What do you use to melt and clean your range lead? - Page 1

Site Notices

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - What do you use to melt and clean your range lead?

Posted: 11/8/2015 10:26:21 PM EDT

My gas grill side burner is only 10K BTU's (and a POS). Tried that with a couple different cast iron pans (now ruined).

I then purchased an electric 1500 watt unit. That wasn't going so well so I bypassed the thermostat to keep it always on. I think I fried it within 15mins because now it isn't working.

I am starting to debate buying a cheap Lee or Lyman furnace.

What do you use?

I have a nice RCBS furnace I use for making bullets. I don't want to gunk that up with the initial smelting.

Posted: 11/8/2015 10:31:41 PM EDT

[#1]

I use a turkey deep frier burner and a heavy aluminum pot to melt down range lead (usually at the range while I'm mining the berm).

As for cleaning, I use candle wax to flux, or get by with the bullet lube left on cast bullets.

Once it's melted and the slag is skimmed off, I pour it into muffin and ingot trays. These 'clean' lead ingots are what I then use to make my bullet alloys in a Lee 10# bottom pour pot.

Posted: 11/8/2015 10:48:11 PM EDT

[#2]

Awesome. I will try that. Thanks!

FWIW.. I meant to put this in Reloading section but made a mistake. But you guys in C&R tend to know everything anyway!

Quote History

Quoted:
I use a turkey deep frier burner and a heavy aluminum pot to melt down range lead (usually at the range while I'm mining the berm).

As for cleaning, I use candle wax to flux, or get by with the bullet lube left on cast bullets.

Once it's melted and the slag is skimmed off, I pour it into muffin and ingot trays. These 'clean' lead ingots are what I then use to make my bullet alloys in a Lee 10# bottom pour pot.

View Quote

Posted: 11/8/2015 11:48:33 PM EDT

[#3]

Weird question.

What is the best method to mine berms and how much do you usually get in weight in how much time?

Posted: 11/9/2015 2:35:30 AM EDT

[#4]

Quote History

Quoted:
Weird question.

What is the best method to mine berms and how much do you usually get in weight in how much time?

View Quote

And how does the rangemaster feel about someone working with a shovel down on the 100 yard berm?

Posted: 11/9/2015 7:43:28 AM EDT

[#5]

I use an old tractor rim as a fire ring with fire wood. An old grate from my grill holds the pan/ lead out of the fire.

Posted: 11/9/2015 9:14:38 AM EDT

[#6]

Quote History

Quoted:

Weird question.

What is the best method to mine berms and how much do you usually get in weight in how much time?

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Weird question.

What is the best method to mine berms and how much do you usually get in weight in how much time?

I use a shovel and a sieve table I made from some 2x4s, wire mesh and an old card table that the middle fell out of.

How
much lead I get entirely depends on how much folks have been shooting.
At the pistol berms I can pretty much just scoop up lead off the ground
because the berm is so packed with it.

On average I get 200-400lbs before I get bored and go home, so maybe 100lbs/hr in collection+processing time?

Quoted:

And how does the rangemaster feel about someone working with a shovel down on the 100 yard berm?

I'm one of the rangemasters/RSOs and I feel quite fine with it, since I only mine the lead when no one is using the range.

Also I've only bothered with the 100yd berm once, since the pistol berms have way more lead for almost no effort (and not having to carry lead 100yds, since no wagon or way to get my truck near the berm).

Posted: 11/9/2015 5:45:48 PM EDT

[#7]

Quote History

Quoted:
I use a shovel and a sieve table I made from some 2x4s, wire mesh and an old card table that the middle fell out of.

How much lead I get entirely depends on how much folks have been shooting. At the pistol berms I can pretty much just scoop up lead off the ground because the berm is so packed with it.
On average I get 200-400lbs before I get bored and go home, so maybe 100lbs/hr in collection+processing time?

I'm one of the rangemasters/RSOs and I feel quite fine with it, since I only mine the lead when no one is using the range.

Also I've only bothered with the 100yd berm once, since the pistol berms have way more lead for almost no effort (and not having to carry lead 100yds, since no wagon or way to get my truck near the berm).

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Weird question.

What is the best method to mine berms and how much do you usually get in weight in how much time?

I use a shovel and a sieve table I made from some 2x4s, wire mesh and an old card table that the middle fell out of.

