fish devil Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 I was throwing cranks and got a snag. It was a cannon down rigger with the 5lb lead ball and a rapala attached to the rigging. I cut the plastic off the ball and it has been sitting for about a year. I'm going to melt it down soon. Do you think I need to worry about moisture? My setup is outside and away from everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 If you are really concerned, heat the ball from cold or heat it up with a gas torch or keep it behind a radiator for a few days. The water problem only exists if the water comes into contact with the molten lead. Other than a few cracks and the attachment hole, the water has nowhere to hide on a ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagacious Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 I was throwing cranks and got a snag. It was a cannon down rigger with the 5lb lead ball and a rapala attached to the rigging. I cut the plastic off the ball and it has been sitting for about a year. I'm going to melt it down soon. Do you think I need to worry about moisture? My setup is outside and away from everything. Vodkaman is spot on right here: If you are really concerned, heat the ball from cold... Yes, you should certainly be concerned about water if you are melting sinkers, or any lead that has come into contact with water. DR weights (and other large sinkers) are especially likely to have some water trapped inside them. Large lead castings almost always have some degree of porosity. The degree varies with the specific lead alloy, pouring temp, and technique, but as the quantity of lead increases, the shrinkage rate usually causes internal voids. DR weights have usually been used fairly deep underwater as well. Water under pressure will find it's way into any porosity. Plastic coat or not, you know it's been exposed to water, so treat it as such. However, no real reason to worry if you melt it safely. First thing to know is NEVER PUT a sinker or any lead that might have been exposed to rain or water directly INTO MOLTEN LEAD! The only safe way to melt it, is to put the cold DR weight into your COLD melting pot, and allow it to heat up slowly and melt. It'll take a while for a large DR weight to heat up anyway. As the DR weight heats up, any trapped water will hiss off harmlessly as steam, and long before the lead itself melts. This is the only way to safely melt lead that has been exposed to water. Read the sticky at the top of this forum, and you'll find other good safety tips. Oh, and ummm.... always wear safety glasses! Hope this helps, good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted December 16, 2007 Report Share Posted December 16, 2007 Excellent points Sagacious. I did not know about the porosity thing going on, so warming it on a radiator is not going to help much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WidowMaker Posted December 16, 2007 Report Share Posted December 16, 2007 I would build a coal fire and place a steel grate over it. Put the downrigger ball into a cast iron pot and place a piece of wood or steel over the pot get out of the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish devil Posted December 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2007 Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel7@mac.com Posted December 17, 2007 Report Share Posted December 17, 2007 just put it in a hot pot and walk away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagacious Posted December 17, 2007 Report Share Posted December 17, 2007 just put it in a hot pot and walk away. Just as long as that "hot pot" has cold lead in it. If you put it in a pot with molten lead, you may not have time to walk away before bad things happen. Been there, done that............ and had to clean up the mess too! Do it the safe way, every time, and there'll be no worries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
