melt

[weasel 21]

Starting to process ww. Had a lodge cast iron dutch oven pot 10" in diameter and 4" tall. It didnt keep the outer 2" melted in the pot. What kind/size pot do you find best for processing ww into ingots? Thanks

[mtgrs737]

Sounds to me like you just need more heat. The outside is cooling too fast and the heat can't keep up with it. You might also need a wind shield around the burner that extends up around the pot to concentrate the heat to the pot. A lot of folks here use a turkey fryer to smelt with. I am posting pictures of my turkey/fish fryer and the concentrator ring I made for it. I also have a picture of the zinc wheel weights that you should be on the look out for, notice in the picture the riveted on clips. You should have a thermometer to keep the melt below 725 degrees so the zinc wheel weights float and don't melt. Good Luck!

[weasel 21]

I am also using a turkey fryer and I used some concrete blocks to create an oven type effect. It is around 3 sides of my melter. I have the burner on the highest setting and still the outer edge doesnt liquefy.

[Woodwrkr]

Not all turkey/fish fryers are built the same. When I was shopping for one the company I bought from had two basic types. Those with 35,000 btu burners and those with 100,000 btu burners. It sounds like you need more btu's (British thermal units, a measure of heat).

[4thebrdz]

I use a King Cooker double burner type. I use one burner that can produce 120,000 BTU. The valve is rarely set above a 1/4 turn. I have made a heat shield and my Dutch will hold more then 60#. The Dutch is top dia 10" bottom about 7 1/2" and +5" deep. I have a cover for the pot and use a weed burner at the top to get things rollin.
I have 1 Lyman 4 cavity 1# ingot mold and 1 I made from that runs above 2#with 5 cavity. I need to make another 5 cav 2#er

[mtgrs737]

Be carefull when using the weed burner from the top to speed things up as they put out so much heat that you will melt zinc weights and never know it until you have a hard time getting the bullet mould to fill out right. If you sort carefully then you can get the zinc ww's out and use the weed burner, mine puts out so much heat it turns the clips transparent red. My pot is an old one I got from my dad and it holds 100 lbs. when full to the brim.

[weasel 21]

I looked all over and couldnt find any specs that gave me the BTU's. Its "an orginal turkey fryer" model 2515. I bought it at Target a couple weeks ago for $20. Probably low BTU's. I switched to a smaller diameter pot 6" (not cast iron) seems to be holding up its a steel pretty thick gauge

[mroliver77]

Weasel, I was going to suggest a lihter pot but you figured it on your own. I had to get a diferent gas regulator as the one I had was sealed and restricted the flow to the burner. The new one will over fire if you want . Makes way more heat now. I use a freon tank that looks to be 3-4 gal capacity with the top cut out for a cruciable. J

[weasel 21]

A friend of my suggested to remove the regulator. Do you think that would work?

[MT Gianni]

Your burner is set up to work with that burner pressure. You might have it work if you had a good valve and were constantly vigilant with preventing the burner from sooting up. You do not want flames lifting off the burner edge as you really loose efficiency and make carbon and carbon monoxide. gianni

[MT Gianni]

If you are SURE that your ww are dry try filling the pot 20% and adding as you get a melt. the residual heat from molten alloy helps melt the ww faster as you add them a handful at a time. Do not try this if there is any moisture any where near. High humidity, rain, snow, snooce juice or any liquid. You will meet the tinsel fairy. Gianni

[crowbeaner]

Thanks for the pics of the zinc WWs. I have been wondering what those devils looked like. I may have to buy a fryer to make up a shot dripper this year.

[mtgrs737]

I don't know about the rest of you casters but I am constantly getting a few zinc WW's in every bucket these days. Another tip is to check the hardness of the weight as the zinc ones are much harder and will not bend easily. When in doubt throw it out!


On another note I picked up one of these neat strainer things that are made for lifting things out of a deep fryer and it works really great for removing the clips from the melt. I got it at Sportsmans Warehouse for around $8, it makes fast work of removing the clips.

[mroliver77]

Weasel, I would not remove reulator. It can be done but you have to fiddle with it. You can buy a decent regulator with adjustable pressure for not too painfull a price. Like Gianni says it is made for a certain amount of gas. But... you can push it some without losing too much efficiency. If you use a heat collar make sure it has a few air holes in it . My poat sits in a larger pot with a few inches of clearence around it. Heat has to travel up the sides of pot to escape thereby keeping the heat made on the pot longer.
Nice skimmer mtgrs, I bought a large ladle at Goodwill and drilled holes in it for one. I still need to make a heavier duty one with long handle! J

[weasel 21]

I used my unit today and I had PLENTY of heat to melt all the ww in my cast iron camp dutch cooker. I must have not screwed the valve onto the tank far enough. Thanks for all the help. Now a couple of questions- Is it normal to have a blueish gold colored slime on top of the melt. I fluxed with candle wax but it seemed to continue to form on top of the melt.

[Woodwrkr]

The colored slime on top of the melt is oxidation that forms very quickly on molten lead. The oxidation gets in the way when you're dipping and the melt must be fluxed again periodically to remove the oxidation. When using a bottom pour pot the oxidation isn't much of a problem and can be left on top to seal the melt off from the atmosphere.