Buying a Pro Melt

[happy7]

I decided I needed to get another RCBS promelt to be able to handle another alloy. I looked around online, and Grafs had the cheapest price I could find at under 340. Add a $50 rebate from RCBS and I think I got a pretty good deal in todays market. It wasn't but a few years ago it seems these things were like 100 dollars cheaper, or am I remembering wrong?

But I just wanted to let others know, if they were considering picking one one of these up that RCBS does have that rebate going on now.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Another way to go is to call the nice lady at RCBS and see if they have any seconds! I bought this one new in box for $200 and had to look for the ding in the metal. It's on the right hand corner!:veryconfu

[mtgrs737]

You will be happy with the pro-melt, they are good melters. I got mine used off of ebay for $175, it has been a great unit.

[dromia]

The Pro Melts look pricey but are quality kit and are very ergonomically designed. They look pricey up front but what you get in comparison to some similarly sized melters is light years ahead of the competition.

I bought my first one new and have never regreted it.

I bought my next one second hand sans the pouring mechanism, so it was cheap, RCBS supplied the missing parts FoC.

[X-man]

I hadn't realized that RCBS had a rebate on the go. Looks like it is time for me to pick up another Pro-Melt! Thanks for the heads up guys! :)

[OLPDon]

I own 2 and have not had any problems at all, both are over 8 yrs. No drips easy to adjust well worth the money. You will be quite pleased with the Pro Melt.
Don

[milprileb]

I like a mold guide. Does Pro Melt allow installation of one ?

[seagiant]

Hi,
I'll be honest,originally I did not want to buy a RCBS pot. I wanted a commercial 40lb pot from Magma Engineering. Not because I use so many boolits but because I like quality when I can afford it. After doing the research and looking at price with the commercial pot almost twice the price,I got the pro melt and have never regretted it!!!

[Southern Son]

To those of you who have the Pro-Melt, have you left the thermometer in the melt as you have cast your boolits, and if so, did you notice any variation in the temperature of the melt as the lead level went down in the pot?

I only ask this because I have not laid eyes on one in person and don't know anyone who has one. I therefor don't know how the RCBS Pro-Melt controls the temperature. I have a Lee 4-20 and my only complaint with the Lee is that the temperature flutuates way too much for my liking. If I could buy a PID setup ready to use for the Lee, I would bypass the temperature control and use the PID to control the temperature of the melt. I would go as far as to say that the only thing I really hate on the Lee is the fluctuating temperature of the melt. The mold guid is OK, the dripping is a non issue for me, I just drop whatever drips out, back into the pot when I put the sprues and new lead in, but the way the temperature goes up and down is driving me nuts.

[JMtoolman]

I've had mine for 30 years and never had a problem with it. I think I paid about 80 for it new when I got it, I think it was on a special sale then. Never looked back, you won't go wrong with one. The toolman

[TXGunNut]

I hadn't realized that RCBS had a rebate on the go. -X-man


Yep, just got my check a few weeks ago for the last rebate offer. Made for an awesome deal on my RCBS Chargemaster.

[evan price]

Mine was new in box, however stored in a shed where the roof had leaked on it so the box was ruined. There was a some rust on the outer skins too. However it was new and unused and going for $200 cash so Ifigured what the heck..man, this thing is sweet. Much nicer than the Lee pots. I dunno if it is $350 nice, but it was $200 nice by my way of thinking.

The RCBS has a mold guide underneath, that's the "L"-shaped arm with the two round bushings. It adjusts up and down and rotates, and you can set the bushings to space the mold in the right place under the spout. Makes using a 6-cav Lee mold easy on the wrist.

I do need to run it around 800 to get good pouring without freezing the spout. Maybe open it up and look for corrosion on the thermosensor one day but it's fine as is for now.

When I am casting I stand the ProMelt in an old baking sheet with thick walls in case of spills; I keep a shallow stainless steel bowl on an old towel to catch the sprues and wrinkly boolits, and another stainless steel deep bowl with a rag and a quart or so of water for dropping fresh boolits into. Flux with wood chopsticks from the chinese takeout place, we always have some around.

