. Filth from the stuff it got fed while making ingots from the stuff I had.

I don't think it'll be an issue in future, as I have no plans to go through that again with this pot (small, not very fast) though could see using an electric hotplate style burner to process more weights in future.

Have not been gathering amounts that make a gas burner look like a good idea, yet. :)

Ya like that, eh, noclue? :D

Cheers
Trev

[SteelyNirvana]

TrevJ,

This is a thread that I started awhile back about a pot I had : http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=46008

Even though I was told to don't worry about it, it'd be fine, it really got to buggin' me. I remembered that my ex girlfriends step-dad told me if I want to get the rust off of anything to soak it in vinegar. So I went to Wal-Mart and bought 2 gallons of the store brand white vinegar. I put it in a 5 gallon bucket and let it soak for about a week. It looks almost like a new pot now. Yeah, there's a very light coat of brownish-surface rust, I guess that's to be expected with bare cast iron. But the white ring is gone, I had a heavy build up of lead that wouldn't come off with the heat from a blow torch but did with the vinegar. I'm really amazed how well it came out.


I'm having some trouble with my camera but I hope to get some pics up tommorow.

[trevj]

Yep! I've used salt and vinegar together to derust stuff. Works a treat, as long as you can keep the rusty object submerged.
I think I still have a gallon jug or so out in the garage.

I'm actually pretty happy with the way it cleaned up, with the sand. I stuck the whole unit inside a plastic garbage bag, and blasted away. All told, about 15 minutes, less time than I had spent chipping, scraping, and wire brushing!

Really, just podering whether this is going to be the pattern, or the exception, having to break out the gear to do a power strip of the pot.

Cheers
Trev

[Dale53]

>>>Just wondering how long I should expect this to stay fairly clean, if I stick to clean ingots?<<<


I don't really know. I have only been using my RCBS pot for thirty years and several hundred thousand bullets. With this limited experience, I have yet to need to "clean" my pot.:mrgreen:

The difference is, as you might guess, is that I have NEVER smelt in my casting pots. I smelt WW's and assorted "junk" with a fish fryer (turkey fryer - same thing) and a cast iron Dutch Oven (six quart size). That way, my bottom pour pots continue to work just fine with NO drips and no maintenance required.

Sounds like "You did GOOD!"

Dale53

[jonk]

Mine gets nasty from the Marvelux flux. It cleans the lead well but leaves goo that hardens onto the pot. I've never felt the need to clean though, beyond scraping the sides occasionally with my spoon.

[swheeler]

I clean mine several times a year, usually when already empty to switch alloys/pure lead. I ladle cast WFO and a 1/16" layer of oxide builds up on the sides and bottom, so when empty I use a wire cup brush in a cordless drill. I take my pot outside to brush as the yellow dust blows out pretty good, I make sure the wind blows it away from me so I don't inhale it. Just like your car SEEMS to run better when clean, my pot casts better when clean. .02