So I just got a thermometer and !!!

[HammerMTB]

I'd been toying with the idea of using a thermocouple and my DMM to get digital readout of pot temp.
I put it together yesterday and fired up the pot.
When the pot was to temp and I was crankin' out lots of good boolits, pot temp read over 800F!
I turned the pot down to 750F, and still got good fillout and boolits.
I was a bit concerned with the temp as I read (here?) that 800F is where there can be lead fumes present. I pretty much have my face right over the pot when casting.
2 things come to mind to ask:
1. What temp do you run your pot to cast?
and 2. Anybody from the Skagit Valley on here with a thermometer I could borrow and check my thermocouple? Maybe it's off a bunch.... Yondering, ya got an analog 'mometer or a cal'd TC?

[kelbro]

The thermocouple reading will not be 'off' as long as the batteries in your DMM are good. They either work or they are 'open'. A quick check is to dip the probe in an ice bath. Fill a small cup with ice and then water. Dunk the TC in and it should read 0C/32F.

[Wayne Smith]

Don't worry about 800 degrees. Yes, technically at or close to the vapor temp, but no movement unless you are breathing inches from the melt. You would have to burn your nose and face good to breathe any lead.

[HammerMTB]

The thermocouple reading will not be 'off' as long as the batteries in your DMM are good. They either work or they are 'open'. A quick check is to dip the probe in an ice bath. Fill a small cup with ice and then water. Dunk the TC in and it should read 0C/32F.

Y'know, I knew that once and completely forgot it! Thanks!
I could check it at 212F as well. Altitude here is 37' above sea level.

[yondering]

Yeah, I've got an analog thermometer, $15 from Surplus Center. Welcome to borrow it if you need.
I cast about 750-800, and just adjust the dial on the pot as necessary.
You gonna build us a couple PID temp controllers now? That would be sweet.

[thx997303]

You should do it yourself, it's quite easy.

I am going to once I have the dang money.

Anybody know why the do it yourself is highlighted?

And now it's gone, site's being weird.

[lurch]

It never ceases to amaze me that there are so many so deathly afraid of being poisoned by their lead pot if they run it over some temperature. Folks if you run the lead pot at any reasonable casting temperature (or even well above) you don't have anything to worry about. You won't be suddenly overcome by lead fumes an go blind stupid or suffer any of the other purported consequences. The biggest reason to ventilate is not to remove lead vapors, but to remove smoke from fluxing.

Look at this chart.

Notice that the vapor pressure of lead at 1000F (538C) is less than 0.000001 (probably closer to half that or 0.0000005) atmospheres. What that is saying is that the amount of lead vapor that makes it into the air is miniscule at that temperature. What little does get into the air doesn't go far. You are far and away more likely to get lead poisoning from improper hygiene and ingestion when working with your pot than through inhalation.

[TAWILDCATT]

thank you LURCH.you made the point,very well.I was about to boil over.nobody thinks any more.they just keep on repeting old wives tales.or what some one thinks could happen.

[Freightman]

We spend most of our money and wealth trying to prevent precieved problems.

[RoyRogers]

You should do it yourself, it's quite easy.

I am going to once I have the dang money.

Anybody know why the do it yourself is highlighted?

And now it's gone, site's being weird.

Look in the 'casting equipment' section in the thread titled 'electronic temp control'.

[qajaq59]

thank you LURCH.you made the point,very well.I was about to boil over.nobody thinks any more.they just keep on repeting old wives tales.or what some one thinks could happen.

I used to get a bit annoyed with it, but now I just chuckle. Half the people worrying about it speed on the highways and think nothing of it. I was a newspaper printer for 22 years and we were surrounded by lead pots. We poured it, sawed it, handled it and though I've been checked on and off during the years none has ever showed up in a test. If you're going to die from something this day and age I doubt that little bit of lead you cast will have much to do with it.

[HammerMTB]

Well, Lurch, thanks for the lecture and scientific info, but it is overpowered by the unnecessary slam.
When did "a bit concerned" become "deathly afraid"?
Apparently it happened in your mind, as it did not appear on the screen until you put it there.
If you want your information to be received, think about how it's offered.
As far as I'm concerned, if you see a post by me, you could just pass it by. I won't miss ya.

TAWILDCATT, you rank right there with him. "nobody thinks anymore"? That would include you then, wouldn't it? Since your comment clearly didn't have much thought put into it....

It never ceases to amaze me that there are so many so deathly afraid of being poisoned by their lead pot if they run it over some temperature. Folks if you run the lead pot at any reasonable casting temperature (or even well above) you don't have anything to worry about. You won't be suddenly overcome by lead fumes an go blind stupid or suffer any of the other purported consequences. The biggest reason to ventilate is not to remove lead vapors, but to remove smoke from fluxing.

Look at this chart.

