So I have started collecting wheel weights again after many years on hiatus. I see many of them now have a different look and color but still seem to be metal. Are these lead or some other material. what happens if some gets into the melting pot. I usually melt them down into ingots on an old cast iron pot. From there I go to the lee pot for casting as needed.
Question on wheel weights for casting?
- Thread starter solman
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USSR
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Wheel weights come in 3 flavors: lead, zinc, and steel. The steel ones are obvious, since they will not melt and stick to a magnet. The zinc will be a problem if smelted into your lead. However, since zinc melts at a higher temp than lead, just don't have your temp too high when smelting, and the zinc WW's will float to the top and you can easily remove them.
Don
Don
Thanks Don. I guess the ones that were of concern are zinc. Didn't see many of them ten, twelve years ago and I would just toss them. Now they make up a large portion of the scrap wheel weight barrels. Still enough of the lead ones in the there to make it worth my while...
Solman
Solman
ReloaderFred
Member
The zinc wheelweights will have the clip fastened differently in some cases. They also make a different sound when dropped onto concrete. The EPA has mandated that all wheelweights be made from something other than lead within the next couple of years.
Hope this helps.
Fred
Hope this helps.
Fred
BullfrogKen
Moderator Emeritus
The lead weight are used on steel rims. Zinc weights are used on aluminum rims. Aluminum rims have grown in popularity, so that's why you're seeing more of them now.
ReloaderFred
Member
Some states have already banned the use of lead weights for tires, and some companies have stopped using them. They're going to become more rare as time passes.
Hope this helps.
Fred
Hope this helps.
Fred
evan price
Member
@ Bullfrog Ken:
I was a tire tech for a while... There's no problem using zinc on steel or aluminum wheels or vice versa; what you might have thought zinc are actually powder-painted lead to look nicer on aluminum wheels. Since there are several states banning lead weights, the weight companies are switching away from lead everywhere so as not to need to stock two separate lines of weights and remember where to send them.
There are also plastic weights with powdered metal inside. These are not nice to melt. BMW likes them.
Keep your melt temp under 700 degrees F and the zincs will float with the clips and iron weights. Or, use a pliers on suspect weights, zincs won't bend or cut with hand force, lead will.
There are also zinc and iron stick-on weights, whereas stick-ons were soft lead before.
I was a tire tech for a while... There's no problem using zinc on steel or aluminum wheels or vice versa; what you might have thought zinc are actually powder-painted lead to look nicer on aluminum wheels. Since there are several states banning lead weights, the weight companies are switching away from lead everywhere so as not to need to stock two separate lines of weights and remember where to send them.
There are also plastic weights with powdered metal inside. These are not nice to melt. BMW likes them.
Keep your melt temp under 700 degrees F and the zincs will float with the clips and iron weights. Or, use a pliers on suspect weights, zincs won't bend or cut with hand force, lead will.
There are also zinc and iron stick-on weights, whereas stick-ons were soft lead before.
BullfrogKen
Moderator Emeritus
I worked for a full-service serice station for a while in between college. Those lighter colored weights were definitely not lead. They were a much lighter weight than the lead weights. And the tire balancer we used definitely made allowances for the differences in aluminum and steel rims.
Those zinc weights sound different when dropped, and feel lighter in the hand. And yes, if you miss one they'll rise to the top as long as the pot isn't too hot.
Those zinc weights sound different when dropped, and feel lighter in the hand. And yes, if you miss one they'll rise to the top as long as the pot isn't too hot.
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