Zinc contamination with stick on wheelweights

[nighthunter]

Lately I have been finding quite a few stick on WW's that don't melt with the rest of the WW's. If my WW's are up to temperature and the stickons are floating along with any clipon's that aren't melting they go into the pile of clips and dirt that surround my smelting set up. I don't need the aggrevation or the problems that come from zinc contamination. A few WW's lost are nothing compared to a 75 pound pot of good WW's lost because of trying to be that cheap. If it doesn't melt I toss it.

Nighthunter

[leftiye]

I melted a pot of wheelweights yesterday. There were zinc and steel wws in the bucket. I sorted first, but some got past me - unmarked, and looked just like the others. I use 600 degrees as a safety heat, and have no problemo. The lead melts, nothing else does. Use a thermometer IN the lead, don't trust your pot temp gauge.

[Brother_Love]

I have stopped fooling with the wheel weights. The only source I have is the scrapper and they are 70 cents a pound and they are not sorted for zinc. None of my local tire dealers sell or give them away, they re-use them. I started ordering my lead from John Walters and it is trouble free and makes beautiful bullets. It costs a little more, but there is no work except casting the bullets.
Malcolm

[j20owner]

I found some zinc stick-ons in my assortment that I've gotten form work. They look like the ones on the OP's post. I took a pic of them and will add it here. I think it's a good idea to have a visual reference available to help and try to weed out the zincers.

[part_timer]

I was sorting through the 2 buckets I got on Thursday and found some painted clip on WW's that were marked AL-MG. They "ring when dropped and wont bend without pliers. Aluminum???

[PatMarlin]

They probably are OK if you can scratch them with your nail after removing the paint. (Correction after I reread your post). If they were aluminum they would be real light compared to lead or zink even.

Set zinks inside the top of your radiator. They make a great sacrificial annode.

[OldBob]

I was sorting through the 2 buckets I got on Thursday and found some painted clip on WW's that were marked AL-MG. They "ring when dropped and wont bend without pliers. Aluminum???

I did a 5 gallon bucket yesterday and found about 10-15 lbs of these ( they were AL-MC or just MC) painted a silver gray. They would cut with pliers, but were hard and somewhat brittle. I kept them out and at the last end I melted them with about 5 lbs of soft lead...... cast some 358429's this AM and the mix worked very well, nice smooth castings, quite hard.

[badgeredd]

I was sorting through the 2 buckets I got on Thursday and found some painted clip on WW's that were marked AL-MG. They "ring when dropped and wont bend without pliers. Aluminum???

Mosy of the WWs I have gotten that "ring" were iron or zinc. If I use a magnet to check them about 60% have been iron but I also noticed that MOST of the clip-ons that are painted also had a rivet head type affair on the back side. Like said above, if in doubt, throw it out.

BTW save the zinc WWs like said above, right now scrap zinc is bringing a couple cents more than lead WWs at scrap metal yards. I've been saving mine and I want to try to melt them down to make zinc ingots for ease of storage and sale later.

Edd

[badgeredd]

There is one more method that is 100% but slow. Use a hand held wire cutter and snip an edge of each one. Zink or iron WW you won't be able to score, lead WWs you'll be able to score. It's real slow but 100%. I just watch the melt and stir a little to spread the heat out evenly and scoup out zink turds and steal. My last batch of 800 lbs i pulled about a dozen zink and some steal.

BOY!!! That is so simple and I am shaking my head here wondering why it hadn't occurred to me. GOOD idea RR.

Edd

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
This may sound crazy, but---
I just did 330 Lbs. of ingots.
Campfire, # 10 cans, channellocks, welding gloves, NO SORTING, Real long handeled cast iron spoon, tree branch stirrer/fluxer.
Big pile of clips , bullet jackets, & zinc/steel WW, dirt & ashes.
CHEAP--NO PROPANE, NO ELECTRIC BILL.
Seems to work.

[Ole]

I'm saving all my zinc weights. Someday I want to make a big cannon ball out of them.

[SciFiJim]

Ole, What are you going to use as a mold?

[Ole]

Ole, What are you going to use as a mold?

Drill a hole in a block of wood?

If I don't make cannonballs, plan b is to borrow some of my buddy's HCl and fizzle it away with pool acid.

[Brick85]

So it's safe to say that if you manage to keep your pot below 700 degrees you won't have to worry about zinc contamination?

Seems like sorting every weight by hand would be awfully tiresome.

I'm looking to buy a friend's propane setup, hopefully cheap, rather than buying an expensive electric pot (and having to use an extension cord outside). I figure I could put the pot over a campfire if I wanted to, as well. I suppose with a thermometer it would still be pretty easy to keep things at the right temperature even if I don't have an electric.

[mold maker]

Save your contaminated lead to trade to the scrappy for soft lead or WWs.
To him its "Mixed Lead" and is worth more than WWs. (because of the clips)
Race car crews can also use it (contaminated) as ballast to balance their cars.
If melting range lead, the jacket material is Red Brass" to the scrappy, just keep it clean. Even the dross is sell-able to the scrappy.
Be sure to ask him if he has any lead flashing, which is usually really soft lead.
Any lead that you can scratch with your thumb nail will likely work. Just keep different sources of lead seperate till you've proofed it.
Avoid lead objects that have yellow oxide or the tell tell blue color. These are likely contaminated.

[SciFiJim]

What would the yellow oxide or blue color indicate?

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
Monday used campfire & made 150 lbs. of ingots
Wed. made 185 lbs of ingots.
Man I am sore.

[Fugowii]

I melted a pot of wheelweights yesterday. There were zinc and steel wws in the bucket. I sorted first, but some got past me - unmarked, and looked just like the others. I use 600 degrees as a safety heat, and have no problemo. The lead melts, nothing else does. Use a thermometer IN the lead, don't trust your pot temp gauge.

+1. Works like a charm. Melted over 300 pounds of WW over the last couple of
days. I kept the temp at just around 600 and I was surprised by the number
of zinc and steel I had missed. I was using the visual and cutter method to try
to rid the buckets of the zinc. Some still got by me.

[fredj338]

+1. Works like a charm. Melted over 300 pounds of WW over the last couple of
days. I kept the temp at just around 600 and I was surprised by the number
of zinc and steel I had missed. I was using the visual and cutter method to try
to rid the buckets of the zinc. Some still got by me.

Only issue w/ 600deg limit is many of the pure lead stickons won't melt until they get above 650deg. Zinc still floats @ that temp.
I sort anyway, too much junk in the bucket to just throw in & smelt (I live in the city). You get where you can pretty much spot the zinz or steel wts. Any that you aren't sure of can be checked w/ wire cutters then all gets discarded. I still get the occasional zinc wt. into a smelt, but it's easily skimmed off.

[shooterg]

Out of curiosity I checked online for sources of new wheelweights. The d--n people are now selling ZINC COATED weights. So you could ding 'em with the side cutters but still be putting zinc in the mix - enough to matter or not ?