Melting Pot Explosion

[Ranch Dog]

Saw this on MarlinOwners.... check it out...

Melting Pot Explosion (http://www.marlinowners.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=13259&highlight=)

[Bent Ramrod]

Have to watch out for water and other foreign volatiles, that's for sure. My eyes have required glasses since the third grade, and they do nothing for my negligible beauty, but I've often been glad I've had them between my eyes and the stuff I'm doing.

I melt a lot of GI 45 hardball bullets recovered from the berm of a pistol range, since it's a good, consistent lead alloy and free for the taking. When these bullets get hot, sometimes the lead within the jacket melts before the lead exposed on the end. The molten lead expands, squeezes out past the still-solid plug and squirts several inches to 1-1/2 feet in a fine, threadlike stream. I am at pains to turn those bullet bases in safe directions with my trusty lead spoon while everything is heating up, because, like grapefruit juice, it always seems to aim for the eyes when it squirts.

[Bucks Owin]

I had the same thing happen ONCE.... (It'll never happen again!)

Was in the middle of a casting session and my Production Pot was at the half full mark. I had some scrap lead that was kinda like a "sheet" and was folded over several times and had set out in the rain a couple days previous. Since it "looked" dry and had been in the sun all that morning I figured to just go ahead and drop it in the pot.......

POW!!!

It must've been still wet inside the "folds" and when the molten lead exploded, it EMPTIED that 1/2 pot of hot lead in a spray all over the bench and me. I jumped around like a madman, shaking lead off my arms and pawing at my face for a few seconds with my eyes closed, hollering obcenities at the top of my lungs. When I stood still and opened my eyes I was relieved to see there was no real damage, no lead had stuck to me for more than a second and except for the mess, all that really happened was a few little blisters on my arms and a few stinging places on my face. Of course it scared the living poop out of me!

I got off lucky I figure!

Dennis

[Edward429451]

Whoa, glad you're ok!

I got a live primer in my pot a couple weeks ago. Had a cardboard box in the reloading room that I was culling rejects into and somehow a primer got in there with them. Did just what you did, grabbing them by the handful and tossing them in. Took a few seconds, then POW. It didn't empty the pot but sure scared the beegeezus out of me and made my ears ring.

[Dale53]

Here I am in sunny Utah, visiting my daughter and her family.

After an accident or two, I learned a couple of things. First of all, I now have a dedicated casting outfit:
Short boots and long pants over the top of the boots. Long sleeved shirt REGARDLESS OF THE WEATHER, and a work apron over top of the whole (hangs below my knees). This gives two layer protection and lead splash is caught harmlessly on the outer layer. Of course, I wear glasses - a face shield would be even better. And, last but not least, I wear a cap (fatigue cap from my infantry days).

Second thing is to never drop cold metal into a pot of molten lead. There are a number of ways to pre-heat the metal (hot plate, around the lip of the pot, etc).

I tend to think "long term". So I do my smelting on the driveway (protect the driveway with a sheet of plywood) and keep my dry ingots in my utility barn where I do my casting. They are never allowed to get wet and with warming can be safely added to the casting pot.

None of these precautiongs are a problem and they can help ward off "Murphy" that devil who plagues most of us (not OUR Murphy, of course, but THE Murphy).

FWIW
Dale53

[mooman76]

I did this a long time ago before I knew about the lead water thing. I washed off some dirty lead and put it in the pot. It exploded all over the kitchen. It stuck to everything and I was finding bits a year later. Some of it stuck to me also but I walked away unscaved and to this day don't know how I didn't get badly burned from that but I am thankful! Now if I suspect the lead is even damp I put it in a cold pot (outside) and let it heat up evaporating any moisture and I of coarse am no where near it as it heats up!

[versifier]

The Tinsel Fairy strikes again. The guy in the photos got off easy. Amateur obviously, that's probably why he's not a member here. On this board we do things right! Why blow a few pounds when ten or more decorates so much better? [smilie=1: I have posted the story of her last visit here, and also a bit of verse commemorating the occasion. Key in "Tinsel Fairy" on Search.

