sMELTing POT question

[XWrench3]

ok, i admit to, and learned from making a nasty mistake of smelting in my casting pot. i do not want to do that again. it was a nasty mess to clean the pot out enough to cast from. anyway, i have read here several times about people using a cast iron melting pot over a turkey roaster. i do not have a turkey roaster, but i was thinking my propane coleman stove might work ok to heat with. i have no idea where to find a cast iron pot though. would a large cast iron frying pan work ok? in either case, do i have to "season" the cast iron like you do to cook food with one?

[Bill*]

Frypan should work for now, don't believe you'd need to prep the pan. never used a coleman stove so the heat output is the question. I think others here do so you should be fine.....Bill

[snaggdit]

Yes, some use the coleman stoves. Heat output isn't the highest but it will work. No need to season the pan. The fry pan should work, just harder to scoop out to make ingots.

[lylejb]

i've read several times on here that harbor freight tool stores have large cast iron dutch oven pots for $20. I haven't checked it out myself yet.

the coleman propane stove will work, but i would expect it to be slow to reach melt temp. Once at melt temp, make smaller additions to the pot and you should be fine.

Personally, i like a deeper pot than a fry pan. The ladle i have is about 2lb size, and i would wind up "hitting bottom" in a shallow pan, not being able to get a ladle full while alot of lead is still in the pot.

the fry pan and coleman stove setup will work, but won't be fast.

I guess i'm too just impatiant[smilie=1:

LB

[Matt_G]

The coleman stove will work; however, unless it can run on unleaded gas it will be damned expensive.
I used mine for a batch or two and gave up.
I went and bought a fish fryer at Bass Pro.
A 5 quart dutch oven 2/3's full of lead will start to warp the grate on the stove so watch the weight.
It also takes quite a while to melt them down. I was using more than half a tank of fuel per batch and that coleman fuel is expensive! (Mine can't run on unleaded gas)

[Dale53]

I nearly had a serious accident when using a Coleman stove "back in the day". I started out with a rather small pot. As I got into the job I realized that I needed a larger pot. So-o-o, I used a larger pot. The heat from the Coleman turned the wire support grille cherry red, and the extra weight of the large pot then caused a collapse of the support grille. The mess was mostly captured by the stove but was a MESS to clean up. I was extremely lucky that I didn't suffer serious burns.

Moral of the story: If you MUST use a Coleman stove use a small pot (no more than ten lbs) AND build a stronger support grille/grid. These stoves are pretty neat pieces of equipment but they were never intended to cast bullets over...

Dale53

[sqlbullet]

I started with an 8" cast iron skillet over a Coleman two burner white gas stove. It worked fine. The only issue I encountered was capacity. Some of the scrap I get is in 31.5 lb chunks, and I was not certain I could fit that into the skillet. I picked up a cheap dutch over at Big Lots!.

My grill on the Coleman would glow and sag, but never collapsed. However, it was a concern. I have since upgraded to a camp chef that was on sale cheap.

[Shiloh]

The Coleman stove gets hot enough for small batches, The heat that is reflected back onto the burner seems to be amplified, and the grate gets BRIGHT GLOWING hot!! I'm sure the stove was not meant for a container of molten metal around 750+ degrees.

I saw a picture on a casting website, of a ring that a guy made from 1/4 inch steel. Looked like it would enhance the support. There may have been legs on the bottom but I couldn't tell for sure. He was smelting in a deeper, looked like 3" fry pan.

Shiloh

[RU shooter]

There is another option besides open flame you may want to consider,Electric! I use an old 70's vintage(avacado green ) 4 burner range top someone was tossing out .use the large burner to smelt and small burner to melt and dip from ,and have one of each as a backup:-D IMO its easier to use/set up than other methods just plug in and go.

[HiVelocity]

Okay, here goes, my .02 worth.........

Casting friends of mine tell me that flea markets are great places to search for cast iron kettles, old double boilers, and crock pots (making lube, etc).

One flea market "out in the country" is known for inexpensive sources of beeswax, casting items, including rifles and pistols.

Also, consignment and "2nd time around" shops may be able to help.

HiVelocity in SC

[mroliver77]

I dont use cast. I use a large freon tank with the top cut out. I scavenged a burner from an old gas water heater and used a water tank as a jacket that encloses the pot completely. I use a regulator from an oxy-acetylene torch to regulate propane and can get quite a flame under pot. This works good for me. A good HEAVY steel sauce pan or pot will work very well if you have the heat and support for it. A jacket helps tremendously! Its not hard around here to find outdated propane tanks or bulk freon tanks to use to melt in.
Jay

[Pitmaster]

Now's a good time to keep an eye out for turkey fryers. I saw on another board a local Wal-Mart had some on clearance for $20. They are also on sale as Thanksgiving comes closer.

