zinc wheelweights

[phc45-70]

Can you scratch zinc weights to tell them from the lead ones? I found some in a pile that I thought might have been zinc( they were coated with something that looked like gray paint) but a knife will cut it about the same as it will lead. Just holding one in my hand it seemed to have about the same mass as a regular old weight but I'm knot sure so I thought I'd better ask. Or do the zinc ones have a melting point that is high enough that you can seperate them as you melt the lead?

[chaos]

Zinc weights will not scratch on concrete like lead weights. A better test is with a pair of side cutters or Dykes as we call them.

Zinc weights make darn fine fishing sinkers........

[FN in MT]

PHC,

I'm far from an expert here but I just came in from sorting through three full buckets of WW's just minutes ago. Currently 23 degrees, snowing and windy here so not much else to do. I sit in the garage on a lawn chair, bucket in front of me, stogie in my yap and have at it.

MY procedure; I use a set of 6" diagonal sidecutter pliers. The wt's that are suspect get the SQUEEZE test. If I can EASILY make a mark on them they are WW's. If NOT...they are ZINC. Try it on a WW and you will get the feel for it.

Even here in Montana it's alarming the amount of Zinc I'm finding. I'd heard it was a California , big population area deal....but even here in rural MT I'm finding them.

FN in MT

[Gunslinger]

I find it to be much easier to se what it says on them. Many many weights I find are marked "Zn". If not painted their color is a dullish gray, where lead weights are more dark gray and look "older". When dropped on concrete (from a few inches high) the zinc weights go "cling" and lead weights go "dong" :shock:

I think pinching each and every weight with pliers is much too time consuming. I just go through the bucket in small portions and sort out the ones marked "zn"

Besides... zinc's melting point is about 100 degrees more than lead... so the few you miss when sorting will just float on top!

I've only had zinc weights melt on me once - not too long ago. I had a really poor batch with 20% lead and 80% zinc. Darn things (lead weights I thought) wouldn't melt so I just cranked up the heat. When I came back everything was molten.... I could see lead underneath the molten zinc that looked like oatmeal.

[phc45-70]

Many thanks

[fredj338]

PHC,

I'm far from an expert here but I just came in from sorting through three full buckets of WW's just minutes ago. Currently 23 degrees, snowing and windy here so not much else to do. I sit in the garage on a lawn chair, bucket in front of me, stogie in my yap and have at it.

MY procedure; I use a set of 6" diagonal sidecutter pliers. The wt's that are suspect get the SQUEEZE test. If I can EASILY make a mark on them they are WW's. If NOT...they are ZINC. Try it on a WW and you will get the feel for it.

Even here in Montana it's alarming the amount of Zinc I'm finding. I'd heard it was a California , big population area deal....but even here in rural MT I'm finding them.

FN in MT
There you go Frank, hackin on us Kommifornia guys.:drinks:
We are phasing out lead ww by the end of the year, so I expect any local source ty dry up quickly. Many of the zinc tape wts are marked ZN. The clip on zinc wts. are lighter & sound tinny & will not smash w/ a hammer or cut. I sort mine, but the occasional wt slips into the smelting pot. Just keep your temp below 700 & skim often. If it doesn't melt in 20-30 sec. skim it out.