Does my Coleman get that hot?

[awaveritt]

After reading some of the posts about zinc, I'm wondering about my set-up. I plan to eventually get a Lee pro iv pot but until then I'm making ingots in my smallish (4-5lbs?) cast iron pot on a single burner Coleman stove. Can that stove get the lead hot enough to melt zinc? (Don't have a thermometer yet, either). Just wondering.

I have fished out some zinc weights but didn't think about the possibility of having already melted some into my alloy. All of my ingots "seem" to be pure lead WW but I dunno. What do you think?

I just ordered my first mold today, a Lee TL356-124-2R double cavity and will be ladle-pouring until I get my Lee pot.

I have scored about 56 lbs of WW and another 40lbs of stick-ons by stopping into several tire shops and just asking. I'm melting the WW separate from stick-ons, thinking I'll fiddle with the pure lead later on.

Enjoying this new forum, and thanks for all your help.

 

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

yes it will get hot enough to melt the zinc wws. Your best bet is to do a "cold" smelt. Dump your wws in the pot and turn on the gas. Right after your lead WWs are melted (they will melt first because their melting temp is lower than zinc...there is about a 200* difference in melting points, BTW..so don't feel super-rushed to get the clips and zinc ones out) you will see the clips and zinc WWs floating on the top. Ingotized all the lead in the pot...and start over with a "cold" pot (it is not really cold but I use this term to differentiate between a pot where you leave a little molten lead in the bottom to melt the new batch of WWs faster.) As you get the feel for it, you will get comfortable enough to leave a couple inches of lead in the bottom to help melt the new WWs faster. But, be careful and make sure you pour your ingots fast or turn your heat down because as your lead level lowers, it will heat up pretty quick. If it gets over 780*ish, you run the risk of melting the zinc ones when you pour the fresh batch of WWs in. When you pour the WWs into the pot, it cools down the alloy really fast, so you would have to have it pipin' hot to melt the zinc ones. Good luck!