Lee Production Pot pours

[nsdread07]

I have a production pot that used to drip, just a little, but during my last melt it decided to dump the contents of the pot. No matter what I did to adjust it it pours lead. Makes interesting art work, but it was very hard to run the mold while trying to clean the slag off. I decided to go to ladling my molds and will plug this pot. I also purchased a big dipper pot from midsouth, so I may run them together.

[GT27]

IMHO these things have to be taken apart and the bowl and pintle have to be cleaned thoroughly as a maintenance measure,doing this I still get the little coin drips every now and then, but I figure its better than the "blob ingot" that's possible!Crappy design,but its like the old adage "You gets what ya's pays for!" GT27
http://i49.tinypic.com/az8gg4.gif

[Freightman]

Paid $45 for 20# pot ten years ago, it never leaked until I put some range scrap in it. I took it apart and cleaned and polished and it is good for another ten years. Not a bad investment $.4.50 a year if I last another ten will be $2.25 per year and thousands of # of lead.

[MT Chambers]

That's the beauty of the Lee pots, they pour, regardless, the lever to control flow is just for show, and not required. The secret is to always have an empty mold under it, don't try to stop it or the nozzle will freeze up, while your mold cools, and then you start over from scratch.

[cajun shooter]

The best thing to do with the Lee 20# pot is to never purchase one, then you will not have the problems that they will bring you.
One of mine stripped out the small inadequate metal screws that are just in the very thin aluminum sides with out any reinforcement and dumped 20 # of 750 degree lead all over my casting bench and shop floor. It would have gotten me if I had not fell backwards from my stool.
I went back to the RCBS and have enjoyed my casting sessions once again and I don't have to do anything but turn it on.

[popper]

Don't plug it, just fix it. Clean it and keep it clean.

[trapper9260]

I do not have a 20# one but a 10# that when I see the alloy leak out ir is useally from something to stuck between the piston the hole and all i do is take a steel wire that will fit in the hole and run it in couple times and then it take care of the problem till the next time .I know no matter how clean you try to keep the alloy that you still have something in it .

[snuffy]

I had that happen to me ONCE! I had a couple of ingot molds handy, so I didn't have a mess, just some freshly cast ingots!:-P

After it cooled down, I went looking for the cause. The screw on the bottom, (a shoulder bolt that goes through the "C" shaped strap), had worked loose. It allowed that strap to come out of the hole and rest on the shoulder of the screw, holding the valve wide open. The fix was to keep an eye on that screw to make sure it's tight.