Pure Lead Products

For centuries the issue of ballast or counter weights have been needed to make ships sail, basscule bridges operate,

cranes stay on the ground with a heavy load attached, and simply holding curtains down as they hung from the ceiling.

 

LEAD has been the answer in many of these cases, from its low melting temperature, to its pliability, to its weight per cubic inch. Today

still LEAD is the answer. The US Navy and Coast Guard use lead in their ships, bridges all across the world use cast lead and lead shot,

and machines need lead to counter balance.

Lead can be coated or painted to make it more safe to handle and safer for the enviroment. Think Lead the next time you need weight

Lead pipe boot flashings for toilet vent stacks have been in existence for 80+ years. In most cases they outlast the roofing materials that cover the roof. The

malable nature of lead makes it the ideal product for this application on a pitched roof. They come in 3 different thicknesses and 6 different pipe diameters as

stock items. Different areas of the country used different lead thicknesses either by code or preference.

The alternative options are either plastic or metal like galvanized or aluminum with a rubber gasket.  They are convienient and cheaper than lead flashings. But,

and this is a big but, they tend to corrode over a 5-10 year period due to the elements. Lead never corrodes. What happens when they corrode is it starts to leak

and causes issues on the inside of the home or business.

Troy Ragan of Pure Lead Products who has sold more lead roof flashings than anyone in the past 20 years, says often it is “penny wise and pound foolish” to

save the little bit of money on no caulk flashings and have the hassle of replacing them in such a short period of time.

Troy, also points out, certain areas of the country like Florida, and other areas with a salt air enviroment,  lead flashings are really the only option for certain

roofs  that use tile versus shingles. Tile roofs need the flexibility of a lead roof flashing.

These products are known around the country by different names, pipe boots, lead roof flashings, soil stacks, vent flashings, lead flashings, and the list goes on

but the one thing for sure is they work, they last for decades, and are commonly available at most roofing supply wholesalers.

 

 

 

Coated lead has become the norm for the Navy and the Coast Guard. This eliminates the lead dust situation in a closed in environment of a ship or sub. This process has been being performed by the big ship and submarine builders for 15 plus years.  For years they performed this painting task on their sites, but over the past 5-10 years the lead manufacturers have taken on this task. Its is a nice value added process for the lead industry.

Manufacturers of all kinds of medical equipment that use lead parts also use coated lead parts. Coating can be paint, epoxy or even just etching products. Keeping raw lead out of the hands of manufacturers employees is a smart health and safety move.

We have seen the bridge builders using epoxy coated lead products in the construction process.

Coated lead products will be a growing value added product line for all lead manufacturers over the next few years. I envision the smart lead companies even having their own painting operations. This is a good news for an industry with very tight margins and significant over capacity issues through out the United States.

Wow, so happy to have a format to talk everything Lead. To me Lead is the wonder metal. Lead has

provided me and many others with a great living over the years. Lead is so versatile. Maybe thats why the Romans

figured this out over 2500 years ago.

I will use this format to educate, or re-educate people about Lead. Where and why it is used. The misconsceptions

of Lead, and how we must lobby our ever intrusive government on the legal and smart uses of Lead.

 

The fun has just started, I will post ideas and questions regarding Lead. Please join me in this discussion