How much lead I get entirely depends on how much folks have been shooting. At the pistol berms I can pretty much just scoop up lead off the ground because the berm is so packed with it.
On average I get 200-400lbs before I get bored and go home, so maybe 100lbs/hr in collection+processing time?

Quoted:
And how does the rangemaster feel about someone working with a shovel down on the 100 yard berm?

I'm one of the rangemasters/RSOs and I feel quite fine with it, since I only mine the lead when no one is using the range.

Also I've only bothered with the 100yd berm once, since the pistol berms have way more lead for almost no effort (and not having to carry lead 100yds, since no wagon or way to get my truck near the berm).

Ha! awesome.

For me, I go to my friends ranch every Saturday (Sunday if rained out). We setup a 100yrd range. His wife is bored retired Army Sergeant who likes digging through the berm and fields when we shoot steel. I wish I could get hundreds of pounds.. Rest of my lead comes from uncle plumber.

Posted: 11/11/2015 2:24:12 AM EDT

[#8]

To melt the scrap/range lead I used a 10" cast iron skillet on a gasoline powered Coleman camp stove. A sheet metal soup dipper to pour the lead into a muffin pan. Always done outside on sunny days with all lead and tools dry.

Posted: 11/11/2015 5:38:39 AM EDT

[#9]

Aluminum pot is a really bad idea. Supposedly they can break down.

Turkey fryer and some steel scrap pot welded up works for me.

Posted: 11/11/2015 10:17:06 AM EDT

[#10]

+1 turkey fryer and even better if you get the higher pressure regulator.

My vessel for scrap/wheel weights is an old style propane tank cut in half at the old weld line. I would not use my casting pot or RCBS pro melt for melting scrap. Too much crap to gunk up the works.

I started with an old stainless steel revere ware pot on a coleman stove. It works but too slow. The coleman stove doesn't throw quite enough heat for an efficient melt.

Posted: 11/11/2015 1:36:37 PM EDT

[#11]

Coleman 2-burner stove for melting. The main burner melts lead in an old iron bucket, and the 2nd burner on a very low flame is useful for keeping molds warm. Lead comes from my local scrap yard. Every time dump a load of iron, I just trade its value for lead.

I also have a bunch of lead acid batteries, but I am unsure what to do with the acid. Neutralize with baking soda? Apparently recovering lead from car batteries is considered a poor practice.

Posted: 11/11/2015 2:10:14 PM EDT

[#12]

My dad used to use his Colman camp stove .it worked great.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 11/11/2015 9:16:48 PM EDT

[#13]

R22 freon tank cut in half and home made Turkey fryer stand converted to natural gas.

Posted: 11/18/2015 8:46:56 PM EDT

[#14]

I cut a expired propane bottle in half and heat it with a turkey fryer

Posted: 11/18/2015 9:08:16 PM EDT

[#15]

Coffee can and my backpack stove.

Posted: 11/26/2015 3:51:20 PM EDT

[#16]

I use a piece of 8"pipe with flat iron welded on the bottom been working great for years I heat it with a turkey cooker. Now I have a few 1000 pounds of clean ingitized bars. Helli should sell a 1000 pounds and buy a new toy LOL

Posted: 11/26/2015 4:37:39 PM EDT

[#17]

Lodge cast iron pot on a turkey burner. Works like a champ, and there's no risk of the bottom falling out of the pot like can happen with aluminum (happened to me, kinda exciting).

Posted: 11/26/2015 4:39:28 PM EDT

[#18]

I use a jet cooker and a cast iron pot.

Posted: 11/26/2015 11:35:06 PM EDT

[#19]

Quote History

Quoted:
Weird question.

What is the best method to mine berms and how much do you usually get in weight in how much time?

View Quote

Old memory time!

When I was a kid, my neighbor and I would "sneak" into the police shooting range down by the river, and pack out any brass we found (not much) and a decent haul of lead. The bullets would be laying on top of or just under the dirt. It was probably a couple mile walk and we used drainage tunnels whenever we got the chance. I have no idea what we ended up doing with all of it.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - What do you use to melt and clean your range lead?

Armory » Curios & Relics

Warning

Confirm Action

About AR15.COM

Stay Connected

Newsletter

Contact Us