what is your melting pot?

[Jamesconn]

what do you use to turn your scrap to ingots? i was thinking about getting 12qt or biggest dutch oven i can find.

[Firebricker]

I use an old dutch oven just like your thinking about. You just want to avoid aluminum pots they will eventually fail on you. FB

[Doc Highwall]

I use a 14qt Dutch oven and a Rowell five pound ladle and I pour it into 8" cast iron frying pans that make approximately 20 ingots. After all my raw material gets melted into the large 20 pound ingots I use a 8qt Dutch oven to melt it into the alloy that I am going to use for casting bullets and use a ingot that will fit into my smelting pot.
The lead gets melted and fluxed three times before getting cast into a bullet. The first melt I try to get as much crud out and make large ingots fast. The second melt I now am taking my time with the alloying and fluxing and re-fluxing as this is going into my bottom pour LEE pot and I do not want the spout to clog up. I will still flux when casting bullets. Lead weighs 23+ pounds per quart to give you an idea how much weight is in the pot.
This is where I bought my Rowell ladle.
http://www.advancecarmover.com/

[Mk42gunner]

I read about people having cast iron dutch ovens crack at inopportune times, and since I have personnally broke a cast iron ingot mold; I made my smelting pot from an eight inch piece of eight inch steel pipe. I used a piece of 1/4" plate for the bottom.

It will hold over ninety pounds; although normally when smelting wheel weights I load it with about sixty, due to all the airspace.

Robert

[tuckerdog]

I'm still using an old lyman 20# electric. and gravy ladle pour into large cast iron mold producing 6lb + ingots and use small pieces of angle for around 5oz pewter ingots. will probably be getting a new pot though. Anyone know of any 40lb electric furnaces at 'reasonable' price

[Bret4207]

Older dutch oven and gasoline plumbers furnace.

[WILCO]

what do you use to turn your scrap to ingots?

Chinese cast iron skillet and a hotplate. Not the fastest, but works well enough.

[imashooter2]

Currently, the Harbor Freight 8 quart Dutch oven on a turkey fryer.

I've had 2 cast iron pots crack over the years. The first was a 2 quart pot hit hard with a ladle while hot. It drizzled lead into the Coleman I was using at the time until it cooled off. It had about 900 pounds through it. I replaced it with a 2 quart stainless sauce pan which served well until I moved up from the Coleman to a turkey fryer. The second was an 8 quart Dutch oven that cracked as soon as the fire hit it on the first use. I turned off the fire, poured the scrap out and returned it for a replacement (which I'm using today). The replacement has melted well over 3,000 pounds for myself and a friend and is still going strong.

[Digger]

I read about people having cast iron dutch ovens crack at inopportune times, and since I have personnally broke a cast iron ingot mold; I made my smelting pot from an eight inch piece of eight inch steel pipe. I used a piece of 1/4" plate for the bottom.

It will hold over ninety pounds; although normally when smelting wheel weights I load it with about sixty, due to all the airspace.

Robert

Another vote for the steel pipe pot , once made ,, indestructible , heat it to glowing red .. beat on it all you want ... it will be around longer than you will probably ....
digger

[casterofboolits]

I use an old propane plumbers pot with a cast iron pot that holds approx 65 pounds. It's lasted thirty five years so far. Cracked pots are probably cheap imported ****!

[chajohnson]

For smelting, I use a 6 qrt cast iron dutch oven on a single burner steel gas stove. The stove is adjustable for either propane or natural gas. Picked them both up in a surplus store about 30 years ago. It'll handle 50 # of lead comfortably. I pour the alloy into muffin tin ingots. I don't know how many tons of scrap lead and wheel weights I've run through it. I cast with a Lyman XX 20# bottom pour and a Lee 20 # bottom pour. On large, weekend casting jobs I'll mount the Lyman on top of the Lee and use it as a pre-melt feeder furnace, as I'll add a lot of ingots during the session. This provide increased consistency in weight and size of the cast bullets.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I prefer stainless steel.

[Doc Highwall]

One of these days I will make a nice steel pot but until then I will use my cast iron Dutch ovens and not hit them with any of the tools such as ladle,stainless steel slotted spoon, and wooden stick for fluxing.

[gray wolf]

JONB in glenco

Hey man!! now that's a stirring stick

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

white oak !

[captaint]

For about two years now, I've been using a Harbor Freight dutch oven (6 qt, I think) and a turkey burner. Works great. I have been careful to heat the dutch oven slowly, early on. enjoy Mike

[Mk42gunner]

One of these days I will make a nice steel pot but until then I will use my cast iron Dutch ovens and not hit them with any of the tools such as ladle,stainless steel slotted spoon, and wooden stick for fluxing.

Doc,

That's what got me to really thinking about using a dutch oven. I have a habit of knocking the ladle against the rim of the pot, it doesn't matter if I am cooking supper or smelting lead, the ladle gets tapped on the pot.

I was also using a dutch oven from Cummins Tools, (think lower grade Harbor Frieght). I decided to err on the side of caution, especially since I had the materials on hand.

Robert

[dragonrider]

here is mine, does pretty well.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/06...thier/SMELTER/

[Jamesconn]

I read about people having cast iron dutch ovens crack at inopportune times, and since I have personnally broke a cast iron ingot mold; I made my smelting pot from an eight inch piece of eight inch steel pipe. I used a piece of 1/4" plate for the bottom.

It will hold over ninety pounds; although normally when smelting wheel weights I load it with about sixty, due to all the airspace.

Robert

Thank you this is probably what i will be using for my pot now

[Doc Highwall]

When I build one I would like it to be able to hold 300 pounds for larger lots of alloy.