Salt Pot Question

Mconner

Well-Known Member
For those of you using salt pots. What type of salts are you using for both high and low temp pots, and where do you get it?
Thanks in advance,
Mike
 
High temp are typically sodium chloride based with other heavy metal salts added for wider ranges in working temperatures, the low temp are a ternary nitrate and nitrite mixture. Probably the best place to get them is from Houghton International, but be prepared to buy in quantity, which should be no problem since it would set you up for life and that is really where you want to be with salts. Of course if you have an in with Heat bath/Park Metallurgical you could also get them there in 400# quantities. I personally use Parks NuSal high temp and Parks Thermoquench for the low temp, but I got them when Parks was still selling it to mere mortals. I always urge people to avoid the temptation to try to improvise salts with homemade mixes or substitutes, despite the advice of many, heat treating in molten salts is tricky and hazardous enough without adding such complications. The high temp really need to be spot on chemically in order not to pit or decarb your blades, and not interact poorly with the quench, and the low temp need to extract heat just so in order to be effective.
 
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