Melting lead on site

[Thrashsmith]

Hello all, I may have a job which would involve heating up the joints on some heavy cast iron railings to melt out the lead which would have joined them together on site (there's no mechanical joints visible).

The location means taking my big 50L oxy bottle & big 47kg propane is not possible, as there's a load of churned up muddy ground between unloading area & where the railings are, so I'd want to take something smaller.

What are my best options for on site heating that are easier to transport, but hot enough to do the job? My gas supplier do a Buse 10L oxy bottle & I guess I could get a small propane, but if I can avoid the faff of starting 2 new bottle rentals & then cancelling the rentals almost right away, that would be preferable. Thanks

 

[addjunkie]

How far do you need to travel over the mud? There are options, compact tractor with a box on the back for example, or a quad with a small sheep trailer on.

 

[Kram]

How much is there to do? Lead melts easily and oxy is not usually required.
A small propane or map bottle?

 

[Thrashsmith]

How far do you need to travel over the mud? There are options, compact tractor with a box on the back for example, or a quad with a small sheep trailer on.

Only about 25 metres, but it's properly churned up & boggy.

 

[Dapph2]

Are the railing actually set in stone kerbs or flagstones and held there by poured in lead. If so you' ll need a heck or a lot of heat to melt the lead as the heatsink will be some what large . Trying to pull them free usually results in the stone work being wrecked too .
At a church I tried to weld more steel ont he ground free of rust stubs in the hope it would melt enough lead t allow extraction with chains & levers ....NFC.

So I welded on new MS rectangular & square bars in true pigeonshitmanner and painted them black it lasted at least 20 year ( when I was back in the area I checked )

Use a smaller 25 kg propane bottle , regulator and a tar burner lance would be my solution in your case. Put the sealing plug in and roll or pull slide it across to where you need to access ?

If you post your location perhaps someone in your area will let you borrow a 25 kg bottle of propane or let you have an empty one for exchanging at a house gas supplier / shop outlet . I am in sa183bz & have one .

 

[Thrashsmith]

Are the railing actually set in stone kerbs or flagstones and held there by poured in lead. If so you' ll need a heck or a lot of heat to melt the lead as the heatsink will be some what large . Trying to pull them free usually results in the stone work being wrecked too .
At a church I tried to weld more steel ont he ground free of rust stubs in the hope it would melt enough lead t allow extraction with chains & levers ....NFC.

So I welded on new MS rectangular & square bars in true pigeonshitmanner and painted them black it lasted at least 20 year ( when I was back in the area I checked )

Use a smaller 25 kg propane bottle , regulator and a tar burner lance would be my solution in your case. Put the sealing plug in and roll or pull slide it across to where you need to access ?

If you post your location perhaps someone in your area will let you borrow a 25 kg bottle of propane or let you have an empty one for exchanging at a house gas supplier / shop outlet . I am in sa183bz & have one .

Thanks for the thoughts.
The horizontal cast iron rails are possibly leaded into the vertical cast iron posts. It's all very heavy stuff though, so there will be an element of heat sink.

 

[Agroshield]

The oxy-fuel route might be a better one to go on, no matter how difficult the access. A small oxy bottle and a 13kg propane would suffice.

Direct a weed burner propane torch onto concrete for a while and it will spall and semi-explode (Harrier jump jets had problems with airfields). In this current weather/season, the stone work will be damp and when any moisture turns to steam, its volume increases considerably.

The more focussed flame of an oxy torch plus the narrow nozzle would allow you to direct the inner flame cone directly onto the lead itself, melting it as required.

 

[Thrashsmith]

The oxy-fuel route might be a better one to go on, no matter how difficult the access. A small oxy bottle and a 13kg propane would suffice.

Direct a weed burner propane torch onto concrete for a while and it will spall and semi-explode (Harrier jump jets had problems with airfields). In this current weather/season, the stone work will be damp and when any moisture turns to steam, its volume increases considerably.

The more focussed flame of an oxy torch plus the narrow nozzle would allow you to direct the inner flame cone directly onto the lead itself, melting it as required.

It's cast iron into cast iron, no concrete.

 

[addjunkie]

Another point, it was probably all assembled chocked in place, then leaded. So to get it all out youll need each bit free all at once

 

[Dapph2]

It's cast iron into cast iron, no concrete.

Ah ah ..... use braided copper from a screened cable , coated in soldering flux to soak up & also draw in any liquified solder from a joint ..like a wick . You might then get some working clearance to pull things apart .

 

[Gareth J]

You could make up some extension hoses for the oxyfuel and keep the bottles on better ground?

 

[masleeve]

Having spent a fair bit of time in my career working on radio sites that are in bogs and pedestrian access we used devices like this, often with a modified bucket arrangement - could you hire or borrow something similar.

 

[Dapph2]

£100 a day plus delivery + VAT in these parts of South Wales this week , cash at smaller hire places can be much better .

 

[gaz1]

Thanks for the thoughts.
The horizontal cast iron rails are possibly leaded into the vertical cast iron posts. It's all very heavy stuff though, so there will be an element of heat sink.

can you show pics of what your going to melt out with the lead any melting of the lead and it will run and reseal again

its normally cut out chiseled out and then remelted back in again to rest the whole iron fence onto new lead

 

[Thrashsmith]

can you show pics of what your going to melt out with the lead any melting of the lead and it will run and reseal again

its normally cut out chiseled out and then remelted back in again to rest the whole iron fence onto new lead

Thanks. Here's some snaps. It's lots of these connections

 

[gaz1]

if they are the old cast railings then there cast as one piece and have a joint on the railing itself

only way to find out is use a wire wheel on a grinder or a drill grinders the better option though

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Only about 25 metres, but it's properly churned up & boggy.

Rent a tracked barrow ?

 

[Agroshield]

25m is not a lot.

Buy one of these, strap one bottle at a time to it. Use a 50m rope, one end tied to the fence, with the pulley on the sled. Then you are only pulling half the resistance.

Heavy Duty Outdoor Sled for Deer Hauling Efficiently Move Loads Over Grass, Snow, and Mud (black) : Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science

Heavy Duty Outdoor Sled for Deer Hauling Efficiently Move Loads Over Grass, Snow, and Mud (black) : Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science

www.amazon.co.uk

Someone may know an economic option for a battery- or drill-powered winch.

I would be tempted to wrap the bottle with polythene DPM and pull it by the neck. The wetter it is, the better it will slide.

 

[gaz1]

if you look at your design and some older types they fit together a certain way the old style slotted down this one is side fit as well as slot down into a wall

Antique cast iron railing panels and posts

Reclaimed antique heavy cast iron ball top railing panels with four reeded large square posts and seven smaller square posts. Approxim...

www.englishsalvage.co.uk

 

[Turbo]

Thanks. Here's some snaps. It's lots of these connectionsView attachment 523341View attachment 523342

That's going to be a nightmare to get all those joints heated together to get the post separated.

Is there a decent electricity supply?
You could use 3 induction heaters together to heat up the joints.