Melting WWs cheap question

[BruceP]

I know a lot of you use an LP burner like a turkey fryer and a cast iron dutch oven to clean up wheel weights. My question is how well would an electric hot plate (750 watts single burner) and a SS stock pot work. I think the stock pot would work fine (correct me if I'm wrong) but would the hot plate get and keep the melt hot enough. This would just be to clean up the WWs and keep the trash out of my Lee 20 lb bottom pour pot. I can get both the hot plate and the SS pot for under $20.
I hate if this is a little basic but I am just starting casting and other than making ingots I have only done one casting session for bullets.

Bruce

[jhalcott]

 I don't know any thing about electric . I use the turkey fryer to melt my wheel weights. Used to use a Coleman camp stove,2 burner. It IS a good idea to smelt the wheel weights in a separate vessel to keep the "trash" out of your casting pot. Be certain the pot you use is thick enough to withstand the weight of the WW's . Also the hot plate  shouldn't be crushed by the load. You might need to shield the hot plate and pot to keep the wind from cooling it to much.

[manatee1947]

very seriously doubt that an electric burner could do the job, it might if the pot was heavily insulated around the sides. and a lid that was kept on except for cleaning the metal.Given how cheap a gas burner is, I don't see this as a good alternative.

[ShadowMover]

There is no doubt it will melt lead, it's just a matter of when it will melt it. I second the suggestion for insulation; maybe a thin wrap with fiber glass insulation. Melting any metal is a matter of balancing heat loss and heat gain. When you are gaining the temperature goes up. Putting heat into the pot is like pouring water into a leaky bucket, if you don't do it quickly, you waste a lot of heat and don't get it hot. The heat goes away by three ways. First is the heat used to raise the temperature of the lead, and finally to melt it. Second is the heat carried away by air moving along the hot pot sides. Third is the heat radiated away as invisible infra red light.

The Stainless pot sounds good for the job, except it doesn't conduct the heat as quickly into the lead as steel will. It will work though.  Now about that hot plate. Most electric appliances like to have the heat used up to keep the element inside from getting too hot. A good way to ruin an electric lead pot is to let the pot get empty.

I use an electric pot for casting, but prefer an LPG one or a gasoline plumber's furnace for melting large batches of lead. You really do want to do large batches, because it mixes all the lead from all the different weights and gives you a uniform material. This is a good thing.  Try to get a little lead melted in the bottom of your pot before you dump in the whole batch. This small batch will heat up more quickly, and once melted will provide an efficient way of getting the heat from the bottom of the put to the new lead you add. Often people will leave a bit of lead in a pot so they can get this better heat transfer. The down side is it is more dangerous to add to molten lead than just heating the whole mess at once. You should be wearing a face shield, gloves and something over your leather shoes to keep molten lead from going into your shoes.

[parson48]

All I've ever used is a $10. Wal-mart hot plate and a small stainless steel sauce pan. I believe that it is 750 watts. It isn't as fast as a turkey fryer, but I don't shoot as much as I'd like to. The small Lee pot that I ladle cast from has only a 500 watt element, and it will get to casting temp fairly quickly.

If you're not looking to do smelt large quantities then that set-up will likely work for you.

[huntducks]

I have seen turkey fryers as cheap as $21.

Save your $$$ and do it right the first time I doubt a elect hot plate will give you a steady source of heat everytime you add WW it will cool might take hours to melt 10lbs, I bought one that we used for camping and motel hunting it shut down when it got too hot i'm sure the mfg added that to curb any law suits from grease fire.

Go looking in 2nd hand stores for a CI pot you might even find a plumbers lead pot and ladel.

[mechanic]

I routinely use a turkey fryer, but on rainy days I can't.  If I just Gotta' make some bullets, I use a hot plate and a 6" cast iron skillet.  It will melt fast enough to use a "one hole mold".  On days when I can, I fire up the outdoor cooker and melt about 100# at a time, and I can work two or three molds at once this way by alternating so they don't overheat.

Yes, you can make small quantities with the hot plate.

Ben

[woodsie57]

I've been casting only a couple of years, using a coleman single burner campstove, and a goodwill-store steel pot,[2 qt. or so] Figured I would upgrade later, but haven't seen the need. Tried a bigger cast aluminum pot, thinking I'd speed things up;the lead hadn't melted in an hours time. Not enough heat. Anyway, when the 2 qt. pot is 2/3 full, it starts getting heavy enough as-is, works for me. Enjoy!

