Which Lee Electric Melter do I want?

[mikeh3]

As you can tell by my post I'm just getting started in casting. Looking at the Lee catalog I see the Lee Pro 4-20, Magnum Melter, Lee Production Pot IV and the Lee Precision Melter. The Lee Precision Melter has 500 watts of melting power with a 4 pound capacity. Some of the others offer 700 watts of power with capacities of 10 and 20 pounds. Would I want a Melter that only allows the use of a ladle or do I need a Melter that I can put my mold under?

Another question, should I use the RCBS Lead Dipper or the Lee Lead Ladle if I should want a Melter that only allows ladle use?

Your suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike

[Duckiller]

Never have been able to make a dipper work so have no comment on that. I do have a 10# Lee pot and it does drip a bit. 20# pot has different geometry to bottom pour spout and is supposed to drip less. When 10# dies or I think I need another pot it will be a 20# Lee, unless I find a used RCBS, Lyman, or SAECO cheap.

[axman]

I have the 20lb 4'' clearance pot and it has been a pretty good pot my records show about 12,000 bullets cast bottom pour.

[pumpguy]

It is really a matter of preference. I have always used the dipping type 20# pot and the RCBS ladle. The Lee ladle looks like it would be similar to using a teaspoon when you give kids medicine.

[lurch]

Since it seems like you don't know whether you like bottom pour or ladle casting better, I would suggest (if I may be so bold) the 4" clearance "20" pound pot (Pro 4-20). For about $15 over the 20 poud dipper only model, you can have a pot with the ability to try both methods and see which one you like better. You would probably be well served to have a ladle in either case so I consider that item a wash. If you find that ladle casting is the only way, you can plug the bottom pour spout and remove the valve mechanism to get it out of the way. The only drawback is that depending on how you set things up, the pot may be a little taller than necessary/ideal for ladle only casting. If you wqanted to at that point, the rear "tower" extrusion could be cut off some and the support rods for the pot itself shortened up to lower it some. The screws that secure the tower to the base simply screw into reliefs in the joints so no extra work is needed there. The support rods are internally threaded and secured to the base with screws through the base so you would either have to drill & tap the rods after they got cut off or possibly thread the outside of the rods and use a couple of nuts to sandich the base extrusion.

Mind you - I have not done this, but it would seem a fairly simple modification if you don't mind voiding the warranty to get the best functionality.

Just my $0.02

[mazo kid]

I have a Lee Production Pot IV, a Lee 4-20, and an RCBS ProMelt 20#, plus a few cast iron pots for ladle pouring. I've had the Pro. IV for 25+ years and is still going strong. I have never been into large production runs, usually casting 3-400 boolits at a sitting and the little 10#has served well. The 4-20 and RCBS ProMelt are more recent additions in the last 5 years. Lee prices are lower than the others and you need to know you will have to tweak them occasionally but by and large they are good pots. I think I paid $28 for mine all those years ago. Emery

[chunkum]

When I first began a few years back, I "dipped" with a Lyman dipper from a Lyman cast iron pot (it had a bail on it) A camp stove of some kind was a good source of heat. It wasn't long before I acquired a Lyman 10# bottom pour electric lead furnace. A Lee 20 # bottom pour came much later and has been a good pot and useful because it'll get a lot hotter than the old Lyman. Yes, it does drip but it's easy to control, especially with an ingot mould resting under the spigot. I still use the earlier cast iron pot for small projects or for missiles I want to dip-cast (usually round balls or mini balls for ML season). Nowadays, I think I'd start with the 20# Lee bottom pour and a Lyman dipper so I'd have both options. However, those little cast iron pots are realy handy if they are still available.
c.

[Gun-adian]

I've got the Lee 20lb, bottom pour, 4 inch height model. It drips a little, but works great otherwise.

Mike

[38-55]

Mikeh3,
Go with the pro-4-20. It's works for both dipping and bottom pour casting. FWIW I like the lyman dipper.
Calvin

[Trapshooter]

The 4" clearance is quite useful if you ever want to use any of the hollow point or hollow base molds. I would recommend the 20 pound pot over the 10. I bought a "high rise" 10 pound pot to save a few bucks. I lost quite a bit of quality casting time because it went empty pretty quick, and took a while to get back up to temperature. I ended up with a second "low rise" 10 pounder from an estate sale "box lot", and use it to feed my original pot. It works, but it is an unnecessary hassle.

