Do We Melt or Smelt

[Silvercreek Farmer]

I use the term "render" as in I rendered those wheel weights down to ingots.

The definition of render is "to melt or to combine elements".

Just thought I'd add this to the discussion..

Denny

rend·er
/ˈrendər/

cause to be or become; make.

I like render as well. Reminds me of making lard…

[44MAG#1]

If, I say, IF, you were for example, extracting all the lead in old lead-acid batteries that had sulfated, that would be smelting, as you're reducing the lead sulfate to lead. Otherwise you're just melting lead. Temperature and additives to assist in breaking down the sulfate make the difference. As I understand it, and I'm no expert.

Bill

So you are saying that melting lead and fluxing and skimming from a battery that has sulfates is extracting the metal from ore so that is smelting instead of melting?

[quack1]

iitc a smelt is a salt water fish - smelting is extracting metal from ore as already stated -

Not all smelt are salt water fish. Some are anadromous, and can live in both salt and fresh water.
So smelting can mean the extraction of fish from two different types of ore.

[charlie b]

If in doubt, look it up. Even the 'experts' deviate a little.

https://www.metaltek.com/resources/glossary/

Smelting

A metallurgical thermal process in which a metal is separated in fused form from nonmetallic materials, or other undesired metals with which it is associated.

https://vacaero.com/information-reso...ary-sa-sq.html

smelting
Thermal processing wherein chemical reactions take place to produce liquid metal from a beneficiated ore.

beneficiation
Concentration or other preparation of ore for smelting.

[LabGuy]

I’m with KYcaster, I render down wheel weights and range scrap. My grandmother (in KY) used to render hog fat. I’m pretty sure she didn’t make it.

[44MAG#1]

I’m with KYcaster, I render down wheel weights and range scrap. My grandmother (in KY) used to render hog fat. I’m pretty sure she didn’t make it.

She made lard from the fat. So she rendered (made) lard from the fat.
This is like we render (make) bullets from metal that we melted after getting the metal after it was smelted from the ore by another source.

[Scrounge]

So you are saying that melting lead and fluxing and skimming from a battery that has sulfates is extracting the metal from ore so that is smelting instead of melting?

No, I'm saying reducing the lead sulfates in the battery to pure lead is smelting. You can melt out the lead from a battery and have a lot of leftover material that contains more lead, but won't melt out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galena is one of the common lead ores. It's a lead sulfide, so not exactly the same thing, but similar. It's also one of the most common ores lead is extracted from. https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/Anglesite is actually lead sulfate, is oxidized from lead sulfide, and is also a common ore from which lead is extracted. In either case, the process is smelting. Anglesite, mentioned above, is about 74% lead, so there is still quite a bit of lead in that mass that needs additional chemical processes to release. https://www.wirtzusa.com/what-is-lead-smelting/ Melting and smelting are not equivalent. I am a bit of pedant, so I'll call melting lead "melting" and extracting lead from chemical compounds of lead "Smelting." However, I'm not the Spelling Nazi or the Grammar Nazi, so you go ahead and call it what you like.

[44MAG#1]

No, I'm saying reducing the lead sulfates in the battery to pure lead is smelting. You can melt out the lead from a battery and have a lot of leftover material that contains more lead, but won't melt out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galena is one of the common lead ores. It's a lead sulfide, so not exactly the same thing, but similar. It's also one of the most common ores lead is extracted from. https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/Anglesite is actually lead sulfate, is oxidized from lead sulfide, and is also a common ore from which lead is extracted. In either case, the process is smelting. Anglesite, mentioned above, is about 74% lead, so there is still quite a bit of lead in that mass that needs additional chemical processes to release. https://www.wirtzusa.com/what-is-lead-smelting/ Melting and smelting are not equivalent. I am a bit of pedant, so I'll call melting lead "melting" and extracting lead from chemical compounds of lead "Smelting." However, I'm not the Spelling Nazi or the Grammar Nazi, so you go ahead and call it what you like.

Do we throw the whole battery in the pot to smelt the lead from the battery or are we putting the lead internals of the battery in the pot and melting that then fluxing the melted lead to then skim the dross (whatever it contains such as dirt and other things) to refine the melted to produce an alloy?

[OS OK]

[reddog81]

Do we know with 100 percent reliability what someone means? How do we establish that with perfection with 100 percent meaning that there is no room for error. So if there is no room for error that it must be perfect.

This afternoon I'm going to smelt down some wheel weights over my backyard firepit. Do you think there is any chance that means i'm going to go dig up some lead ore in my backyard and process it?

And what do you mean no room for error? When someone is posting about smelting down wheel weights on this forum, under what scenario is there "no room for error"

[Reverend Recoil]

Smelting is a process of chemical reduction.

[elmacgyver0]

I don't Care!

[44MAG#1]

This afternoon I'm going to smelt down some wheel weights over my backyard firepit. Do you think there is any chance that means i'm going to go dig up some lead ore in my backyard and process it?

And what do you mean no room for error? When someone is posting about smelting down wheel weights on this forum, under what scenario is there "no room for error"

Are you going to "smelt" or "melt" the wheelweights?
I did NOT say there was no room for error
I say so "IF" there is no room for error.
We all know there IS room for error if not we wouldn't be here as we are full of "error".

[elmacgyver0]

If you do it indoors it's Smelt, outdoors it's melt.

[GONRA]

GONRA bets good olde ALCHEMISTS had discussions like this! WOW!
(Today its "Faith Based Quantum Mechanics"...)

[uscra112]

This has had me gnashing my teeth for years.

SMELTING extracts a pure metal from an ore. In an ore, the metal is molecularly bonded with some other element. For iron, it's oxygen. For lead it's sulphur. Cleaning metallic lead collected from berms is NOT smelting.

There, I feel better now.

[reddog81]

Are you going to "smelt" or "melt" the wheelweights?

I'll be smelting them WWs up real good...

[uscra112]

Smelt, melt,Who gives a flying. Just get there.

This is why we can't have nice things anymore.

[44MAG#1]

This is why we can't have nice things anymore.

What ore are you mining to smelt?

[Sasquatch-1]

This is kind of like the .45 Colt/Long Colt issue. It's .45 Colt but everyone insists on calling it Long Colt.