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I've seen a video, several in fact, where a hot plate and a steel or aluminum pot are used for melting scrap lead for casting into ingots. I'm thinking of starting my casting hobby in this manner. I'm wondering if a teflon coated pan would cause any issues, as I have an old one that I would like to use rather than a perfectly good stainless steel one.
My research has shown that teflon melts at 500F or so where lead melts at 621.5F. Highly heated teflon gives off toxic (but not deadly) fumes, but then so does lead. I guess my biggest concern is if it would contaminate the lead too much or at all.
Supposedly the hot plate will get temps high enough to melt lead. The video used a 750W plate, the one I ordered is 1000W.
I bought a Lee lead melter but it's small and best suited for melting small ingots for use with the bullet molds.

I have poured molten lead into coated aluminum cupcake pans to create muffin-shaped ingots. They were presumably teflon coated, but I really don't know what kind of coating.

However, do not use an aluminum pan to melt your lead. Aluminum gets very soft at melted lead temperatures. I've read of aluminum pans failing during multiple or extended uses, and a big pool of molten lead is no bonus.

Personally, I do not worry about using the muffin pan as an ingot mold. The pan does get very soft, but 1 lb ingots are not a huge risk. There is a big difference between pouring molten lead into a mold that immediately solidifies, versus using an aluminum pot to melt lead, where you are applying heat for an extended time. Much different duty requirements.

There is no point in using aluminum for your melting pot. When I am melting down tire weights, I use a large stainless bowl that I bought from Sam's Club for under $10. No point taking risks with aluminum at that price point.

For example, I don't know if this is the exact bowl I purchased years ago, but it is pretty close: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/13-qt-mixi ... 6380604.ip" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have a 3QT Stainless steel pot I picked up at Goodwill for about $3. I guess I'll use that or maybe go back to Goodwill and look for cast iron.

AndyC wrote:As Bob said - don't use aluminum as a melting container, it's extremely dangerous. While the melting point of aluminum is quite high, it weakens a lot as it's heated - add a lot of pressure to a weak point by the weight of molten lead and you'll have a catastrophe in your lap.

I only use a cast iron pot (dutch oven) for that, but I do use aluminum bread-tins as molds for the molten lead to cast bulk blocks of around 10 lbs. The teflon is a non-issue as far as contamination of the lead is concerned, but I wouldn't breathe it in.

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There is nothing like a piping hot pot of copper/lead soup..!!
Don't forget to save your copper jackets and turn into cash at the scrap yard.
It will be called "dirty copper" and they pay less, but it's better than a stick in the eye.

Don2

O6nop wrote:I've seen a video, several in fact, where a hot plate and a steel or aluminum pot are used for melting scrap lead for casting into ingots. I'm thinking of starting my casting hobby in this manner. I'm wondering if a teflon coated pan would cause any issues, as I have an old one that I would like to use rather than a perfectly good stainless steel one.
My research has shown that teflon melts at 500F or so where lead melts at 621.5F. Highly heated teflon gives off toxic (but not deadly) fumes, but then so does lead. I guess my biggest concern is if it would contaminate the lead too much or at all.
Supposedly the hot plate will get temps high enough to melt lead. The video used a 750W plate, the one I ordered is 1000W.
I bought a Lee lead melter but it's small and best suited for melting small ingots for use with the bullet molds.

Just a hint:
I went to a few flea markets and found several cast iron pots pretty cheap.
Most were $10
At one FM, I found a small RCBS cast iron pot for $3....
Check them out.

Myself, I would stay away from aluminum anything when casting. It gives no warning before it melts into a glob depending on thickness. Stainless works fine, you can also find them at flea markets next to the cast iron ones...Hopefully

Don2

I did my first lead meIt by filling my 3QT pan about 3/4 full of range lead, cranked up the heat and ended up with 11 ingots about 20 oz each and equal amounts scrap. The worst part was the smell. I live in a closed in suburban area and am afraid it could alarm the neighbors. The worst part was when I added the flux (candle wax). Any thoughts about the smell and how it dissipates before reaching the neighbors?

Actually, it only smells bad when you are close to it. I've found the temperature of the gases coming off of the melting pot causes them to rise as a pretty rapid rate. Five feet back from the pot and I can't smell anything on a still day. In a stiff breeze the smell is gone by 25 feet down wind. Don't worry about the neighbors unless they come over to see what you are up to.

gerry

O6nop wrote:... I live in a closed in suburban area and am afraid it could alarm the neighbors. ...

The first couple of times I stood out in the driveway and converted wheelweights to lead ingots is how I found out that 3 of my 4 closest neighbors were fellow gun nuts and reloaders. They saw what I was doing and stopped over to see what was going on. I had lived next to them for years and never knew that we shared that interest.

That's one way to meet the neighbors.