First time I saw this thread.
You were very lucky. I have 30+ years in Foundry management Aluminum through steel and water still scares the *(*& out of me. There are a lot of other things that with other metals can cause a magnified version of what you experienced. Aluminum is not too reactive, Zinc OTOH is like a rocket Ferrous metals Iron Steel etc create so much pressure it is more like a bomb going off. My first experience was an overheated furnace due to a defective cooling line. The cooling line filled the pit below the furnace with 4-6 inches of water. The furnace then failed and burned thru its lining dumping ~180 tons of 3400 degree iron on top of the water The result was an explosion heard for several blocks. The metal poked holes thru the roof 60 feet above. ignited several small fires throughout the department 300 - 500 feet away poked holes in a concrete block wall surrounding the pit and in general looked like a bomb had gone off.
Yes we were prepared and everyone knew what to do so no injuries just a very expensive machine failure, (I was a rookie and did what my boss said to do.) For me, it was a valuable lesson. You can watch videos, read books etc, but cannot appreciate the violent nature of molten metal and its reaction with trapped water. Yes, I know lead melting does not have the heat, but trapped water turns to steam at 212 degrees, at 500 degrees the resulting steam pressure is 700 psi and at 550 degrees is 1000 psi pressure so the reaction becomes quite impressive and the hotter it is, the more extreme the reaction.
I always wear safety goggles and a hat and boots with my pant legs over the boot tops. Most of the year, I wear a welders jacket mostly because my basement is cold not damp because a dehumidifier runs year round. I only charge my pot with ingots that I have cast and properly stored I also have a hanging shield between myself and the pot (spark curtain from top of dust collector to basically the top of the pot) I can access the pot and if something ever happens it will be contained by the spark curtain. For me it was an easy way to improve vapor containment and provide a measure of protection in the event of a reaction in the pot.
Proper precautions can save lots of pain and make clean up much easier if something happens. Yes, wear your glasses/goggle, I suggest some head covering and arm covering. In warm weather I use a pair of cotton boot socks with the toe cut out for basic forearm protection.. stay away from any meltable fabric. Shoes are mandatory and I prefer slip on ankle boots that fit inside my pant legs. Shirt is untucked and over my belt. Think sage and you will stay safe and as Mr Murphy says. "If it can happen.... IT WILL!"
