What do you use to melt lead?

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oneone

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I tried searching for answers before making a new thread, but came up short. I bought a slug mold with the intent to cast a small number of slugs. I was using a torch with a dipper to melt just as much as I needed for a few at a time.
Now I want to start casting quite a few at a time, and was wondering what you guys use to melt. This might be a very "newbish" question, but a question nonetheless. Any melters you guys would suggest? I'm not looking for the Rolls Royce of melters, just a nice reliable unit. Thanks for your help.
 
Lee makes a variety of very affordable melting pots.
They are affordable and reasonable value for money.
I like their 4-20 pot holds 20 lbs of lead meaning i don’t have to refill as much in my casting sessions.
 
I use a Coleman camp stove and cast iron skillet for smelting.....and the small Lee furnace for casting........It's worked good so far.
 
i'got an old coleman as well, but i have to use a propane torch to "help" it along- but i just cast direct from the pot-
 
Lee 10 pound lead pot and a lee 20 pound lead melting pot. Wear glasses, ensure you have good ventilation where you doing it. melting lead shot has arsnic in it.
I do my casting outside under an umbella, in the summer.
Search Lee lead melting pot. Then find pure lead at the scrap dealer and sell some on here to recoup costs.
 
I'm using a $20 hotplate from Walmart to get my feet wet in casting. Works fine for small batch.
 
For those who are using pots to hold the lead; does anyone use one with a non-stick surface? I found a pot that is an ideal size (small) for melting, but I was unsure if the non-stick surface would present any problems.
 
i've always used ALUMINUM or cast iron- and use that pot or frypan for NOTHING ELSE- i have NO IDEA what adding teflon to the mix would do , but i would suggest DON'T TRY IT- and make sure it's well AWAY from the other utensils- like hanging on a nail out in the garage or something- you DON'T want thing ANYWHERE near foodstuffs- now as to the nonstick surface, i should think that the temperatures are too high for it to be if any value but as a CONTAMINENT
 
For casting boolits I use a Lee Production Pot IV. It holds about 10lbs and is a bottom pour pot. If doing it again I would buy the larger Lee Pro 4-20 20lb pot so you can cast more boolits before adding more lead and waiting for it to heat up to temp. Regardless of brand, I would go with the larger size melter.

For melting raw scrap lead I use a Bass Pro turkey frier and an old 20lb propane tank that has been cut in half to hold the lead. The Bass Pro stand was not strong enough to hold larger amounts in the pot but 50-80lbs should be fine. I was getting closer to 200lb and the lower stand would not take it. I now have the Bass Pro burner and top part the pot sits on resting on a stand of mine made from angle iron. I pour this lead into molds with a laddle that will later fit into my Lee pot when needed. I mark cooled ingots with marker as to what they are made of (pure, wheel weight etc).

You might want to check out Lee Factory Sales for cheapest Lee gear prices, and the Cast Boolits Forums for casting info.
 
I use both the Lee 20 lb bottom pour melting pot and the smaller 10 lb bottom pour.

Get the 20 lb pot, great value and works extremely well. Have cast about 20K pistol/rifle bullets with mine. Nozzle clogs from time to time but that is a function of the ambient temperature and the melt temperature. You'll figure it all out in due time. When clogged and the temp is correct, you can use a straightened paper clip to give the bottom pour nozzle a "prostate exam".
 
I saw a youtube video of someone using the bottom pour lee melter. It seems like a very clean and efficient melter. The problem I'm having is finding someone in Canada that has them (I've gone through the sponsor links here). Does Lee ship to Canada?
 
they do, but a BETTER choice would be to go through a canadian dealer/distributor, like higgenson ( he handles most lee stuff)
 
The ladle or pot is the only slightly hard part to find, but I've seen lots of cast iron ladles & pots at flea markets etc. Sometimes the whole "plumber's furnace", those old gas-fired jobs they used to use to melt lead for the cast iron pipe seams. Best to use Naptha not gasoline and probably better to use propane.G:

Some folks use a "Dutch Oven", some like this guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRS9EtdzQzE&feature=related use a big old cast iron frying pan, which is a good idea because the larger bottom absorbs more of the heat from the flame and more lead is in contact with the bottom of the pan causing faster melting. The pan being shallow it is easier to clean out the crud, scrap etc. that collects on the bottom.

Not as easy to pour or ladle from of course.

once you get splatted with molten lead you will never ever make that mistake again. Even if just a drop of molten lead gets on your hand it is 100 times worse than getting splatted with hot oil. The lead burns into your flesh and it does not come off. When you get splashed with hot oil, it cools off rather quickly (although not a fast as one would like) but hot lead just does not seem to cool off and it keeps on burning. My father demonstrated to me (by accident) how not to do it. We had a large cast iron pot over a gasoline fired plumbers furnace that must have had more than ten pounds of molten lead in it. My father picked up a wet lead ingot and threw it into the pot of molten lead. I heard a "whoomp" sound and molten lead went flying all over the place. Fortunately, other than a few burns and ruined clothing, there was no serious injury although my dad was very lucky that day.
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My buddy just picked up a basic electric lead melter (Lee? Lyman?), and it worked awesome the first time we tried it. Didn't even take long to heat up either, consistent temps due to the thermostat (you won't get that control from a coleman stove). It cost him about $49 at Wholesale Sports in Langley BC, other shops are probably similar. His doesn't have the bottom pour feature, instead we used the typical lead laddle, and we cast some really sweet 12g slugs a month ago. No creases, no part lines (well we culled the first 15 failed ones and just re-melted them since they were already half-ways hot).

Teflon or other non-stick coatings? Avoid like the plague, you do NOT want to be breathing in hot toxic polymers of any kind...among the most toxic substances we are ever exposed to, certainly more so that even the lead. Now if it's WW4 or the Zombie Apocalypse, then melt away to live another day, but anything short of that stick with cast iron or whatever they typically use.
 
oneone said:
I saw a youtube video of someone using the bottom pour lee melter. It seems like a very clean and efficient melter. The problem I'm having is finding someone in Canada that has them (I've gone through the sponsor links here). Does Lee ship to Canada?
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If you cannot find a dealer in Canada, go to the Lee Factory Sales website. They are not the factory but a dealer who apparently has strong connections with the manufacturer, Lee Precision Inc. as they can offer very reasonable prices, aka cheap. They have ready stock of anything I order from them.

They ship to Canada via USPS, Canada Post picks it up after Canada Customs. You have to pay 12% HST (I'm in BC) based on the LFS price (shipping is not taxable). Took two weeks for my order of various molds and a Lee LoadAllII to arrive at my door. Don't make the mistake of shipping by UPS as they charge unspeakable brokerage fees.

BTW, I ordered 20 lb bottom pour pot through Reliable Gun in Vancouver, who had to order it through a distributor. Picked it up in the store a couple of days later.
 
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