My PID finally done.

[Pigslayer]

Put this together for well under $50.00. Had some sheet metal laying around & made the project box. Hooked it up today and had to play with it until I figured out how to program it. It seems that it took a while until it zeroed in but after a few minutes it was doing it's thing! Slicker than snot!! Yes, I did put a bypass in thanks to Sonnypie's instructions. When the buypass in on the red light stays on & the green light goes out. When the PID is on the green light stays on and the red light cycles with the PID.

[ph4570]

Looks good.
I am sure glad that I lashed one together a few years back.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Being a Marine Engineer,this is of interest to me but as I own a RCBS Pro-Melt pot have never had any problems? What are you guys trying to do with these? Are you getting cheap pots to act like a better pot? Thanks for the info!

[felix]

Only the temperature control is getting modified, bypassed, etc. ... felix

[ph4570]

I use mine to effortlessly maintain the desired alloy temp. I use different alloys for various applications and have documented desirable temps for alloy/mold combination. When I begin a session with a particular alloy and mold I simply set the desired temp.

Yes, in a way it makes my Lee 20 pounders much better pots as the Lee control is useless for the mission I described. I have a thermocouple mounted in each and simply plug the active pot into the PID unit.

[Pigslayer]

Hi,
Being a Marine Engineer,this is of interest to me but as I own a RCBS Pro-Melt pot have never had any problems? What are you guys trying to do with these? Are you getting cheap pots to act like a better pot? Thanks for the info!

The PID will make a cheap pot far better . . . in fact it may make it better than the most expensive. I was skeptical when I first read about a PID, being an "Old Dog" who dosen't like change but as I read more posts about it I became more interested. Now, I think that it is the best invention since the . . . never mind.
You may want to build one for your RCBS pot as I'm sure that RCBS is using nothing more than a rheostat. I was amazed at watching this thing work!! I've never had any "Problems" either with LEE pots. Best deal in town. It's just that as the pot gets lower the lead gets hotter. I don't like frosted bullets. Real hard to control the temp. :Bright idea:

[seagiant]

Hi,
Thanks for the info Gentlemen! I'm not trying to be hard headed but I don't see any problem to solve with my pot. Here is a pic of some boolits from my new NOE 316299 GB mold. As you can see they have a light frost. The thing is if you run your pot down too low on the temp most will freeze at the spout!

I'm just wondering if I used a PID if the clouds would part and the sun shine through and I would see advantages that I don't see now or what? Thanks again!

[Pigslayer]

Hi,
Thanks for the info Gentlemen! I'm not trying to be hard headed but I don't see any problem to solve with my pot. Here is a pic of some boolits from my new NOE 316299 GB mold. As you can see they have a light frost. The thing is if you run your pot down too low on the temp most will freeze at the spout!

I'm just wondering if I used a PID if the clouds would part and the sun shine through and I would see advantages that I don't see now or what? Thanks again!

With a PID you won't have any frost. Basically what I have is a $60.00 LEE pot with a $40.00 PID which will control temperature better than a RCBS Pro Melt. :bigsmyl2:

[rbertalotto]

A PID is a device that monitors and controls the temperature of your lead within a few degrees.

As you draw down the lead in your RCBS pot, the temperature climbs quite quickly. This leads to inconsistent boolit weight and inconsistent diameters.

It's all about controlling the temperature of your lead from a full pot to nearly empty.

Now, all this said, if you are happy with the way your boolits are dropping and how your guns shoot, then there is no need to build a PID......

If you are simply casting a bunch of 9mm or 45 boolits for noncompetitive plinking......then most likely your boolits are good enough and no need for a PID.

But if you are casting 535g boolits for 1000 yard competition. Then any minute advantage is important. A PID is easily the least expensive and greatest performance gain you can add you your casting equipment.

Hope this helps.........

Merry Christmas!

[Pigslayer]

A PID is a device that monitors and controls the temperature of your lead within a few degrees.

As you draw down the lead in your RCBS pot, the temperature climbs quite quickly. This leads to inconsistent boolit weight and inconsistent diameters.

It's all about controlling the temperature of your lead from a full pot to nearly empty.

Now, all this said, if you are happy with the way your boolits are dropping and how your guns shoot, then there is no need to build a PID......

If you are simply casting a bunch of 9mm or 45 boolits for noncompetitive plinking......then most likely your boolits are good enough and no need for a PID.

But if you are casting 535g boolits for 1000 yard competition. Then any minute advantage is important. A PID is easily the least expensive and greatest performance gain you can add you your casting equipment.

Hope this helps.........

Merry Christmas!

Well said.

[Pigslayer]

:CastBoolitsisbest:Was out in my little shop playing with my homemade x-mas present . . . my PID. I found that different molds, no matter whether they are aluminum or steel require different temps i.e. my LEE 452-300RF likes the temp of 350C but my Lyman 452490 likes a temp of 355C to get nice, shiney and crisp, detailed bullets. Feel free to leave your experiences.