[KohlerK91]

I have the Pro melt too. The thermostat is so accurate for me I rarely bring out the thermometer. They are a little prisely but I too think they are woth the price. I started with a lee for 45 bucks and sold it at auction for what I paid for it(minus %15 of course) to put down on the RCBS model.

[bobthenailer]

I prefer the lyman mould guide to the RCBS set up and converted mine after useing the RCBS one only one time . all you have to do is locate & drill 2 holes and you will have add washers & some longer bolts to raise the height some .

[barkerwc4362]

I have three PRO-Melts. The oldest was a gift from my inlaws in the late 80's. All have been modified to use the Lyman mold guide. They are great pots and if cleaned regularly drip very little. I started out with the little Lee pot then went to the Lee Production pot. The Lee Production pot was a pain as a bottom pour. The RCBS is a great pot! It is the only pot I will use any more.

Bill

[alamogunr]

I have had my Pro Melt for about a year +. Got it from Midway in a clearance sale of 220v models. Saved over $100 if my memory serves. Since I had a 220v outlet in the shop for the table saw and I cast on the table saw(with a masonite cover on the table) there was no inconvenience or expense to add an outlet. All I had to do was change out the plug from the European style plug to one that matched my saw plug.

[Suo Gan]

It wasn't but a few years ago it seems these things were like 100 dollars cheaper, or am I remembering wrong?


Just bought a chainsaw today, a replacement for my old one it cost $250 more now than it did three years ago. I think its called inflation. I am sure someone from the gooberment will come along and tell us this a normal and good thing.

[happy7]

Yea, I have to buy a new chainsaw too. Looking at getting a 20" husky. Anybody have any opinion on them?

[Suo Gan]

Yea, I have to buy a new chainsaw too. Looking at getting a 20" husky. Anybody have any opinion on them?

I am not sure what you are doing, I would look at a Stihl 261 myself. I had a 346xp I bought on a whim, and replaced it with a 261 as it is a much more solidly built saw at least IMO. If you want a little more power and a little more weight a MS 440 pulls a 20 inch bar real good.

Stihl has BHP ratings which is much more accurate than Husqvarna HP ratings. Husqvarna has the plastic handle which also serves double duty as gas tank, good on paper but if you set them down wrong, you will be replacing the entire handle unit. New pro Husqvarna's have what they call X Torque engines, which suck and produce 15% less power than older models, the Stihl saws do not.

If you have limited money, I have heard Efco (not Echo) saws are decent as are the Makita's (Dolmar), but they are heavy duty homeowner units and not lifetime tools.

Here are how I feel they are in order and Stihl is way out ahead of the rest.
1) Any pro model Stihl all of them are fantastic lifetime tools.
2) Select Pro Huskies/Jonsered lots of screws thread into plastic, excellent air filtration and vibration control
3) Tanaka Pure Fire Series Excellent!! But....Hitachi took them over and now they suck. You can still find some older models at dealers they have been around a long time and never marketed to homeowners lots of parts out there.
4) Shindiawa excellent tools but too expensive and limited dealer availablity
5) Echo lots of platic, but still pretty good
6) Dolmar excellent engines, but to cut weight the saws are not as solidly built as Stihl.

Way down the list comes Efco and the others, way below them are the Craftsmans and Paulans and the rest (which are built by Husky).

This is another thing where you get what you pay for.

Sorry so long

[happy7]

We heat our house with wood so we burn a fair amount every year. So cutting firewood and maintaining the acerage is what I need it for.

I really appreciate the advice. I was trying to find something a little cheaper than Stihl, but it sounds like I will really be better off with one of them. I will pay my Stihl dealer a visit and see if I can afford one of them.

[midnight]

Back when I heated entirely with wood, I used a Stihl 041 with a 20in bar. It was an old one with the horizontal cylinder and it never failed me. The 20in bar saves a little on the back. That was 30yrs ago and my son still uses it. I hope the new Stihls are as good as the old ones. I bucked up 11-12 pulp cords of oak, ash, & maple every year all through the 80s with that saw. Just keep about 4 sharp chains handy and change them out and sharpen often. It's amazing what a sharp chain can do.

Bob