[bubba.50]

only comment i can make is that newer hotplates may have a relay to keep from overheating that may kick out before up to temp. for what it's worth, bubba.

[jack19512]

very seriously doubt that an electric burner could do the job, it might if the pot was heavily insulated around the sides. and a lid that was kept on except for cleaning the metal.Given how cheap a gas burner is, I don't see this as a good alternative.

This just is not true at all.  As in parson48's post all I have ever used is a single burner hot plate and SS pot both purchased from Walmart.  Never had to put a lid on the pot and never had to insulate the pot in any way.  I did however eliminate the temp control and wire the element straight, I just didn't want the pot to keep cycling on and off.  I have used this setup for years now without any problems.

Bad side is you can't melt a huge amount of lead at a time but you can melt enough each time to cast quite a few boolits from the melt.  I have enough ingots to last me a very long time using this method.  Another draw back is it isn't the fastest way to smelt but again it has worked just fine for me.  Good thing is you don't have to worry about propane and with the burner I have never had to worry about melting a zinc weight.  Gets hot enough to melt the lead just fine but doesn't get hot enough to melt the zinc.

[BruceP]

Sorry it took so long for me to reply back to this post and thanks for all the replies so far. As I stated I am just looking for a cheap way to clean up the WW's. I really did not know if the hotplate would get hot enough so thats why I asked. I thought that someone had to have tried it. I know that there are better burners to use and if I can find a $21 turkey fryer I would probably buy it instead. The cheapest I've seen an LP burner was one that had to have been in the store for a long time, the box was almost torn off and it was marked down to $25. I had not started casting then and I still started to buy it, you know, just in case. Well I didn't and when I went back later It was gone.
For those who have used the hotplate. Can you give me an aprox. time to melt a pot full of WW. I know it will vary with things like size of the pot amount of WW and other things I just want to get an idea about how long we're talking about.

Thanks
Bruce

[mechanic]

You won't be able to melt a pot full.  You might get about 10# up to temp at best.  As  I stated above, I use a 6" cast skillet, and I melt about 5# at  the time.  It will take about 5 min. to get to temp.  Then you can add small amounts along as you cast or pour it up.  Don't empty the pot once you start, or you will be starting over.  Once all is liquid, pour a couple ingots, then add some more WW.  Be careful fluxing, as you can get an open flame depending on what you use.  I mention this in case you are going to cast indoors.

I found my turkey cooker at a pawn shop, and bought the burner for $15.00.  I use the spare bottle for my grill on it.  I can melt 75-100 # in just a few minutes, and just like above, never empty the pot, but keep some melted lead to hold the heat up.

This will give more lead than I can cast time wise, and if you plan to do this long term, the burner would be a good investment.

G.B. and some others have reported cast pots bursting with them, so I now use extreme caution with mine, even though I have used it for years.  I am looking for a heavy SS pot, and when I find one at a flea mkt. or such, I will buy it.

Good luck, and good casting,

Ben

[Lloyd Smale]

IT probably wont work for smelting It takes alot of heat to heat wws up with all the clips and junk. You might get by smelting 10 or 20lbs in a small pot but it would take to long and cost much more in electricity then it would cost you on a turkey fryer

[BruceP]

Gee, I thought I had replied back yesterday after reading Mechanics post. From his and Lloyds post it does sound like I need to look for an inexpensive LP burner. I am not doing a lot of casting and at this time have no need to do 100lbs at a time like some others do but I also don't want to spend all day trying to smelt 30 - 50 lbs either.

Thanks
Bruce

[D Crockett]

BruceP I will make yo a smelting pot  it will hold 80 to 100 lbs of ww I will even throw in a ingot mould to all I ask is you pay for the blades I use and postage blades are $8.00 and shipping is about $16.00 so for a total of $24 the ingot mould will dump the ingot out every time with out beating on it if you do not over fill it give me a pm if you would like something like this D Crockett

[BruceP]

D Crockett, Thanks very much for the generous offer. I may take you up on that but I feel I need to come up with a suitable burner first and I will be working on that. No need in a pot that will hold 80lbs of lead and no burner to melt it.

Another question. I know the need to keep pots and other things used for lead seperate from those used for food. I actually have a turkey fryer but am hesitant to use that burner for lead. If I were to use it with a pot dedicated to lead would the burner be OK to then wash off and use with the fryer pot for food or do I really need a dedicated burner also.