Notice that the vapor pressure of lead at 1000F (538C) is less than 0.000001 (probably closer to half that or 0.0000005) atmospheres. What that is saying is that the amount of lead vapor that makes it into the air is miniscule at that temperature. What little does get into the air doesn't go far. You are far and away more likely to get lead poisoning from improper hygiene and ingestion when working with your pot than through inhalation.

[Gunslinger]

I think the fear of lead poisoning comes partly from terror stories told by older folks and self-proclamed experts and partly due to the fact that lead poisoning IS dangerous, and hard to get rid of.... IF you get it that is!

The guy in my club have told me numerous times that uhhh lead is dangerous and you sniff lead fumes to the extend that you poop out slugs after 2 days of casting and blah blah blah. I listened and did some investegating myself. And I'm convinced that the guys in this board know much more about casting than the guys in my club - they stopped years ago, and never use the internet!

That said... I am very careful when smelting, casting, sizing and loading. I smelt outside only, and if the weather is bad I sit in my parents garage with the gate wide open as well as the door in the back. I keep my casting clothes in a bag and i never wear it in the house. I'm also very thorough with hygiene...

Okay maybe I am a little paraniod he he

[qajaq59]

IMO The quickest way to get lead into your system is to buy cups from China hat have been illegally painted with it.

[geargnasher]

Well, Lurch, thanks for the lecture and scientific info, but it is overpowered by the unnecessary slam.
When did "a bit concerned" become "deathly afraid"?
Apparently it happened in your mind, as it did not appear on the screen until you put it there.
If you want your information to be received, think about how it's offered.
As far as I'm concerned, if you see a post by me, you could just pass it by. I won't miss ya.

TAWILDCATT, you rank right there with him. "nobody thinks anymore"? That would include you then, wouldn't it? Since your comment clearly didn't have much thought put into it....

Glad to see you're makin' friends again, Hammer!

Gear

[Bret4207]

Well, Lurch, thanks for the lecture and scientific info, but it is overpowered by the unnecessary slam.
When did "a bit concerned" become "deathly afraid"?
Apparently it happened in your mind, as it did not appear on the screen until you put it there.
If you want your information to be received, think about how it's offered.
As far as I'm concerned, if you see a post by me, you could just pass it by. I won't miss ya.

TAWILDCATT, you rank right there with him. "nobody thinks anymore"? That would include you then, wouldn't it? Since your comment clearly didn't have much thought put into it....

Don't take it personally. This is just the culmination of seeing hundreds of posts where people ARE acting in fear of their life over something that isn't going to hurt them. I've even seen pictures of a guy rendering alloy down wearing full PPE and a mask OUTSIDE!!! For goodness sakes, stand upwind!

After you see the same question for the 117th time (can I shoot a GC boolit w/o the GC???) you get to the point of wondering if anyone reads back through the archives here. Your post is just one of the ones that happened to catch the flack from the other 300 posts saying the same thing. No one is calling you a coward or saying you're stupid. The responses are just directed at the readers in general and more over to our society in general and our culture of fear and victimhood.
We live in a world where kids have to wear mouth guards on the playground and helmets and padding while riding a bike, where a minor scrape is bathing in triple antibiotic and every surface is wiped down with Clorox and sprayed with Lysol, where our automobiles carry 1500 lbs (and several thousand dollars worth) of air bags, passive restraints, anti smog gear and brakes that won't allow you to lock them up. What was once addressed with common sense has morphed into an irrational fear of everything that might cause us harm. And it's bolstered by an industry dedicated to ensuring we BUY the idea so that we'll BUY their products to protect us from our own stupidity!

Sorry for the rant. The point is it wasn't directed at you personally, I'm sure.

[armyrat1970]

Just to get back on the point of temps. I may run mine a little higher than most but I usually go between 880 and 900. With WWS.

[qajaq59]

What temp do you run your pot to cast?

My 50/50 alloy seems to cast best at 750. But that's with an iron double bullet mold. If it were a 6 banger and an aluminum mold I'd probably need a while to find the right temp again. And I use the thermometer more to control the smelting temp in case I miss a zinc WW. If the temp on the casting is off I can see it in the bullets pretty fast, even without the thermometer.

[HammerMTB]

Glad to see you're makin' friends again, Hammer!

Gear

Nice to see you here in the interest of peace, not stirring [edit], Gear

[AZ-Stew]

It never ceases to amaze me that there are so many so deathly afraid of being poisoned by their lead pot if they run it over some temperature.

They just keep on repeting old wives tales.

Yeah, like the people who think the quest for shiny boolits is purely a cosmetic issue, as if I was worried that the guy at the next bench would be snickering behind my back if my castings didn't glisten like chrome. "Shiny" is a measure of proper casting temp. and closely linked to alloy type. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH COSMETICS!

Well, Lurch, thanks for the lecture and scientific info, but it is overpowered by the unnecessary slam... As far as I'm concerned, if you see a post by me, you could just pass it by. I won't miss ya.

Hammer, you need some skin-thickener. Lighten up a bit and learn.

Regards,

Stew