Bottom pour question

[tomf52]

For those of you who use a bottom pour pot - Do you empty and clean the pot at the end of every casting session, leave whatever is left in the pot, or fill the pot to capacity and then turn it off? I'm contemplating a new pot and was wondering what the accepted procedure is in using a bottom pour if I should decide on that style of pot. Thanks for any input on this. Tom

[Dale53]

I have been bottom pouring for many, many years casting several hundred thousands of bullets.

I just leave the metal in the pot. Before I start up again, I then add metal for the next job, put my mould on the hot plate to pre-heat and turn it on. When the metal is up to temp, so is the mould.

NOTE: It is a VERY good idea to label your pot with the metal that is inside. If considerable time passes before the next use, you can easily forget what alloy was in the pot. Labels will save you a considerable amount of aggravation, etc.

Dale53

[VTDW]

I have been bottom pouring for many, many years casting several hundred thousands of bullets.

I just leave the metal in the pot. Before I start up again, I then add metal for the next job, put my mould on the hot plate to pre-heat and turn it on. When the metal is up to temp, so is the mould.

NOTE: It is a VERY good idea to label your pot with the metal that is inside. If considerable time passes before the next use, you can easily forget what alloy was in the pot. Labels will save you a considerable amount of aggravation, etc.

Dale53

Great point Dale53. I use those little round tags you get for labeling keys and hang the right one for the alloy on the handle cause I have the CRS syndrome.

Dave

[auzzie101]

I always leave at least 1" of metal in the pot for storage. IMHO it decreases the time it takes to get a full pot of lead up to temp. and I think it is easier on the heating elements.

[Marshal Kane]

I'm with these guys. The Lyman Mag20 instruction manual recommends leaving some alloy in the bottom of the pot and not to heat an empty pot. Complete emptying of the pot is a good thing to do periodically in order to scrape out the dross and to clean out the spout but you don't have to do this after every casting session. Should you purchase a new bottom pour, make sure there is enough working room at the top for ladle casting. Why buy two pots when one will do?

[WHITETAIL]

I fill my pot to 1/2 of a inch from the top.
Then it gets turned off.
:castmine: After it cools I use a fat marker to wright on the top.

[Swamprat1052]

I have a Lee 20# pot and I always leave alloy in it. It melts the next time I plug it in. I am fairly new to this but have had no problems with this pot.

Swamprat

[Lloyd Smale]

usually keep mine full when not useing them.

[iron mule]

hello leave my pots about 1/4 from empty when finished /// also let the pot cool and then spray good with wd-40 to prevent the exposed part of the pot from rusting /// live in the deep south and humidty is a problem around here///////mule

[klw]

I try to leave my pots half full max when I'm done with a casting session. Remember that all the heating elements are in the bottom. So if your pot is completely full and you turn it on you are only heating the alloy at the bottom. That creates a lot of pressure. Pressure that can open the bottom drain or, if you are really unlucky, cause liquid metal to explode out of the top of the furnace. After all this is, essentially, a volcano. I've see liquid metal fly out up to three feet. LEAVE YOUR FURNACE AT LEAST HALF EMPTY so that this doesn't happen.

[38 Super Auto]

I empty out my pots every three or four casting sessions. I usually dump the last few lbs. in my smelting pot. I try to brush out the debris on the bottom and sides of pot when it's empty.

In general, I'll to leave the pot about half full, as many of the prior responses indicated.

I also leave the mold full for the next casting session. I think it helps heat the mold up more quickly for your next cast session. If you do this, remember to cut the sprue off before you store your mold.

[EMC45]

Keep it full for the next pour. Then when I am getting everything set up I don't have to worry about feeding lead into my pot.

[Springfield]

I leave mine at least half full, usually full. My LEE, RCBS and Magma pots all have heating elements around the sides of the pot, not the bottom. Never had a volcano.