Bruce

[mechanic]

You can use the burner, just don't use the pot.  I use my burner for all types of things including cooking.  You will absorb more lead from handling than smelting.  Just wash your hands well when done handling lead, and don't eat or smoke while smelting.

[dakotashooter2]

I've used a weed burner in a pinch http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91033  Just get a few bricks for a base to set the pot on and crank up the heat.

[Tom W.]

Tried a bigger cast aluminum pot, thinking I'd speed things up;the lead hadn't melted in an hours time.

Be happy your cast aluminum pot didn't crack and cause you untold grief. Cast aluminum is not recommended for melting bullet alloy..It can be very dangerous.

[Swampman]

I've had aluminum pots melt before the lead did. 

[teamnelson]

For what it's worth I use a cast iron pot on the side burner of my gas grill, and an old muffin pan. Cleaned up 150# of ww so far. Nonwindy days, start an inch on the bottom and go all day or until the gas runs out.

[Dezynco]

Be aware that cast iron can crack also!  I use an old stainless steel boiler.  You can also run to the dollar store or a rummage sale and find you one cheap.

[JustaShooter]

I've had aluminum pots melt before the lead did. 

Pots, as in more than one?  Since the melting point of aluminum is nearly twice that of lead, and is a great conductor of heat besides, I'm not sure how you would manage that unless you were trying... 

Just a Shooter

[ShadowMover]

I've had aluminum pots melt before the lead did. 

Pots, as in more than one?  Since the melting point of aluminum is nearly twice that of lead, and is a great conductor of heat besides, I'm not sure how you would manage that unless you were trying... 

Just a Shooter

That does seem a little strange. I've melted aluminum in a charcoal fired furnace, and by the time it's really flowing it's a dull red heat. I have melted 'pot metal' or 'die cast' , an Aluminum/Zinc alloy in a lead pot with a gas plumbers furnace.  It does melt at a much lower temperature, but they don't make 'pots' out of it.  Lead doesn't react or alloy much with Aluminum so it isn't dissolving it.

I think we can all agree a steel or stainless pot is the safest.

[Lloyd Smale]

use cast iron or stainless for your pot. i lost my cast pot in the barn fire and ended up buy a big stainless stock pot at wally world. Aluminum doesnt work. I remember back in my younger days when i bought my first turkey fryer to melt lead. I filled it up with wws and fired it up and walked away. came back about 20 minutes later to a puddle of lead on the ground. dakotashooter is on to one of my other tricks. I fire up the turkey fryer and sometimes also use a  weed burner to speed things up. One thing to keep in mind when smelting anymore though is you dont want to get your lead to hot. It not only will give off fumes but theres alot of zinc wws anymore. the last batch i did have a pile of them in it. You can run the cooker wide open but you need to be there just as the top layer begins to melt. I then before the alloy gets to hot stir it and skim off the clips and the zinc wws. I NEVER flux until im sure i got all of the zinc wws out of the melt. If you leave your pot unattended and it gets hot enough you will contaminate your lead with zinc and make it useless.

[jhalcott]

 I used an aluminum pot at work once to smelt ww into ingots. An oxyacetalene torch was the heat source. I had about 60-70 pounds of ww in the pot and had to leave the area for a few minutes. When I returned, the pot had gotten so hot it the weight had bulged the bottoma couple inches. The pot looked like a cow that NEEDED milking!. After that , I used a steel pipe end.

[SHOOTALL]

Fumes ? While on a repair job out in the country as an extra job we found out about after arriving on site was to repour a lead joint . I had oakum and lead but no pot . So i took a tin can put the lead in it and set it on the elec. burnner on the stove . It worked well . We did cut the exhust fan on to draw out fumes .

[docmagnum357]

I was lucky enough to get a real plumbers pot over twenty years ago from our local hrdware store.  It had cracked, and was repaired. It had set in the back room for years.  I use that and a turkey fryer burner for smelting, and an ancinet saeco bottom pour pot to cast. It is basically junk, but i won't change until it wears out.

[johnjohn]

I use a small cast iron plumber's pot I was lucky enough to find about 16 years ago . Old hardware store that has just about any hardware or household item known to man. Brand new and unused $10.00

[mdi]

I understand your original question was about hotplates as a cheap way to smelt lead. But, another inexpensive method is what I use, a Coleman single burner propane stove, the kind that uses a small propane bottle for a stand. I have a home made pot that will hold about 30 lbs. and have had no tipping probs yet (pretty sturdy). The coleman gets pretty hot pretty fast and I think they are available for less than $20