The oldest bottom pour pot ever?

[Apple Man]

Howdy guys,

I got some lead yesterday from a buddy and he made me take this home.

This has to be the oldest bottom pour pot, it has not heat source so some type of burner would have to be put under it. However it was probably quite a thing way back in the day.

Thoughts/comments?

[Plate plinker]

Wow looks
Like something I would have built. Basic and reliable.

[dverna]

Does not look very "user friendly". How do you heat the thing and operated it safely and comfortably?

[Apple Man]

Does not look very "user friendly". How do you heat the thing and operated it safely and comfortably?

Gotta agree with you there, I have no idea. As I said, the lead was free if I took this thing, so I did.

[Apple Man]

Wow looks
Like something I would have built. Basic and reliable.

So I take it your are a welder too?

[imashooter2]

I’m trying to picture a heat source that would 1) fit underneath, 2) be adequate to melt that substantial pot and 3) not make the operator regret being born.

[Recycled bullet]

I wonder if your bottom pour pot could be placed over a turkey burner same way that my ladle caster sauce pan pot is placed over the turkey burner.

[hoodat]

I'm thinking gasoline blow torch. jd

[Apple Man]

I'm thinking gasoline blow torch. jd

That is the best suggestion yet. The gas burner @recycled bullet posted just wouldn't work.

[dtknowles]

I'm thinking gasoline blow torch. jd

I am thinking two, one on each side. The kind of torch that they used for heating soldering irons. Today, I would use propane torches again one on each side, Might be just the thing if you were somewhere without electricity.

Tim

[Dusty Bannister]

Before trying to use it, make sure the base will be stable. It looks like the legs are rather long and at about the same angle as the pot sides so when working the alloy, it might tip if not on perfectly level and solid surface. No scale so hard to suggest a size of a heat source. Perhaps one of the HF weed burners run off propane would be suitable.

You are saying that a turkey fryer burner will not work? Perhaps you are planning on leaving the heat source in place while pouring ingots. Not the best way. Get it hot and fluid, move the heat source and start filling ingot molds. When it gets sluggish, put the heat source back in place.

[Winger Ed.]

I'd think if the heat source was under the pot, it'd be hard/awkward to fill the mold.
One or two old school gasoline, or propane torches aimed at the back or sides would seem to be more practical.

If you can find a picture of the old gasoline torches and make a guess at how tall they are when
standing on a table next to your pot would lead to a educated guess on which one they used.

[Mk42gunner]

If I had that pot and really wanted to use it, I would scavenge a used fish/turkey fryer burner and weld a mount for it underneath. I would probably widen the base too.

My smelting pot heater started out as a turkey fryer, until my daughter was backing my pickup and caught it with the turned front tire. The 54,000 BTU burner was still good, so I welded up a base that looks a lot like a milk crate out of 1½" angle iron and set my pot on it. Works well.

Robert

[greybuff]

For those of you that use a turkey burner/cooker, I cut 2 circles of 1/4" plate that fit around my melting pot that covers the rest of the cooker, keeping the heat more concentrated on the pot.

[atfsux]

That actually doesn't look all that old to me. The angle iron and the welds are too modern.

[20:1]

I'm thinking gasoline blow torch. jd

Yup. An old-time plumbers torch blowing on one side, away from the user. That's probably why the legs on this are so long, those old blow torches were pretty tall.

[imashooter2]

Before trying to use it, make sure the base will be stable. It looks like the legs are rather long and at about the same angle as the pot sides so when working the alloy, it might tip if not on perfectly level and solid surface. No scale so hard to suggest a size of a heat source. Perhaps one of the HF weed burners run off propane would be suitable.

You are saying that a turkey fryer burner will not work? Perhaps you are planning on leaving the heat source in place while pouring ingots. Not the best way. Get it hot and fluid, move the heat source and start filling ingot molds. When it gets sluggish, put the heat source back in place.

It looks like a pencil case behind it. I figured it about the same size as a Lee 20 pounder, but the capacity would be higher since the pot walls are much thinner.

I also figured the legs were so long to accommodate a heat source below it.

I agree that I would like a bit larger footprint on such a tall device full of molten metal.

[YoungGun88]

You could use a roofing torch, easy to source, even Hazardous Freight has them:

https://www.harborfreight.com/propane-torch-91033.html

[Bud Hartrampf]

could of used the immersion electrical heater also, hard to say..just how big is this thing?

[Apple Man]

could of used the immersion electrical heater also, hard to say..just how big is this thing?

It is smaller than a Lee 10# pot.