Trapshooter

[USARO4]

Go for the Pro-4-20. You will be glad to have the extra capacity when your hobby develops into an obsession, as it surely will. You can dip or pour whichever you prefer. Do a search on Lee pots and you'll find helpfull tips to cure the dreaded Lee drip.

[Ricochet]

+1 for the Pro-4-20.

[TAWILDCATT]

get the LEE 4-20 MIDSOUTHSHOOTERS.COM $61.22. AND THE LYMAN dipper. also get a cast iron pot.hardware stores have them.dont melt scrap in the lee pot.
:coffee: :Fire: :coffee:

[Lloyd Smale]

the one that says lyman rcbs or magma on it.

[dromia]

Ditto Lloyd.

If you are hellbent on having a Lee then get the 4-20 it'll dip and pour and its easy to bung up for a good dipping only pot when the constant drip fettling wears you down.

It won't hold 20lbs of alloy though so don't try and melt 20lbs in it, 16lbs is about the most you'll get in comfortably.

[Paladin 56]

Go for the Lee 20 pounder bottom pour. With the money you save over buying something green, orange, or whatever colors Magma comes in, you can buy another Lee mould.

David

[Lloyd Smale]

yup then you can have a crappy mold to use with your crappy pot. Im a firm believer in you get what you pay for. If your going to be in hobby for a lifetime you need good equiptment to make it enjoyable. I wouldnt put a 20 dollar walmart tasco scope on my hunting rifle and ive had enough lee pots to know that thats about the quality level your buying with one of them. Im sure to get flammed by all the lee pot users here but i cast not a 100 bullets a week but probably at least 2000 and ive owned lee pots and have fought there idiosycrisys and theyve long since been given away. To me there about on the same level as a lee progressive press. they look cute and you will be happy with one for about a week but use a good pot or a dillon press and youll want to chuck them in the pond.

[dubber123]

C'mon Lloyd, tell us how you really feel!

[44man]

Well, Lloyd, I have a Lyman and two Lee pots. My friend has three Lyman pots, two are new. None of the Lyman pots get hot enough for our big boolits. Mine would not cycle fast enough and the lead would start to freeze in the pot while I was casting. The temp would wander all up and down. I can't count the times I had to clean the contacts. I gave up and removed the thermostat so I can run it from a voltage controller. My friend bypassed the thermostats on two of his and he still gets wrinkles.
I have had no trouble at all with the Lee's. Besides, they are so cheap you can get two or three for the price of any other.
Some pots cost as much as a new gun. I would rather have the gun.

[Unter]

I am new at casting, the Lee 4-20 pot I have has not dripped yet after 1k boolets. Looks like a simple fix if it did drip. The Lee 6 cavity dies @ under $40 at Graff's I have appear to cast fine boolets(.44 .45 9mm.) The Lee dies work better than the others that I use(size with less effort).

I am in the elite group of blasters tho, and leave the fine art of uber accurate shooting to others.

John O.

[fanner 50]

I too am just getting started at this but have now cast about 500 rounds. I went with the 4" 10# bottom pour model. I had space limitations. It works just fine.

[Uncle R.]

Which Lee pot do you want?
The RCBS Pro-Melt.
I've been using mine for 20 years or more. Cast tens of thousands of bullets with it. No problems 'cept it drips a mite. The thermostatic control is a feature that I'd hate to do without. A rheostat just ain't the same - and doesn't really control temperature. A friend uses a Lyman pot and it works OK but doesn't get hot enough to cast well with pure lead.
I know the RCBS ain't cheap - but they work good and they're built to last. I like mine a lot.
Uncle R.

[TAWILDCATT]

ever wonder who makes the electric pots?? the old lyman/saeco looked a lot alike and I'v had them both.the new pots RCBS/LYMAN look very simular.RCBS press made in China!! and I'll say it again LEE is afordable to those of us on limited budget.the others are all good but out of range for some of us.
:coffee: :Fire: :coffee:

[Crash_Corrigan]

I have two Lee 4-20's. The 1st one came to me in 1995 and it is still in service. The bottom spout does leak a little but I use this one to premelt and feed the molten lead to the 2nd 4-20 which I keep on a lower level. I use a hunk of angled steel about 24 inches long to feed my newer pot. On the older pot I keep a small pair of vise grips on top of the spout rod. This stops all the leaking but would be a PITA if I was pouring into boolit molds. When it is time to feed the lower pot I pull it up and the silver stream roars down the channel to feed my pouring pot.
The new one is only a year old and has not developed any leaking yet but I am very careful to put only fully fluxed and clean alloy in it. I usually cast at 750 degrees or more as I am interested in fully filled out molds. If it is frosty that does not bother me at all. I want good boolits and a lot of them and Lee does the job for me. I am a bottom pour fan and I never had any luck with ladeling at all.

