Welding an iron kettle

Picked up an iron kettle today at an auction. It was in a pile with some fence stuff and some tobacco cultivator shanks. It is busted up pretty bad, cracked about half way around, about 1/3 the way up the side. It is in pretty rough shape, ain't seen lard in years. I don't need it for cooking but it would be nice to have a smaller 15 gallon extra one. I don't know if it would clean up much if it were welded up, but I could use it to dip hams in and stuff like that. Any way, I have heard some folks say they can be welded up and some say it can't. Does any one know if it can be patched up enough to hold water? At $25 for the pile of stuff I got it will make the wife a nice flower pot.

Dave

Hello kyplwboy,
The biggest challenge would be to clean the area to be welded. Cast iron or cast steel can be welded with the appropiate cast rod. Stainless rod may work as well.
Guido.

I would imagine it is quite doable, provided it isn't too large (in terms of gap size) of a crack.

BTDT sort and not long ago. I welded up a cast iron fry pan for a guy just a few weeks ago. Yep can be done but it takes time and know how. Ni rod is a must and heating it in an oven then welding it and back in the oven is the only way to make it work and hold. And even then it will look ugly

You can see a good bit of day light through the crack. Wish I could post some pics, darn work pooter rules, I can talk all night but can't upload pics.

Dave

i've welded cast pots and bells, put them on a good fire of charcoal to get and keep them hot, it has allways worked for me....

Sodel 335 rod. Prep for welding, preheat the pot, then weld as usual. Let it cool on it's own.
Should be fine.

Rod

You dont even need special rod maybe.Build a fire,heat it up and try 6011 or 7018.Nickel rod will work but costs a lot.You need to grind a v in it if you can.Dont weld over 3/4 of an inch at a time.Peen,weld another 3/4 inch,dont stop until its welded.If it does crack v it out with a grinder and weld it while its hot.If its real long you want to tack it in several places before you weld.Probably need to drill a hole at the end of the crack to keep it from getting longer.Keep it hot for a while after you get it welded.

Are you intending to stick it or TIG it? Cast pots are far more porous than engine blocks, and even Nickle rod are hard to weld. I have heard of some good fortune using a TIG welder, though. Engine blocks are a more fine casting, and simply using nickle rod works good for those, but pots and skillets don't weld well. Some people have good luck brassing these.

Are you intending to stick it or TIG it? Cast pots are far more porous than engine blocks, and even Nickle rod are hard to weld. I have heard of some good fortune using a TIG welder, though. Engine blocks are a more fine casting, and simply using nickle rod works good for those, but pots and skillets don't weld well. Some people have good luck brassing these.

I thought I'd heard that the pros' use a bath prior to welding....clean out the pores and damaged areas. Got any places around that do anodizing and chem treatments? Might give them a call.

Good cleaning would be to sand blast and that should be done to the whole kettle if it is as I would guess all rusty before any use any way.

6011? No! 6011 is entirely different than 7018. 7018 can be be used on cast in some situations but isn't the best choice either. Nickel rod or specialty rods are a better choice. Dave

6011 will work on cast steel,Ive welded cast steel with it.Now I havent welded a kettle though.As long as you can grind it and it throws sparks you should be able to weld it.I would not weld more than 3/4 of an inch without peening and letting it cool a little,grind where you start the next weld to get all of the slag out.7018 would be better if you have something to weld it with like a Pipeliner or a DC machine or have enough experience with AC to do it.It can get aggravating though if it sticks all the time.

Hello leroy,
Yep! you got to clean it first anyway you can, then you can weld it.
Of course it is assumed that you have the equipment and the proper rod to effect the repairs.
Guido.

Cast iron and cast steel are completely different. Cast steel is easy to weld and usually doesn't require any special procedures other than maybe preheat on a thick casting. AC7018 works fine on most buzz boxes. Peening 6011 would do nothing. Welding something with the wrong rod because you don't have enough experience with the proper rod seems like a recipe for failure. Welding takes practice and also some knowledge about the best rods/procedure to use. Dave

Never tried to weld such a large cracked casting. But lately, I have been welding some parts with the oxy-acetylene torch with excellent results. Thin cast iron is easily melted through with the torch, but also easily patched when it does. Proper flux and filler is important.

Have you welded a kettle with 6011?What do you think peening does?I dont know where I could find a kettle to try it out on or I would.6011 is mild steel rod.Deep penetrating with a lot of slag.You weld short welds and clean the slag every time it will probably work.Go slow,keep it hot,if it cracks you may need to do something different.I also said if you grind it and it throws sparks you can weld it.That means with 6011.This isnt my first time welding something cast.What do you think the difference between 6011 and 7018 is?I try to discourage people from using nickel rod because if I have to fix it I have to grind all of that nickel off to weld it.Since I learned you dont need nickel rod a lot of times I quit using it.I might look around and find a couple of nickel rods if I had to use nickel,but everything cast Ive welded for a long time worked with 6011 and 7018 or MIG.If it doesnt throw sparks when you grind it then maybe nickel is all that will work.If 7018 will work so will a MIG.I dont know about a TIG because I havent welded with one very much.I have welded lots of rods and MIG.If it doesnt work try something else.If you can weld it with 7018 and a buzz box there is a good chance you can weld it with 6011 and a buzz box.And no matter what you weld it with,even a torch,you need to peen the weld.I dont make a living welding cast,but thats what I know from welding cast.You might have a different experience.If it wont work,it wont work,I have tried to weld stuff that I couldnt weld and took it to a professional to fix.Maybe 2 times in my whole life and only one of those was cast.I have found some stuff 6011 wouldnt weld or if it did it cracked real bad but it wouldnt throw sparks when you hit it with a grinder either.