OK, I'm somewhat perplexed on this point:
Why do you guys allow the beesway flux to smoke?
When fluxing, you're stirring the melt, and stirring always cools the lead. During fluxing, you generally want to keep the temp up (especially during just that short time) to allow for oxide separation and chemical reduction. Note that the oxide scum floating on the melt will always be slightly cooler than the melt itself, and considerably cooler when stirring and skimming it.
Allowing the flux to smoke creates an oxidizing environment, whereas lighting the smoke with a match creates a reducing atmosphere. The flames create a temporary spike in temperature right where and when you need it, and I've found that with some types of lead scrap (especially lead covered with lots of oxide, mixed with a large amount of foreign material, or lead granules) that the additional heat dramatically accelerates and maximizes efficiency of the fluxing process. But even when fluxing tire weights or other scrap lead, lighting the smoke speeds up the fluxing process noticeably.
Then there's the safety factor. Any hydrocarbon flux may spontaneously ignite while fluxing. And as some have noted, it may ignite when you're hovering over the pot and not expecting it to burst into flames. If you light the flux right as the process starts, the flames start and stay controlled, and there are no unexpected high-temp surprises. Beeswax smoke may ignite spontaneously if the temp and conditions are favorable, of course, since that's how beeswax candles work.
Besides that, wax smokes like a house fire, and the smoke lingers when it's not lit, so the pot smokes for a while. When lit, the hydrocarbons are converted to CO and CO2 much faster, and the particulate matter in the smoke is broken down. Stated simply, flames = much less smoke, and better fluxing.
Now, I can understand why one might not wish to light a flame inside a shop or basement, but then again, I can't see why anyone would want billowing smoke (with the implicit risk of fire) in that location either.
I know that beeswax smoke smells grand, but is there something else I'm missing here?