[USARO4]

Some people will only settle for the very best, top of the line, pricey equiment, whether its reloading and casting tools, custom guns, or luxury cars. Others of us make do with what our modest means enable us to afford. More power to you if you are one of the former group. As a member of the latter group I'll tinker with what I can afford and get by and enjoy this wonderful hobby we all share.

[mikeh3]

Thanks to everyone. I really appreciate the suggestions.
I'll try the Lee Pro 4-20.

[mike in co]

the one that says lyman rcbs or magma on it.


get the one that says rcbs on it.....its the best "lee" made......lol

[HORNET]

I've had and used an ancient Lyman Model 61 for a couple of decades. Using it as a bottom pour works alright on boolits with a low length to diameter ratio. If the boolits get long and skinny, I've had much better results with dipper casting and I think that I get better uniformity with a dipper with any boolits. I prefer the RCBS ladle for the fin on the bottom that helps move any surface crud out of the way and because it has a slightly greater capacity but frequently use a Lyman ladle. :roll:
I got a 10 pound capacity LEE and got tired of the leaks and insufficient flow, tapped the sprue hole and ran in a cap screw, pulled out the mechanism and it works ok as a dipping pot. I notice that I do have to adjust the temperature setting as the level drops a lot more than I do on the Lyman.
Bottom pour might be better suited to the 4 and 6 cavity molds but almost all of mine are singles or doubles so dippers work real good.
This has been one of the long-standing arguments on this board. I think it depends on the molds, the alloys, the molding technique , and possibly the correct small animal sacrifice.[smilie=1:

[Dale53]

I have commercially cast bullets by the tens of thousands in my "salad days". I started with a dipper, graduated to a Lyman 11 lb bottom pour and have not looked back. When I got into real quantity, I ended up with an RCBS pot (they were under $100 wholesale at the time) and a Saeco 20 lb melt pot and with the use of two pots, could go continuous.

I added a second RCBS pot from an estate sale. I am perfectly happy with my RCBS pots and my Saeco 20 lb-der. However, if I had to buy a new pot again, it would be a Lee 4-20 simply because it is the best buy out there.

I am not economically challenged but I DO recognize a good buy when I see it. MikeH, enjoy your Lee 4-20.

By the way, I shot BPCR Silhouette for fifteen years and my rifles shoot as well as anyones and better than most. All of my "long bullets" were created with a bottom pour pot.

FWIW

Dale53

[Lloyd Smale]

Im far from a rich man. I work hard for my money. I do buy custom guns and i do buy top shelf loading equiptment. I havent got 50 bucks to throw away and after using a good pot thats what id feel i was doing buying a lee. A 30 dollar tasco scope will allow a guy to shoot a gun but it isnt what I want on my hunting rifle. If on a hunt ive worked to long and hard to pay for it to use junk. Thats the same way i feel about my loading and casting equiptmen. When you figure the price of a good lyman or rcbs pot, even if you have to buy a used one on ebay and devide the cost by how many bullets youll make in your lifetime its a pretty small investment. A question for all you guys that felt justified buying an inexpesive pot. How many molds do you have? Most molds cost more then a lee pot and if you want to save money buy a few less molds or wait till you can afford them. Id much rather have 4 good molds and a good pot then a cheap pot and 10 cheap molds. If i have to work overtime to pay for it or go without another gun i really dont absolutely need so be it. If i felt i was taking food out of my familys mouth by buying a good pot id cast on the stove with a pot and dipper until i could afford it.

[Cherokee]

Lee 4-20 works for me. Been using them for years. Got some Lee special 6cv molds too, just like Lloyd does.

[EDK]

I'm going to get a LEE and try a bottom pour for my pistol boolit casting again. I'm also looking at a WAAGE for my BIG 50 SHILOH SHARPS moulds. Kind of the two extremes!
My Lyman bottom pour has been a pain in the rear to keep the sprout open--and I'm tired of burning fingers using a paper clip--drill bit--whatever with a needle nose vise-grip to keep it going! It probably needs a trip to the factory and a rebuild. An elderly HENSLEY & GIBBS ladle has worked for four cavity moulds for the last two years.
Any bottom pour pot needs an ingot mould underneath it!
:castmine: