Hi Steve, I've been following the thread and wanted to share my opinion. I first HIGHLY advise AGAINST using the drain mechanism. In fact, I may have removed it and put a stainless steel plug into the port in such a way that it cannot be removed unless the pot is out of the case. I've seen way too many people hurt (burned) badly from those things. Using a ladle is a little slow, but much better controlled. I suggest "pound cake" (4"x 9" x 3") "Bakers Secret" cake pans (you'll need about 6 of them) which are Teflon lined. These will not contaminate the solder and release well. Available from the local grocery store at a very reasonable price and can be re-used. With the way the tin market (London Metal Exchange) has been, it's wise to re-use the solder. The best price you'll get for it from the reclaim folks is about $1.00 / lb. New solder is going around $3.00 / lb., and since the solder is quite useable, no reason to spend money needlessly. Get yourself a large galvanized wash basin (2-3 ft diameter) and several bricks (like the ones the building is made with, hey... there's lots of them, nobody will miss a few if you take a few ~). Put the bricks in the bottom of the galvanized tub as an insulator, set an empty cake pan on top of it and fill the tub with water to about 1/4" below the edge of the cake pan. When you fill the pans, only go 3/4 of the way up, this will make them easier to handle (ever try walking with a full bowl of soup?). Using 2 pairs of vise grips (no commercial here, either) to pick them up by the ears, gently place them into the water bath. This will cool them much faster than a fan, but be aware the water will get very hot and you'll need to add more due to evaporation. Let them sit there until you can tap the top with a 1/2" bar and not puncture the skin. Remember, it's liquid inside! Have a pallet nearby to flip the ingot out of the pan and stack (it's going to be 1,800 lbs when you're done! DO NOT put the cake pans when full of liquid solder on any surface you wish not destroyed, blue smurfs are an exception! Let the pans dry before reloading... it only takes a few minutes since they are so hot anyway. As you get the pot lower and lower, disconnect the top fire rods (power down first, please) as they become exposed. Repower the system and continue to empty until the lower fire rods become exposed then power off. You'll have enough time to get nearly all the solder out before it cools. When you get to the bottom, you'll be left with a cup or so that is difficult to scoop out. Scrape it to the center of the pot until it is on a flat area with no structures then let it cool to a solid and lift it out. I can do this project for you if you like... call me for more details. As far as the boat trip... my name IS NOT Gilligan! LOL Why don't you put those pics up on your site? I'm sure we'll all get a chuckle from it. I was wondering... Did anyone say anything about your sunburn when you got back from a business trip to New Hampshire? Yeah, right... New Hampshire... sunburn... what a boondoggle!~ Have a great week everyone! Regards, Ed Popielarski QTA Machine 10 Mc Laren, Ste D Irvine, Ca. 92618 Phone:949-581-6601 Fax: 949-581-2448 Cel: 949-337-2578 WWW.QTA.NET --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------