Casting indoors

Can-down said:
One thing that people don't think about with ventilation is the need for fresh air to come in to the area in order for stale air to go out. If you can bring some makeup air into the room across from where the air is being exhausted that way your exhaust fan will be running at max and not creating a vacuum in the room.
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You don't want the fumes just blowing back in the room, so put the exhaust down from the prevailing wind, or try to seal off the exhaust as well as possible. And yes, balance the airflow by having a fan bringing in fresh air, preferably as far away as possible from the exhaust! And a "mask" should be a respirator that has cartridges rated for lead fumes, not just a dust mask. A good leather apron would be adviseable as well. 3rd degree burns are never fun. I've done babbit bearings before and it can be some evil sh!t.
 
No need for a fan to bring air in if you are using a fan to exhaust.
Just need a window cracked open across the room from the exhaust or a separate make up air vent if there is no window.
 
alox said:
Definitely not to be done. In 1977 when my son was about three months old it was very cold out and I was bored looking out the window so I decided to fire up the pot for a casting session. I was in the basement and he was sleeping in his upstairs bedroom two story. About 45 minutes later the wife comes running down the stairs "the baby is all swollen up". Yes he was. His face and especially the eyes and lips . Face was not recognizable. Breathing was O.K so didn't take him to emergency. I didn't want him to see a doctor as I would probably been arrested for child endangerment. Needless to say I have NEVER MELTED ALLOY IN AN ENCLOSED SPACE from that day forward. I was amazed that fumes could travel through a dwelling the way it did. Don't do it!!
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You were in the basement and the baby was 2 floors up. Were you using clean ingots or did you do a lot of fluxing? I imagine the furnace picked up fumes and pumped them to the second floor. That's what they are designed to do.

Next time something like this happens take your child to emergency. Casting in an unventilated area may have been dumb, but not taking him to emergency certainly was child endangerment that could have had negative consequences for your family. There may be other things that will come up to endanger the child as he grows up. You need to be there for him first and not worry about imagined consequences.
 
I don't cast in the house simply because of the fumes from fluxing and the possibility of a mess from spilled lead. I have a "casting room" in my garage where I make boolits, and I melt scrap lead and ww outdoors due to the smoke from paint and other impurities.
 
I live where it is -40 for months at a time...I never melt lead indoors...set up on the porch when there's a nice light breeze, no moisture, and a sunny afternoon...the most advanced technology for melting metals originated in 11th/12th century British monasteries...many of those monks died from metal poisoning...deteriorated health from metal poisoning is cumulative and is not removed from the human body...I have enough health phobias than to add worry about lead accumulation that I cannot see...I just don't do it...you may...but I won't...
 
If there are any infants/young children in your house, I would be extra careful. They absorb lead much more readily into their body and it can be more damaging during development. After learning this, I moved my reloading process into the garage, use a certain set of clothes while in the garage and loading, run a HEPA filter (ok..maybe thats a little overboard), use gloves, and open the garage door a crack afterwards to ventilate the area.
 
Simple solution - cast up enough bullets during the warm months when you can safely do it outside so you that you will have an adequate supply during the winter and you won't have to do indoor casting. There are too many variables and too much can go wrong to make it worth your while. Take the money you would spend buying ventilation equipment & invest in 4 or 6 cavity moulds. They speed up your casting speed immensely and makes it easier to build up your winter supply when you cast in the summer.
 
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Only cast outdoor, just not enough savings in casting indoors to justify the risk. Molten metal, distinct casting smell, no way I want that in the house. Shooting is a hobby, not worth the risk. Just buy plated if lead bullets run out.

Casting is saved for nice day outdoor in the sunshine, not in a dingy basement.
 
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