Printable View
I found a small stainless steel pressure cooker at a yard sale. It is very heavy stainless steel (which attracts a magnet). I think it will make an ideal lead melting pot. I will report results when I try to use it. Yard sales can yield some usable stuff.
Should work fine. I've used assorted stainless saucepans/pots for melting lead.
If the handle(s) aren't stainless they could be a weak point. Be careful.
Use vice-grips for handles.
Just watch out for aluminum rivets. I have a stainless ladle that suffered bowl/handle seperation because the rivets softened under heat. Replaced them with steel machine screws and nuts and it's still going strong.
Agreed, the pot should work just fine, the handle was not made to be subjected to the heat of melted lead.
A thin stainless stock pot cost about $10 new. Seems a shame to use a stainless pressure cooker to melt lead. They are $100 or more new and very useful.
I use an 8 qt. pressure cooker for a smelting pot, my SIL could not get a replacement gasket for it so
I took it to melt lead in, I can do a 100 lbs. at a time.
A pressure cooker without a gasket is useless so, congrats on re-purposing it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Calamity Jake
As said...watch the handles! Rivets should be SST not Al!.
And no cooling pot was ever made to lift 100# of weight in it. Use a pair of vice-grip pliers
banger
I wouldn't even attempt to life 100 pound of molten metal, even if I could. Either dip it out or devise a bottom pour spout.
My smelter is a cast iron 8qt dutch oven that will easily handle well over 100lb, but that's trouble waiting to happen.
Hard to imagine NOT being able to get a gasket, the local ace at the certain time of year when people are canning has all sorts of gaskets for pots I have never even heard of.
I know pressure cookers are not very popular here in the US, for canning yes, but cooking no. I spent time in China their pretty much required, everybody uses them. Also alot cheaper there, paid $20 for a stainless one that here would have been over $100 here. Not a huge one, you can cook dry beans in about 25 min in one. I leave the lid off and use it as a regular pot.
From what I've read, thin stainless is not safe. Most of the 'heavy' pots seem to be laminated stainless with an aluminum core. Anyone have first hand (and extensive) experience with a laminated pot? Thanks.
I think you have little to worry about burning through, given the high melting point of stainless. But if you really want a production pot, then just cut down an old propane cylinder. Mine will easily melt 200+ pounds of range lead and cost little to make other than time.
Attachment 155406
That tall for it's size profile is nice for lead dipping. You may find yourself wanting a yard sale or thrift store soup ladle so you can bend the handle at the ideal angle for getting the lead out. moving a 100# pot of molten lead by hand is asking for trouble in my never humble opinion.