Newbie question - how can I tell Zinc WWs from Lead WWs

[wellfedirishman]

Newbie question here. I have looked through the stickies and don't see the answer to this question.

Are Zinc WWs marked differently to lead WWs?
How can I tell the difference between them?

Do the following markings on WWs indicate zinc/zinc alloy?

AL
MC
AL-MC
T
Micro
T-A-W
Unmarked WW with number 30 on it
FN

I do know the following:
Fe = Iron, remove these
Zn = Zinc, remove these

I picked up about 50lbs of WWs free today from tire shops, but am uncertain about how to process them :?:

They are filthy, so the first step is soak in detergent to get all the crud off.

Thanks for any input :-P

[462]

wellfedirishman,

This is in the Classics and Stickies: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=40765

That said, I think soaking them is an invitation to a steam explosion, as molten lead and water do not mix.

Cull the stick-ons from the clip-ons, discard the zinc and steel weights and the rest of the garbage, and go smelting. The grease will burn off and fluxing will get rid of the dirt.

Smelt outdoors and stand upwind.

[Ugluk]

The zink ones can also be marked Zk and ZA.

If you, like me, don't have the leathery paws of a long life of manual labor don't use sidecutters to check the weights as you will eventually get blisters. A lead weight will be so soft as to be easily marked with a knife or even the clip of another weight.

[Ugluk]

I've also come across a few little gems in the form of Sn-marked stick-ons, slightly larger than the lead ones of equal weight and always 5g.
I'm thinking tin. I treasure them and won't melt them with the rest of the non-zink stick ons.

[wellfedirishman]

Thanks guys for the tips, that is very helpful.

I will have to find a source of something more convenient, like lead pipe :-) Getting lead WWs here in California is not too easy, and going to get worse.

[evan price]

OK, the AL and MC are codes for the style of wheel the weights can be used on. Different makers have a slightly different profile of cut on the edge of the rim where the weights hammer on and a different shape of clip/weight is needed- the shop I worked at had different color bins for each style of weight.

Micro is a designation for the modern style of wheel weight that is longer and skinnier than the old weights, that looked like truck weights- they were fatter and taller. The Micro weights fit on wheels that were very close to the tie-rod ends or to go under wheel covers.

The ones marked with a number "30" or "45" or whatever, those are metric weights with the weight in grams.

Any weight that has the clip rivited to the weight block is zinc or iron. Iron WW often have a split clip, and you can see that the weight block was pressed onto the clip because there is a channel cast into the block that the clip fits into.

ZN and FE stick ons are often thinner and wider than lead. I also see a lot of stick on weights that look like zinc ones but you can wrap them around your finger. If they will, they are soft and are lead. The Zn and Fe ones will not bend by hand easily.

As far as being filthy and greasy, don't worry too much. I rinse off my weights to remove the loose crup to flux less, but when you melt, the grease acts as flux- like self-fluxing lead. The dirt and crud floats and is skimmed away.

I sort by hand all wieghts, but that's mostly to remove the stick-ons, the lug nuts, cig butts, valve stems, and all the other trash, and any easily seen Zn or Fe weights. It costs propane to heat up garbage and anything I can toss before heating is saving money. Also, a lot less smoke if I am not heating up plastic and rubber.

[462]

wellfedirishman,

Mom and pop type tire stores are your best sources. The big chain stores have contracts with their supplier for recycling of the used weights.

Come the first of the year, lead weights will be banned in California. However, it will take many years for those that are already in use to disappear. Don't be discouraged, just redouble you efforts.

[wellfedirishman]

Thanks All, that is really helpful. Thanks Evan for the letter coding on the weights, that makes the job of identifying them a lot easier.

I lucked into another couple of buckets (5 gallons) of WWs when I took my truck in to be smogged today, so I have enough lead now to keep me busy a while.

[405WIN]

Dumb question I suppose, but what is wrong with melting the stick on's with the clip on's.?
What do you do with the clip on's after they are seperated.?

[Ugluk]

Dumb question I suppose, but what is wrong with melting the stick on's with the clip on's.?
What do you do with the clip on's after they are seperated.?

Different alloys. If melted together you get an unknown alloy. Melt them separately and you can mix later to suit your needs.

[Stoats]

Keep the pot cool and if a zinc one creeps in it won't melt and you can just scoop it out.

[Freischütz]

If you drop a zinc wheelweight on a cement floor it makes a bright ringing sound. Lead makes a dull"thud".

The zinc wheelweight's surface looks different than lead too. After seeing a few zinc ones you'll have no trouble recognizing them by sight.

[armyrat1970]

I rinse my dirty wws for reasons before smelting. And I have picked up some dirty, grundgy wws. I make sure they are all dry before putting into the smelting pot. I just don't want all that crud on my hands from dirty weights before fooling with everything else. It may not hurt dropping dirty weights into the smelting pot, as others stated, the grease and stuff can be used for fluxing. Don't know how it does on keeping my dutch oven sides clean because I don't drop them in that dirty.