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Propane burner for lead melting
Posted:
Mon Oct 02, 2017 9:23 amby MattaOTS
Hi,
What size, in BTU/hr, have people used when melting lead for the keel and centerboard? Been looking online to buy one, and don't want to spend more than I have to, I imagine a big burner like 50,000 BTU/hr or more would be overkill?
Re: Propane burner for lead melting
Posted:
Mon Oct 02, 2017 12:14 pmby Pastorjim
I just used an old Turkey Fryer burner that I had sitting around. It worked great. I think it was around 38,000 BTU.
Re: Propane burner for lead melting
Posted:
Mon Oct 02, 2017 1:15 pmby riverron
I used the same thing. I purchased one on sale at a Bass Pro for like $29.00.
Not sure what the BTU was.
Thanks
Re: Propane burner for lead melting
Posted:
Mon Oct 02, 2017 2:41 pmby John in CC
I used a cheap turkey fryer too. Used an iron skillet on top of it to heat the lead in. It took a lot of pours but I think it was a bit safer with the multiple pours so things didn't get too heavy.
Re: Propane burner for lead melting
Posted:
Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:05 amby TassiePete
If you are patient enough, a camping stove will do the trick (just). I could do only batches of about a pint of liquid (~ 8-9 kg), but it worked out fine. The pot is an old s/s cooking pot which works well, because lead doesn't stick to it. I used a strip of plywood to take of the little dross that floated on top, but if you pour slowly, any dross stays behind anyway. I sourced some old lead flashing which was remarkably clean.
Cheers.