Leaving a pot pull of lead

[aviator41]

I've had a hard time finding information on this particular subject. I'm just getting started and don't have an ingot mold, so I'm in a quandary.

A friend has donated a very large amount of lead to myself and my song for casting so naturally, we jumped at the chance. We cast a few bullets last night before the cold really got to us and we had to stop. So, I chose to fill up the pot with lead, heat it properly, flux and skim the dross, then let it cool to solid in the pot before putting it up for the night. I know that Lee recommends leaving an inch or so in the pot between sessions to speed in heating, but is there any reason why I shouldn't leave the pot FULL of lead?

I don't want to damage equipment obviously, and I can't see how I could hurt anything, so any opinions are appreciated!

[USAFrox]

No problem with leaving it full. Won't damage anything.

[DeanWinchester]

I have not seen the bottom of my Lyman pot in years. I only ever cast down to half a pot or so and add more.

[Walter Laich]

just don't drop it on your foot and you'll be fine

[mikeym1a]

It'll take a bit longer to warm up, but no damage. Have fun! I've thought of doing some smelting, but at +9.5F, I'm not so sure I'm up to it! But I have thought of it! [smilie=1:

[dragon813gt]

I leave mine full when I know I will be casting again in the next day or so. It shouldn't hurt anything.

[country gent]

I leave mine full or where its at when done. Allows it to melt faster as there is no air space to lose heat to. When mine is solid and still warm I put a little wax around the edge of the pot and lead to act as a moisture barrier. Burns off with thenext heating. The only issue is the added wieght to the pot when moving it. Since I have pots designated for my main alloies its easier this way for me.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Let`s see now. I`ve been casting lead in one way or another since the 1950`s. I`ve yet to empty out the pot if I intend to use it again. I may leave several inches in the pot or close to full, depending on how much I cast that time. Never ruined a pot yet!Robert

[aviator41]

Excellent. Dang it this hobby is addicting! I've been a shooter for a long time, I've reloaded for a long time, but only recently gotten into bullet casting.

[bangerjim]

Leave 'er full!

I cast a small 1/2# ingot before quitting and mark it with the bhn so I know what is in there the next time.

bangerjim

[John Allen]

Same here I leave my pots full when I shut them off.

[bob208]

I have done it both ways no problem with either.

[Trapperscott]

I just pull the plug on mine when I'm done no matter how full it is. I have almost drained it, and I have left it completely full.

Where bouts in Ok are you?

[blikseme300]

I always top up my pots and flux them before shutting down as this saves time prior to the next casting session.

[Bullshop Junior]

I dont think ive ever turned one off empty unless it was to change alloy.

[MTtimberline]

I leave it full mostly and figure it seals the pot to help keep it clean.

[jonas302]

just make sure that your around long enough when its cooling off that if you get a catastrophic drip you can take care of it or have pan or something under the spout

Pots heat up much faster when full I always use a tinfoil cover on heat up to it really helps

[Dusty Bannister]

One caution about leaving a full pot of alloy, such as linotype. When you heat up the pot the next time, the alloy will expand as the heating element is located in the middle area of the pot. As the alloy begins to heat and melt, that area will expand just enough to lift the shut off rod in the Lee 10 pound pot. Then the alloy will begin to flow out the bottom. It has also been reported that in a dip pot, the top of the pot is the last to become liquid and it is possible to have the melted alloy force through that solid cap and it would not be good to be squirted by hot alloy.

I have never seen a hot alloy spurt, because I use the BP pot. I always use a catch pan of sufficient size to catch all alloy if there is a nozzle discharge.

For that reason, I usually leave my pot about half full, so that part will melt without lifting the rod.

[EDG]

I had a 2 inch fountain of lead pop through the top of the alloy once.

[shoot-n-lead]

I just stop when I want and the remaining melt stays until the next session...unless I plan to change the alloy for the next session.

