ran out of gas!

[troy_mclure]

ran out of propane right as i added 50lbs of lead to 30lbs of melted lead.

it clumped it up and froze.

so now i have a pot with an 80lb ingot in it.

ever run out of gas?

[steg]

Yup, robbed one from the grill once or twice..............steg

[Norseman]

No, I have a 2000W hotplate

[Southern Son]

Yup, robbed one from the grill once or twice..............steg

Me too, I also have a little 4.5kilo bottle for backup. If I empty the 9kilo bottle and have to keep going, the little 4.5kilo bottle will let me finnish the day out.

[imashooter2]

I keep 2 bottles. Never a problem running out in the middle of a job, never have to wonder if there's enough left in the bottle to do the job I have in mind.

[putteral]

I always have a spare tank if needed.

[44fanatic]

Ran out....just as I was finishing up...ended up speed ladeling two muffin pans. Lots of slop and clean up after that one.

[HORNET]

I had my Lee 20 pounder die during a casting session with about 15 pounds of alloy in it. Ladelled half the melt into my old 10 pounder, grabbed the propane torch to get what was left liquid again, got the rest int the ingot molds. It was kinda hectic for a while. I mighta said a bad word or two...

[johnvid]

Never ran out. I keep four tanks filled that I refill every spring.

[45-70 Chevroner]

I haven't used propane in over 25 years I really like my Lee electric pots I have three of them one for pure lead and two for alloy. Propane cost about twice as much as electicity, and it never runs out. Although I do keep 4 propane bottles around for an emergency. I make ingots over a 55 gallon open top steel drum and use scrap wood. I also have a really neat cast iron propane camp stove. I bought it from a propane Co. that I worked for back in the early 1960's. Some day I'm going to learn how to post pictures.

[Jon]

I use propane for smelting wheel weights and range scrap, but electric for actual casting.

I haven't run out, but I do keep extra cylinders around.

[max it]

hi Guys,

I need to get my smelting going; propane or electric?
Any clues as to where to find them; harbor freight, home depot, eBay?

much obliged,

Max,

p.s.> I love my new boolits made 1/2 and 1/2 w.w. and lino.

m.

[troy_mclure]

i use propane with a turkey fryer/crawfish cooker stand and a large ss pot.

it can hold 150lbs of lead if i fill it up, but the legs start creaking.

the propane bottle i use is from the gril.

[hammerhead357]

Max go with propane for smelting and electric for casting. You will get larger batches/lots smelting with the propane. If you have enough WWs to need large batches/lots. Then if you want a really uniform lot use ingots from each of your previous batches/lots to make another batch/lot.
Propane melts faster in large amounts also..Wes

[Jon]

hi Guys,

I need to get my smelting going; propane or electric?
Any clues as to where to find them; harbor freight, home depot, eBay?

much obliged,

Max,

p.s.> I love my new boolits made 1/2 and 1/2 w.w. and lino.

m.

I use a burner from a fish fryer from Cabelas, and the Cast Iron Dutch Oven from Harbor Freight. That should get you started pretty inexpensively.

It's up to you, but WW is usually fine for pistol bullets. Save the Lino for when you need harder bullets in a rifle or magnum pistol unless you have a good source for it.

[fredj338]

Yep, but I always keep a spare tank around.

[max it]

HI Jon and Guys,

I found out that the electric burners are going to be costly if I want a 2000w one. So yes Jon the propane is much cheaper.

Linotype sure looks a lot better in my molds. Maybe I will cut it further with wheel weights. Funny thing is I have a better supply for linotype than wheel weights especially since Peoples Republic of Kalifornia PRK has banned them 'cause the little fishes and kiddies were going to pick up the wheel weights and eat them. Anyway it may be easier to find as all the shops need a way out of them.

Much obliged,

Max

[Suo Gan]

I found out that the electric burners are going to be costly if I want a 2000w one. So yes Jon the propane is much cheaper.

What? You mean to tell me a $200 hotplate is not cheap???

[Daniel964]

I've never ran out but I have nine more of the 20 Lb tanks and one 30Lb tank as spares.

[Mk42gunner]

I haven't ran out while rendering wheelweights, but I did run out one time when my cousin and I were trying to grill some steaks. quick trip to town and when we got back the new style valve didn't want to work for about 30 minutes.


Robert