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Thread: Enameled Dutch oven for smelting

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    Enameled Dutch oven for smelting

    Any reason an enameled cast iron Dutch oven would have problems with melting lead?

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    I surely hope your couch is comfortable if its the one your good wife inherited from Grandmother......

  3. #3
    Boolit Bub
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    No, I can just find these cheap in my area, normal ones are $50 second hand

  4. #4
    Boolit Master

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    I wouldn’t think there would be any problems. Should the enamel chip or fall off I’d think it would float to the surface and be skimmed off. Porcelain enamel is some some super hard stuff. I wouldn’t ever want any imbedded in a boolit and scratching a barrel.
    “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.” Ronald Reagan


  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dtdk View Post
    No, I can just find these cheap in my area, normal ones are $50 second hand
    good stuff...proceed as before...
    happy wife=happy life


  6. #6
    Boolit Bub
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    Thanks guys I just wanted to make sure I did not have to worry about some weird reaction.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
    Mal Paso's Avatar
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    For $50 I'd get a 16ga Stainless Steel Insert from a restaurant supply or stainless pot from a second hand store. Cast Iron can crack, stainless won't. For smelting I use a cut down 5gal propane cylinder.
    Mal

    Mal Paso means Bad Pass, just so you know.

  8. #8
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    Winger Ed.'s Avatar
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    I'd sit somewhere to look at, just for the novelty of them.

    For the melting, a chopped off propane tank is hard to beat.
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  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    The guys that make these all say not to use them above 500. I can only imagine that the coating will fail, but I wouldn’t expect anything too exciting.

    Bottom half of a propane tank is better.

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    Steel core of an enameled pan is thin - liable to sag with heat and all that weight. Cast iron actually gets stronger at elevated temperatures, but will crack if subjected to thermal shock. Thicker steel, like a surgically altered propane tank, is best if you are doing large batches.
    Cognitive Dissident

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
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    I’ve used one for years.

  12. #12
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    MrWolf's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mal Paso View Post
    For $50 I'd get a 16ga Stainless Steel Insert from a restaurant supply or stainless pot from a second hand store. Cast Iron can crack, stainless won't. For smelting I use a cut down 5gal propane cylinder.
    Yup. Propane tank cuts like butter with a Sawzall and I got mine for free. Just go to alocal place that refills them and ask for one of the old ones that they cannot refill duets the fittings. Flush it out first of course. Good luck

  13. #13
    Boolit Master Sasquatch-1's Avatar
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    I have used stainless steel, Freon tank cut in half and cast iron. Cast iron by far is the most efficient. If you find a good cast iron Dutch oven and not one of the cheap Chinese made one's, I don't think you will have a problem with cracking the pot.
    A vote for anyone other then the conservative candidates is a vote for the liberal candidates.

  14. #14
    Boolit Bub
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    After reading all this, I may have found a use for all the commercial small stainless kegs.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
    Scrounge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dtdk View Post
    Any reason an enameled cast iron Dutch oven would have problems with melting lead?
    Shouldn't. Glass needs pretty high temperatures to melt, and the enamel is glass. SWMBO gave me hers because the enamel cracked the first time she used it. She didn't like the idea of little chips of enamel breaking off in the food she cooked in it.

    Bill

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check