[Johnch]

Been there , done that !

Luckly for me I was out of the room when about 12 lb of lead exited my 20 lb pot in a second or less .

The cause of my lead pot evacution was linked to cold ingots brought in shortly before falling into the pot .
Condinsation most likely formed on the ingot .

HISSSS...... BOOM

Scrape the walls , floor , ceiling and the bench to remove MOST of the lead [smilie=1: [smilie=1:

Johnch

[largecaliberman]

Ranchdog,
Good reminder to all. Basic rule, NEVER add cold lead to hot lead. Before adding the next batch, ALWAYS empty whatever is in the pot and always be sure that there are no live rounds, primers, a definite "no no" and if done intentionally, a "bozo no no". Also, watch out for large flying insects such a moth or if you're under a fruit tree - watch out!!

Children (and wives too) can be a distraction. If distracted, STOP what you're doing.

[LET-CA]

As a newcomer to casting, I've learned a lot from the sharing of others who've had some unfortunate experiences. I see I should also get a good protective apron also.

See my tongue in cheek posting below.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=7016

Again, thanks to all for sharing your experience.

[kodiak1]

Dale 53 we probaly look like twins when casting lead. I use a welders apron leather and hot but it don't burn easy. Only have one little burn mark got a drop on the web of my left thumb didn't even hurt seared it never bled or nothing.
Ken

[Dale53]

kodik1;
>>>we probaly look like twins when casting lead.<<<

"Great minds travel in like circles"[smilie=1:

Of course, the MOST important thing is to act so that the protective clothing is merely a precaution. I do NOT take liberties with hot metal.

One big advantage that a newby has today is he/she can stop by this forum and not only learn "How to do it" but also, "Learn how NOT to do it":-D

Dale53

[tom barthel]

I had something like this happen. I stacked some lead outside and it got rained on. The lead appeared dry. As the lead melted, a not quite dry chunk reached the melt and caused a lead explosion. Could have been bad. I now check each peice of lead before adding it to the melt. I also back off until every thing is melted. Live and learn.

[Jetwrench]

Yes I have seen the tinsel fairy also, but my gear is cooler than some of our brethren. Let me explain, as far as shirt and pants. 100% cotton in my case Denim is fine as long as the sleeves are long and the whole outfit is HEAVILY STARCHED, that is the key. I cant tell you why it works, it just does. I also agree with all the other safty gear, glasses and so fourth. OH my episode, condensation, there is a word, should be in all caps. If you dont learn to respect that word now you will learn to fear it later. Always preheat your metal before adding to the melt. JETWRENCH

[MT Gianni]

Starched clothing is a welders trick to have the sparks and slag roll off without sticking. It just makes it harder for a spark or anything hot to adhere to a loose fiber. Gianni.

[Jetwrench]

Yep like Rain-X for casting gear. Jetwrench

[alamogunr]

I do most of my smelting in the summer. I can spread out the WW on a sheet of plywood and let the sun dry everything out. Yeah, it's hot but not as hot as molten lead. I have had my large Rowell ladle spit back at me and I suspect that some moisture got under some rust or as someone here or on the MarlinOwners forum mentioned, some Marvelux could have been left on the ladle.

A welder friend (the one that made my pot) advised me to not wear flannel in cool weather when smelting. He said that weld spatter would stick to it and assume that lead splatter would too. He advised denim. Said it bounces off. So far I haven't proved it.

Everyone stay safe!

John

[doc25]

I've noticed that ladles get pretty hot. We should put them down when grabbing weights out of a bucket and not let them rest on our arms!

[Flintlockrecord]

Just today I was melting a 10lb batch of alloy in a cast iron frying pan and as I went to fill my Lee drip-a-matic the wooden handle of the frypan twisted around. Result- Lee 2lb -floor 8lb

[trooperdan]

Just today I was melting a 10lb batch of alloy in a cast iron frying pan and as I went to fill my Lee drip-a-matic the wooden handle of the frypan twisted around. Result- Lee 2lb -floor 8lb
I'll bet you were dancing a jig when that happened! :) Did you manage to avoid the silver stream on your hide? Oh, an by the way, welcome to the zoo! :)

[Dale53]

Flintlockrecord;
You have probably already solved the problem. However, if you have not, you might want to consider "pinning" the handle to the metal shank. You can just drill a hole thru the ferrule all the way thru the shank and out the other side of the handle. Then run a small bolt thru the handle and secure the nut with lock tite. Do NOT pull the nut up too tight as it can and will split the handle. The bolt will keep the handle from twisting forever.

The other solution is to just get a better system:mrgreen:, if economics permits it.

Dale53

[Flintlockrecord]

Trooperdan

Thanks for the welcome. Yes most of it missed me. My pants are sprinkled with silver patches as are my rubber boots. Managed to get most of it off the concrete with a spade. Oh well...

[Flintlockrecord]

I normally put a pair of vice grips on the opposite side to the handle. Must have had a bit of brain fade!! Comes from hanging around forums like this.

[microage97]

Ya explosions happen. I used to work in a aluminum foudry and melted aluminum is some wicked stuff! 1200F. And it will burn you to the bone. I once had a drip of sweat get into a mold and when I poured it, there was a aluminum gyser. I jumped, my buddy didn't and got a nasty burn on his shoulder. :-( Another guy dropped a half dollar size drop on the top of his foot from the front top of his boot and I have to say, I have never heard a man scream like that. It burned down to the bone......

Be careful out there!

Dave

[HiWayMan]

Yeah me..........I received my first visit from the Tinsel Fairy on Saturday. Had my Lee 4lbs pot running at full bore remelting some muffin pan ingots I got from a guy. Appartently they have some moisture buried in them cause they always boil just a little bit. I've been placing a steel plate over my pot top to prevent any splatters. Usually I place the next piece of lead to be melted on top of the plate. This warms it up and holds the plate down. Got down to the last ingot so no more wieght on the plate. Had just put it in and covered it up when BOOM!!!!!!

Blew about a pound and a half of lead out. My shirt got a few dots as did my gloves. Only landed a small piece on my arm. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely empty the pot after that.

That is some scary $%*^. Need a better storage spot for my ingots than the basement floor me thinks.

[Rangerone]

Has anyone ever had a live cartridge go off in their melting pot? I ask this because over the past few weeks I have been melting down range scrap and my practice now is to use a small garden trowel and pick up the scrap from one bucket and watch it as I poured into the second and then pour from the second into the actual melting pot. I have now recovered probably half a dozen live rounds that had primer strikes, so I am assuming that these were misfires. Obviously some idiot decided the proper way to dispose of misfired cartridge was to throw it from the firing points down to the butts.

On my desk as I write this is a recovered 40 S&W cartridge with a very light primer strike. I keep it as an example of what might have been...

The moral the story... be careful!

[STP]

After a few "tinsel" episodes of my own, my stir spoon rests on the top of the furnace during warm-up as well. The accumulated slag/gunk holds moisture and will hiss and so forth if plunged into the melt too quckly.

[madcaster]

I've had a percussion cap in my melt that exploded and woke me up!
Not a loaded cartridge but as close as I wanted to come to it!

[georgeld]

This is too good a thread to pass up.

When I was about ten or 12 and the folks were gone. Yeah, I learned about that part too!! In the '50s things were a whole lot different than now!!

Thought I'd make some sinkers on the kitchen stove. About 10' away is a 5'x7' window. Catch that: WAS right?

There wasn't any water involved. But, a large cold screwdriver I was ? gonna use to clear the floaters off.

Doubt I need to continue, right?? Do believe everyone reading this has the picture.

George