[Dale53]

NOTE;
Use special precautions when cutting a propane or freon tank up for a pot. It is nearly impossible to get all of the propane out of the tank. People have been seriously injured when cutting these apart...

FWIW
Dale53

[Matt_G]

NOTE;
Use special precautions when cutting a propane or freon tank up for a pot. It is nearly impossible to get all of the propane out of the tank. People have been seriously injured when cutting these apart...

Taking off the valve and filling it with water should do it I would think.

[XWrench3]

well, thanx guys, but i think i will buy something to melt in. i have 2 small kids, and they NEED their dad! i wonder how a electric fry pan would work? probably not so hot, because of the heat reflected downward. that could end up causing a meltdown of the insulation inside the frypan. i guess i will have to look for some kind of burner. i am pretty handy, so if i can find a burner, i can make a stand. i will also look on ebay. for both a pot, and a burner. i do not want to 1) ruin my coleman stove, and 2) wait forever and a day to melt one pot of lead. sometimes efficency is a lot of heat for a short time rather than a little heat for a long time.

[snaggdit]

I found a large enameled steel stock pot at the trift store for $.50. Even has a lid (keeps the smoke down and helps heat it up)! I keep the lead level around 4" on a turkey fryer and have had no issues with support. Scrounge around.

[HeavyMetal]

If your looking for a "burner" to use check out the Harbor freight web site.

They do the cast iron cook ware as well as several different sizs of 1 and 2 burner "stove's" that are propane hookup ready on sale these can be a real good deal!

[454PB]

You might want to read this:

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=10127&highlight=dollar+smelter

[snaggdit]

Now that's what I call scrounging! But that wasn't an aluminum pressure cooker in the background, was it?

[XWrench3]

so i am headed for the local resale stores, is there a problem using an aluminum or stainless steel pot??? i plan on putting 2 or 3 pounds of already smelted lead ingots in the bottom to help getting the wheel weights started melting, and never dipping (or pouring) all of the melted lead out of the pot.

[shooterg]

Big NO to aluminum. Really heavy stainless OK, won't keep heat as well as cast. Cast iron pots always at our local flea markets. The WalMart fish fryer with the cast iron burner is cheap and you even have the pan to actually fry fish in !

[Oldtimer]

Hi,
I bought a cast iron pot from Buffalo Arms Co. that is made for melting lead. 50 lb capacity. A full pot of WW will give about 22-23 1 lb ingots after clips are removed. Has a pouring spout, and a long bail. I use it on a propane burner. Best thing that I have found. Cost was only 20 something. Check it out on their web page. Bob

[Dale53]

Never, never, NEVER use aluminum to melt lead. It has a melting point of 1200 degrees. While you should never get to that point, common temperatures when heating lead SERIOUSLY weakens aluminum pots and they have been known to collapse sending molten bullet metal all over the operator and anything else within reach.

Heavy walled steel (preferred) or cast iron containers are safe to use. If you use cast iron, treat them gently (don't bang on them as that can induce cracks which can cause failure).

Dale53

[blackthorn]

Have you got a "tiger torch"? If you do, all you need for a "burner" are 4 common cement building blocks, a steel or cast plumming "elbow" slightly larger than the business end of the torch and a pot. Set the blocks on end to hold the pot with the elbow proped up below it in the center of the blocks. Put the torch nozzle into the lower end of the elbow and crank her up. Only draw back is its hard to control the heat.

To cut down a propane tank: Remove the valve, fill the tank with water, use a disc grinder to cut about a 4" hole in the top, dump the water, lay the tank on its side and use the grinder to cut it off at whatever hight you think appropriate.

[Jumping Frog]

I picked up a large stainless steel pot from Sam's Club for about $20 that holds about 125 lbs of wheel weights. Works great for me.

You can see it in the picture First Smelt spelled success (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=45017)

[Norseman]

I thought cast iron was a no-no?

Apparently they can crack as you tap it on the rim with the ladle?

I use a stainless steel pot with an electric cooking plate and it works very well.

[454PB]

I know everyone damns aluminum melting pots, and I wouldn't tell any newbie to use one.

However, this heavy aluminum pressure cooker pot has melted over a ton of wheelweights without a problem of any kind.

35 years ago, I was smelting some WW's in a cast kettle and dropped it on the concrete. It broke into several pieces. Luckily it was empty at the time, but that ended my use of cast pots for smelting.

[XWrench3]

well, i have to keep looking anyway. my trips to the local (and not so local) second hand shops turned up nothing. the closest thing that i found to a smelting pot was a small aluminum pan with a top. it was way 2 light duty for smelting. in any case, i will hit the flea market this weekend, and see what i can find.