[prs]

Mine are refilled to 4/5 capacity before I stop for a session. A full pot seems to come up to temp quite a bit faster than one with only an inch or so left requiring cold ingots to be added as you wait. I turn on the Lee pots at about "6" and go have a coffee or two while they come up to temp. The won't drip if let that way IF, while the alloy is molten, you turn the pintle back and forth and then turn the adjuster screw down to where it puts just a tiny bit of down pressure on the valve. When I return, I check the temp, flux, turn the adjuster screw up about 1 3/4 turns, switch over to the PID, and set that pot to full on -- ready to go at 725F. When first pot nears empty, I put that second one on the PID and such, then add ingots to the first. Keep on keeping on with the second pot -- by the time its empty the second one is up to temp again. Lots of nice boolits PDQ without too much interruption of pace. I can comfortably go through about 50 to 60# this way, then it starts be work, so I stop for the session by refilling and adjusting the pintles until next session. If using two large boolit 6 cavity molds, this is the way to fly.

prs

[Charlie Two Tracks]

As has been said earlier, stick around until the melt solidifies. One time (and only one time) I went and plugged in my pot and left the area to do some other stuff. Two hours later, I remembered what I had done and found the lead at 900+ degrees. If it would have leaked out onto the wooden desk............... you get the picture. I never leave the pot to heat by itself anymore.

[bobthenailer]

I try to never let my pot to go less than half full when casting and when im done casting and turn off the pot i add some 1lb ingots to fill up the pot somewhat and set up the melt faster.

[376Steyr]

I once left a Lee pot full, let it cool, and later remelted it. Silly me, before it was completely melted I jiggled the rod and a bunch drained out. Now I had a solid lead cap with an air pocket under it. The cap eventually melted, but it took a lot longer than if it had liquid under it.

[OuchHot!]

I had the bottom pour rod lift on me once. Since then, I fill and flux, then shut off and pour four lyman size ingots. The pot is mostly full that way but not so much as to lift the pizzle rod when reheating. I've got three pots and just keep a note as to what the alloy is.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I have 3 pots. Two Lee 4-20's and a RCBS. I use the Lee's to preheat my alloy and then funnel them into the big pot via a piece of v bar steel. I always keep at least the big pot 1/2 to almost full when I cast. I never have to wait to cast at all. Before I quit for the day I always pretty much drain the Lee's as I do not trust them with a full pot when I start again.

With three pots going I had to increase the power supply to them if I do not want a circuit breaker to trip. I make good use of the mold rest when I am casting to keep the fatigue factor low. Running a PID controller on the RCBS has really increased the quality of my boolits. Very few rejects and a very high quality boolit every time.

I never run down the RCBS to less than half full and I do all my fluxing with the Lee's. I keep a 1/2 inch layer of kitty litter on top of the big pot to keep down oxidation of my alloy. With using the temperature probe and thermometer from Sweeed of NOE on pretty much all my molds I am getting nice shiney boolits all day long with very little variation in the weight of the projectiles. Between the cost of the PID controller and temperature dealie from NOE I could have almost bought another RCBS pot but I have found that these accessories are well worth it for the quality of castings that I am getting.

[WilliamDahl]

Probably the only time I've ever had my Lee pot empty was when I first bought it and when I cleaned I was drilling out the nozzle at one time because it was leaking. I normally stop casting when it is about half empty and after unplugging the pot, I'll add a few cold ingots to the pot so that the molten lead will solidify. I started doing that a few years ago after I basically soldered my pot to a cookie sheet when the pot leaked, overflowed the ingot mold that I had underneath it to catch drips, and continued over and underneath the base of the casting pot. Those tin plated cookie sheets solder quite nicely. :oops:

[lightman]

Like most of the others, I leave mine mostly full. Its a good idea to stay with it until its gets hard and also a good idea to stay close by on start-up. A material tag tied to the pot reminds me what alloy was left in the pot. A full pot is harder to move or store away, but the quicker melt time is worth it to me. Lightman