I have a new terracota chiminea but no cap, and I couldn’t find anything to use as a cap to keep out rain. I thought that a terracotta (or stoneware) plant saucer would work, but none fit. They are either too large or too small.
I DO have an old copper lid for an old chiminea, though. It’s about 22 guage and fits the new chiminea perfectly, but it’s not really heavy enough to keep the wind from flipping it off and send it to the Land of Oz.
I have a 1 pound lead ingot in my Amazon shopping cart. Can I melt the lead into the copper cap for more weight?
I have both propane and MAP gas torches. Can I melt the lead directly in the copper cap, or do I need a crucible?
I know that the copper will need to be cleaned thoroughly so it’s bright and shiny. Will I need flux to make sure that the lead sticks? Any kind of flux paste or do I need something more specific for pure lead?
1 lb. of lead is not that much and it won’t stop a strong gust of wind from blowing it off the chimney. You need it securely connect to the chimney. I suppose with enough lead in it it will become to difficult to blow off the chimney but if it does you’ll probably damage your roof or the head of someone who goes outside to see what the noise was.
You can just stick the lead in the cap, and play the torch flame over it. it will melt very quickly. It will probably stick better than you need without any flux, but if you really want it to adhere, get some plumber’s flux and stick it under the lump of lead before you heat it.
You get a metal band that tightens around the chimney, or a set of brackets that bolt together around rectangular shapes. They hold down some copper straps that are attached to the cap with screws or soldered on. You can get copper strap at a hardware store in the plumbing section. They might have the metal bands or brackets in copper.
Lead’s not considered an inhalation problem at soldering and pipe sweating temperatures. For something like sheet copper, I think you’re going to need some acid to prepare the surface.
Yes. Some flux is acid based and better for a job like this. Other flux is resin/rosin based and not so good. Looks like plumbing solder and flux will have the acid based flux as opposed to solder designed for electronics or glasswork.
Here’s an alternative suggestion. If the copper cone fits as well as you say, another option would be to keep your 1 lb lead weight as is, but attach some sort of wire (like a sturdy picture hanging wire to the underside of the top of the cap and the other end to the lead weight. I’d use a couple of feet of wire so the lead weight hangs down below the top of the chimney. This way the weight helps keep the cap on, but if a particularly strong gust dislodges it the weight will probably stay inside the chimney and keep the cap from shuffling of to Oz, or Kansas.
If you’re going to do that, you don’t need the one-pound lead ingot from Amazon; any heavy weight around the house will work, as long as it can be suspended from the wire.
Lead won’t stick by itself very well. You need solder. Get a bar of body solder as it is made to go on thick and can be pushed around with a wooden stick to build up on the copper. You need flux also.
Look for old cast iron window sash weights. They were used inside the wall for old double hung windows. Often discarded when old windows are replaced by new ones.