Muffin Tin Ingots

[gnmontey]

Today I was casting muffin tin ingots and one of the molds produced what looks to be a bubbled base.

I also noticed what appeared to be gas being released on the surface of ingot as I was pouring.

At one point a very strong smelling smoke was emitted.

Does the non-stick coating on those things tend to cook off?

Thanks,

M

 

[OverUnder725]

That is what I have found with my new pans as well. After the coating burns off, mine are all good.

 

[gnmontey]

That is what I have found with my new pans as well. After the coating burns off, mine are all good.

Do you think enough gas could be generated to cause a molten lead explosion?

Watching the ingot surface activity while pouring made me a little nervous.

M

 

[camster]

bubbly for first three in my pan. No "hollow" ingots but rough bottom. They throw smooth now.

 

[Dragonsfire]

Are they just those cheap non stick tins for $10 etc.?

 

[gnmontey]

Are they just those cheap non stick tins for $10 etc.?

No idea what they cost, they were given to me. Pretty heavy and coated with something slick.

M

 

[Moose_Master]

They bubble if the temperature is to high. Tin will melt really nice at a much lower temperature than lead.

 

[Spawn-Inc]

it's the teflon coating gasing off, it will go away after a couple batches. I haven't had them cause a visit from the tin fairy.

 

[ted_dent]

I've poured hundreds of muffin pan ingots and many of them had bubbled bottoms and I've never had any type of molten lead splatter. These were non-stick coated pans. I don't think you have anything to worry about but of course always wear gloves & safety glasses when working around molten lead.

 

[tigrr]

After the burn off spray it with liquid graphite from Canadian tire and the ingots will fall out easily. All my bullet molds are coated with liquid graphite for easy bullet removal.

 

[slug]

If your ingot moulds are of fairly porous steel, a coating of Pam can help them drop out easier.

 

[jethunter]

I've never had any issue. I bought a bunch of used muffin tins at an estate auction that had baked on grease that really made bubbles but it burned off eventually.

I never use any lube on the pans and I've never had problems with sticking. I usually drop the ingots while they are still hot

 

[yomomma]

I threw mine in the wood stove for a few hours. Never had a bubbling or sticking problem.

 

[Lonesome Donkey]

Could you bake them in the oven on a self-cleaning cycle and then just scrub off the burnt residue?

Works great for cast iron frying pans with a baked-on cooking oil seasoning that you want to replace.

 

[Ganderite]

Would the Dollarama tinfoil muffin tins work?

 

[hometownhero]

Would the Dollarama tinfoil muffin tins work?

They might but I wouldn't risk 700+ degree liquid metal running all over the place. Mini muffin tins are like $4 at canadian tire or walmart and can be used for years.

 

[Moose_Master]

I use the Dollarama muffin pans. Not the tin tho.

 

[DFarmer]

We use cheap dollar store muffin pans also.
Normally no problem with sticking but I did have one pan which I had to destroy to get the ingots out. It was like they were glued in.

 

[fingers284]

I started out with a couple of old "hand-m-down" steel muffin pans from the kitchen that ingots stuck to like sh1t to a blanket, eventually destroyed them try to un-stick ingots. I bought some Dollar Store no-stick pans and love them. One thing I did notice tho was that the sooner I dump them ( as soon as solidification happens) the less they hang on to the contents. If I let the ingots cool in the pans they stuck almost as bad as the old steel pans

 

[Dragonsfire]

So PAM would be a good investment then.