cleaning the pot

[soldierbilly1]

hey, How do we do this?
My Lee bottom pour sure does collect garbage in the melt after a while. I flux and skim my shorts off, but I still get some garbage in the melt.
I figgered it was time to drain the pot and get the crud out.

any secrets to getting the crud out of there? do we use anything special to help this along? thanks

billy boy
I think the Frankfort Arsenal powder flux is responsible for most of the garbage.

[Ole]

I use paraffin chunks and/or candles in my lee pot and haven't had the issues you describe.

[Carolina Cast Bullets]

Could be the flux. That stuff leaves hygroscopic residue (draws moisture from the air).

I flux with hardwood sawdust (oak, maple, mahogany and cherry) and dont have near the problems I did have

Jerry
Carolina Cast Bullets

[dragonrider]

A wire brush in a drill is one option, I have found that taking it apart and bead blasting the inner pot is the fastest and most efficient.
Now once you have the pot cleaned use sawdust for flux and your pot will stay cleaner much longer.

[BulletFactory]

When you get the lead out, and its still very hot, unplug it, and then pour some water in it. Be careful of the steam, you dont want to mess with that, but that steam is what will separate the crud from the pot. You can then blast, or wire brush as described above. I like to take the handle and drain stopper rod out just to get it out of the way.

[D Crockett]

I have found that if you take a hack saw blade andheat the end of the last inch or two red hot then bend a 90 anduse that to scrape the sides and bottom of the pot it helps to keep it clean also use bees wax or candle wax to flux with you can put a layer of cat litter (unused ) on top to keep the oxidation from forming that way you will not have to flux as much D Crockett

[10x]

When you get the lead out, and its still very hot, unplug it, and then pour some water in it. Be careful of the steam, you dont want to mess with that, but that steam is what will separate the crud from the pot. You can then blast, or wire brush as described above. I like to take the handle and drain stopper rod out just to get it out of the way.

That is a new one - gonna try it. My lee pot gets a cleaning once a year with a brush on a drill.

I find that the larger I make my initial melt to clean and make ingots, and if I flux really well during that process while not letting the temperature get too high the casting pot stays a lot cleaner.
I also clean the crud out of my melting and cleaning cast iron pot and then coat it with beeswax - it seems that the cleaner I keep that pot the easier it is to pour good bullets from the melt.

[Fire_stick]

cat litter (unused )

Dang man! I have plenty of the used...:kidding:

[biker_trash_1340]

cat litter (unused )
Did he pointed that out,,,:lol:

[Billwnr]

I empty the lead out of mine. Let it cool down and then fill it up with water and turn it back on. Thirty minutes later all the crud is "bubbled" loose. Empty and then rinse the last of the crud out. Let it dry before the next use.

Been using this trick since I learned it on 2006.

[Char-Gar]

I do use water to clean my pots, but if only takes a few seconds for the water to turn into a volcano. I put the water in, plug the pot in and stand there with my hand on the plug and pull it when the water starts to boil. I will do this several times and dump the water. A wire brush will then quickly remove any thing left in the pot.

[rbertalotto]

Can you use Corn Cob Media as a top flux instead of saw dust or cat litter?

How about used CC media out of your case tumbler?

[Longwood]

Can you use Corn Cob Media as a top flux instead of saw dust or cat litter?

How about used CC media out of your case tumbler?

Why not give it a try? I plan on trying walnut shells as soon as my media needs changing. I asked about using it but got no response but I recently saw where one gent here uses walnut sawdust.
I used to use nothing but Bees wax, bullet lube or plain old paraffin but since I joined this site, I have taken a few peoples suggestions and tried a few other things including ash from my pellet stove (my idea) which did not work at all. I tried clay cat litter and what a mess that was. I have no idea what I am going to do with 19+ lbs of dried clay particles.
I am now using wet then died hardwood pellets (sawdust) along with paraffin and am very happy with that it so far.
BTW, I have cast at least 200 lbs of bullets with my Lee bottom pour pot and I see no need to clean it. I scrape the sides and bottom with a, specially modified, long wood handled, stainless spoon (which I may try selling copies of) and everything floats to the top of the melt. I warm the spoon then rub it on a big candle to coat it then stir the pot with it. The paraffin is taken down into the pot where it can do the most good instead of simply floating on top of the melt.
I drained the pot a few days ago so I could cast some pure lead bullets. The sides and bottom of the pot are a little discolored but as clean as a whistle.

[10x]

Anything with high carbon content (except black powder) will flux.
The theory is that the carbon grabs the impurities.
Seems to work.

[BulletFactory]

Why not black powder?

[10x]

Why not black powder?

Blow it out? Not a bad method if your eardrums and windows can take the blast.

[BulletFactory]

lol, just making sure people are paying attention.

[Bret4207]

I find that if I'm scraping and stirring with a wooden stick, as I am usually doing, that my pot stays nice and clean and doesn't need any attention. BUT, I also use a stainless pot. Why Lee, RCBS. etc. don;t use stainless I don't understand. Cost I suppose.

[10x]

lol, just making sure people are paying attention.

So you are just "Stirring the pot" - or in this case "Fluxing"?

[BulletFactory]

tee hee hee