[Pigslayer]

Some more pics.

[OuchHot!]

My lee 4-20 surges a lot as I draw it down so I built the pid box. I then found that my promelt runs quite a bit better on the pid. The next phase of my illness will be building a second pid to control the hotplate that I preheat the molds on....the pids are only $40 or so and I have the other components. Plus, it keeps me off the streets.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Well... I appreciate the info but my feelings now is that I would be fixing a problem that does not exist for me and the way I cast and the things I do cast! Maybe later as my 2006 RCBS Pro-Melt ages it might be the way to go! Thanks again!

[rbertalotto]

Maybe later as my 2006 RCBS Pro-Melt ages it might be the way to go!

Huh?

Your RCBS is not maintaining temperature consistently now. Why would you feel that down the road the ability to maintain constant temperature will be more important than now.

I'm just asking.............:grin:

[Pigslayer]

Hi,
Well... I appreciate the info but my feelings now is that I would be fixing a problem that does not exist for me and the way I cast and the things I do cast! Maybe later as my 2006 RCBS Pro-Melt ages it might be the way to go! Thanks again!

Tell you what, you buy the parts I'll make it for you. You'll love it!:lol:

[seagiant]

Hi,
Like I said thanks for the info but I don't see any problem with my RCBS Pro-Melt lead pot. It maintains temp good enough for me at this time. After a few more years if the ability of the pot goes south I might look into a PID or call RCBS and have it fixed I'm fully capable of putting one together with the info you and others on this sight have shared! Once again thanks!!!

[OuchHot!]

My Promelt is a genuine antique and may have more dead band in the thermostat so the pid was a noticable improvement for me. Not to say other Promelts would benefit. don't know

[carbine]

You folks do fantastic work! The limits of my technological abilities is the casting of 500 grain boolits. Electronics are out of the question. More power to you!

[OuchHot!]

There really isn't any electronics work. The auber spec/instruction sheet is usable and it pretty much boils down to getting the power and thermocouple leads to the unit and power from it to an outlet for your pot. Bypass and such can be added as you get more ambitious. I do recommend buying purpose built thermocouples and using the correct connectors but even that can be worked around. There isn't much to these. The big deal for me was using aluminum molds. For me, an aluminum mold has a narrow sweet spot compared to iron, brass and bronze. There are some mighty fine Al molds and the pid makes life better for me by a long shot.

[mroliver77]

A pid is in my plans. I need to see what parts I can scrounge instead of buying. I have some roached computer power supplies for the box, cooling fan, power supply cord and output receptacle. Is there any other parts one might find in "junk" TV's, microwaves, computers etc?

I have a Lyman 20lb pot that looks like the rcbs pot in post 3. I would almost swear they are the same pot with different paint. I also have a Lee 20 lb to feed the Lyman. It would be nice if the pid would control both pots at once. Is it possible to have one pid unit control two or more appliances?

I cast pretty good boolits and am kinda proud of them. Like other pots mine get hotter as the level decreases.I fidgit with the knob and believe I have the "feel" to keep it fine tuned enough to make my boolits consistent. (ya right) It will be much easier to have a pid keep my alloy within a couple degrees.

What are you'alls opinion as to the need for a pid control for the top pot that feeds the lower pot?
Jay

[Pigslayer]

I did some checking not only on Ebay but also @ McMaster-Carr & I didn't see any PID's that would control more than one pot.

[felix]

For multiple operations, there are custom boards for home computers. These boards, devices, et.al. are called collectively SCADA equipment. There are specialized programs to make these boards execute. The PID operations are nothing but software running on either the PC or the SCADA board. Most boards allow for 8 devices (pots,pans,kitchensink). ... felix

[cr17]

Great thread - but now unfortunately I have to build one! Are the plans and parts list the same as the ones posted in the stickies?

[Pigslayer]

Great thread - but now unfortunately I have to build one! Are the plans and parts list the same as the ones posted in the stickies?

Yea, pretty much. You can always ask these guys for help.

[bosterr]

I just joined Cast Boolits a couple weeks ago, but have been casting boolits for over 30 years. I am facinated about this PID. I don't even know what the letters stand for. Is there a detailed blueprint out there with specific part numbers to build one of these things? I own a Lyman 20 lb. pot that I've had for at least 20 years and know that the thermostat has weakened over the years. I use a Lyman thermometer, which helps, but it would be nice to have accurate control over the temperature. Is the themostat removed from the pot and the heating element conected to the PID? What specific thermocouple is needed? If anyone has a link I could look at, I would really appreciate it.

[edler7]

I used this thread http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=34547 to order the stuff and wire mine up.

I left my thermostat at wide open, since the pot plugs into the PID and it controlls when the plug is on or off. The specifics for what thermocouple and all other parts are listed in the thread.

I sure don't regret building mine, it manages one of the hardest variables in casting boolits without a second glance. All the stuff was under $100 since I scrounged a box to house it all...used an old computer power supply and I had a heavy duty short extension cord hanging around.