Problems with temp reg on a 4-20

[TES]

Well I couldn't do a darn thing right today. It was either too hot or wouldn't poor. Even if I only made minor adjustments. Then I thought for a second and turned off both the space heaters I had plugged into the same circuit. After that the analog dial started to have a little better / finer adjustment. So if you have your pot on a separate circuit you may not have to put a fancy controller on it.

Hope this helps.

[myg30]

The voltage drop must of been high and causing your grief. If your outside you will find you need pot temp higher to keep the spout from freezing up. Wind makes it worse. You might think its warm out if temps are above -10F, but here in Tn when its 45F the pot temp needs to be raised some to keep pouring. You might find some molds just need to have higher temp lead to cast good. Id start high till your boolits start to get frosted looking then you can back down on the pot temp little at a time and as the level drops it will get hotter too.
Have fun and enjoy !

Mike

[RobS]

I direct wired the heating element coil of the pot and now use a speed router control to regulate the voltage which has proven to be way more consistent than the damn rheostat (temperature adjustment knob) they put in the housing unit of the pot.

http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I leave a 1/2" layer of dross on the top of the melt. That "insulation" really helps hold in the heat and keeps the temperature swinging Hi and lo too much