~700 lbs off WW to melt...Ingoting pot?

[Plainsman]

I plan on using a 'turkey fryer' for a heat source to start melting down WW's into ingots. This will give you a good reference for a 'pot' size. What would you recommend I look for to use as a 'pot' for this project? I've been trying to find a large, old, inexpensive cast or steel pot with no luck. Any/all ideas welcome!

Thank you!

Plainsman :)

[imashooter2]

Harbor Freight will sell you a nice Chinese cast iron Dutch oven for about $25 delivered.

[454PB]

If you weld, or know someone that does, weld a piece of 1/4" plate on a 8" long piece of 6" steel pipe. Weld a piece of 1/2" pipe on the side for a handle and you can melt and pour with the same vessel.

[grumpy one]

If you want to melt more than say 20 pounds at a time, it is dangerous to use the pot itself to pour metal directly into ingots. Any mishap could turn into a disabling or fatal one. With large melting pots you need to use a ladle to decant metal into the ingot moulds. A soup ladle or something similar is fine - try to get a strong one with an insulated handle at a garage sale or whatever. Check its strength carefully - the safety of your feet is at stake.

For a melting pot, you can just cut and weld some steel sheet of suitable thickness. For my 15 pound pot I used 1/8" mild steel plate, but for a big pot you'll need something a bit thicker - not all that thick though since you won't be lifting it with lead in it. You can bend the steel plate into a circle and weld a base on as I did, or you can just cut flat pieces and weld the corners to make a rectangular pot. Fill it with water and check for leaks before you smelt in it, so you won't get messy and potentially dangerous leaks. Dry it out before you use it, and don't pour already-liquid lead into it until it's been heated up and dried thoroughly.

There's nothing wrong with a cast iron pot, other than the minor issue that it is relatively easy to break. However it should take less than an hour to make one out of scrap steel, so you wouldn't want to spend much on buying one.

[44woody]

Plansman a word of caution DO NOT USE A ALUMINUM POT to melt your lead in it can and will come apart and thet could coust you alot of money at the hospital I use a old stanless steel pot I got ftom good will think it cost me $2.00 for mine and I use a turkey fryer will take you about 3/4 of a tank of gas to do 700 pounds of ww a soupe ladel would work for pouring the lead but I would get a plumers ladel to do it is stronger and safer to use and get your self a magnic to take the clips out with that works better than scooping them out with a spoon and use plenty of flux to clean you lead with I hope this helps :castmine: 44Woody

[454PB]

Here is a picture of my home made melting pot and ingot mould.

Yes, don't make it so big it's hard to handle if you want to pour from it to the ingot mould. Mine is 4" pipe and holds 20 pounds, but I think I'll build another in 6" pipe.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/eddard49/HPIM0529Small.jpg

[grumpy one]

454PB if you don't mind a suggestion: on the next one use two handles at 30 or 45 degrees to each other around the pot, so it can't swing unexpectedly. Having both hands vertically in line gives you no control of horizontal swing. Otherwise, nice rig. I've been using multigrips to pour from my 15 pounder, and you're way ahead of me. I can see a rework project coming on.

[686]

i have a plumers furnace with 50 lb cast iron pot. i melt down my ww adn pore in to 5 lb moulds. when im ready i then mix my allow as desired. if i get a nother furnace i am thinking of the batou classic jet cooker high pressure cooker. sp1 . try ace hardware it is perty cheep. it looks a little like a poumbers furnace.

[454PB]

That big loop handle makes it easy to handle and secure, and there is a pour spout on the front of the pot, so I'm always pouring away from my feet. I have one hand on the pipe handle and the other on the loop. I wear sturdy leather boots and welding gloves while pouring.......that the reason for such a big loop. In melting and pouring thousands of pounds of alloy, I've never had a spill or accident.

[grumpy one]

454PB: OK, I thought you were operating with both hands in the loop, which in my opinion would be a bit chancy. If you are putting one hand on the pipe handle it is stable enough, but you have to do all the lifting with one hand, which limits things a bit. Left hand pushes down, right hand lifts the weight of lead and pot plus counterbalances the force applied by the left hand.

I've been toying with the idea of having a short pipe sticking out from each side of the pot (exactly opposite each other) with a vertical handle at the end of each pipe. Then I could lift and tilt with equal loading on both hands. Lots of control, but the pot would be relatively close to my body when pouring. Seems safe enough.

[woody1]

I plan on using a 'turkey fryer' for a heat source to start melting down WW's into ingots. This will give you a good reference for a 'pot' size. What would you recommend I look for to use as a 'pot' for this project? I've been trying to find a large, old, inexpensive cast or steel pot with no luck. Any/all ideas welcome!

Thank you!

Plainsman :)
Plainsman, For melting ww I use a turkey fryer for heat. My pot is a 18# propane tank(the size your barbecue uses) with the top cut off. It's too big. Was I to do it over again, I think I'd just use about the bottom half. I use a BIG slotted spoon to skim off the clips and a large soup ladle to dip the alloy into my muffin tin ingot moulds. If you opt to go this route, make sure you take the valve out of the tank and fill it with water before cutting. I used a torch, but some have used a grinding wheel. It may(will) be difficult to unscrew the valve. As I recall, I used a 15" Crescent wrench and a big cheater bar before she popped loose. I use the top for a sorta cap to hold in the heat and get the ww to melt faster. It works for me. YMMV Using most any pot and smelting outside, you'll want a heat shield. I use one both around the burner legs and around the pot. Regards, Woody

[largecaliberman]

Plainsman,
I use an old stainless steel pot, around 5 quarts that I pickup up at a thrift shop for $3.99. The pot holds around 80lbs of melt. I would skim off about half of the clips from the ww's then with a long handled shovel, add more ww's to the melt. Careful though when you do this, MAKE SURE THAT THE WW'S DON'T HAVE ANY MOISTURE. I would usually spread the ww's in a flat 4x4 box after all of the junk is sorted out and leave the ww's out in the sun for a couple of days - just incase moisture and God forbid, H20 is present. The layer of clips will help lessen the impact of the ww's going into the pot.

After skimming and fluxing the alloy, I would end up with 80 lbs - that's around 1" from the brim of the pot.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, USE PROTECTIVE CLOTHING GOGGLES AND A RESPIRATOR!!!!

I would stray away from using any pot that is made of aluminum. with that much in the pot, there might be a chance of the pot giving up under the stress.

[Plainsman]

I haven't stopped by in some time to check out this thread and I appreciate all the ideas guys!

I started with a small pot, but it was taking too long...I decided to see what would happen with the cheap aluminum pot that came with the fryer...That melted! LOL! Then I ended up using an old .50cal ammo can, but didn't sit on the fryer very well...

Now with your ideas, I'm armed to find something again. I've been checking the thrift stores for about 3 years for a cast pot or stainless pot, with no luck, hence my run of pots above and my lack of knocking down my WW's any faster. Luckily I haven't been able to shoot faster than I've been able to load. :/

I wish I hadn't thrown that old propane tank out now...

Thanks again!

[alamogunr]

I just finished cleaning up my accumulation of WW last Thursday. My pot is a piece of 12" steel pipe with a bottom welded on. It holds about 250 # of clean alloy. I have a sheet metal shield to keep the heat around the pot. The burner(homemade) is so large that it sucks the vapor head off the 20 lb propane tank. I have to keep it turned low. Next time I'll use the 80 lb tank my friend at the propane company offered. Even so it only takes about 20 minutes from stone cold to full melt. I keep shoveling in weights until it is almost full and then stir and flux until everything is melted and the clips are free of lead. I realize that I have violated the scroungers code by using Bill Ferguson's tools, but they do the job and do it well. I use one of his 4" perforated skimmers and a #5 ladle to pour into cast iron muffin pans. This gives me lead biscuits that weigh about 1# plus. It took all day and about 2 gallons of water, but I ended up with a little over 1100 lbs of clean WW aloy and almost 3 five gallon buckets of clips and trash. If you aren't accustomed to the heat, I don't recommend doing this in June and July in Tennessee. The warm weather does one thing though! By spreading the WW on a piece of plywood, you can be assured that they are dry when you shovel them in the pot. I didn't have any hint of spitting due to moisture. I took some pictures of the process and will try to post them sometime if I can understand the instructions posted elsewhere on this forum.
John

[Rooster]

I would be interested in seeing what your heat sheild looks like when you get the opportunity to show your photos.