problem drip drip drip

[Polecat]

I have two pot that leak whats the fix. I've tried valve compound with a drill. tried a hammer you know bigger hammer be better.

[Old Caster]

It has to be dirt in there because after you spin the compound on the seal it should work. I don't know however about using a drill to do this. Years ago when we did valves on a car, we would spin them with the palm of our hand back and forth constantly seating and unseating them to do a good job. Are you sure there was no lead or dirt in the way when you did the job.

[Rhoa4396]

Back when we used to do valve jobs we had to make sure the valves and the valve seats were slightly different angles to make sure we got a good seal. If we lapped the seat and the valve to the same angle, the slightest speck anywhere on that WIDE seat would cause a leak. It was called an interference fit I think. Maybe thats the problem with the Lee's.

Ken

[upnorthwis]

I just keep a screwdriver handy and give the plug a twist now and then. It's just a normal part of my casting with the Lee
10 pounder.

[zuke]

I just keep a screwdriver handy and give the plug a twist now and then. It's just a normal part of my casting with the Lee
10 pounder.

:goodpost:

[GMT210]

Always smelt and flux in a different pot, so your casting pot will stay as clean as possible. I can usually go through a couple hundred pounds before I have to drain and clean out the spout because of the dipping. Usually just a quick spin with a screw driver clears out the problem.

GMT

[mpmarty]

I guess I'm just lucky. My LEE 4/20 has never leaked or dripped. I never smelt in it either.

[tazman]

I just keep a screwdriver handy and give the plug a twist now and then. It's just a normal part of my casting with the Lee
10 pounder.

Works for me as well.

[Old Caster]

Back when we used to do valve jobs we had to make sure the valves and the valve seats were slightly different angles to make sure we got a good seal. If we lapped the seat and the valve to the same angle, the slightest speck anywhere on that WIDE seat would cause a leak. It was called an interference fit I think. Maybe thats the problem with the Lee's.

Ken


I think that is it, but I think things build up gradually in the spout because any kind of dirt is lighter than alloy. As molten lead passes through the spout, it continually deposits minute specks that add up and make it leak. My RCBS will slowly stop up and all I have to do is whack on the side of the spout and it will usually clear up. Once in a great while I will stick a drill bit of exactly the right size up the spout with a pliers and push up with the pliers and simultaneously dump some lead.

The mechanism on the RCBS is a bit heavier than the Lee and is probably most of the reason it doesn't cause so much problem. If they were made with differing tapers as Ken mentioned, they would work better because the dirt would have a more difficult time sticking. Perhaps the RCBS is made that way.

[fredj338]

I have a lee 10# & 20# that almost never drip. The key, never smelt scrap lead in them never run them dry. Been working for me for 30 yrs.

[Rhoa4396]

With all the talk about dripping pots and valves, it has gotten me to thinking about needle valves used in some of the old carburetors. The needle passed "thru" the orifice to form the seal. Looking at my Lee pot sort of reminds me of one of the old carbs. I wonder how hard it would be to make a needle valve to pass thru the opening in the pot to form the seal. Too bad I didn't pay more attention to what the valve looked like when the pot was empty.

I don't smelt in the pot and the only lead it sees is cleaned ingots,, but besides an "occasional" drip it is normally fine. When I get that occasional drip, I too just use a screwdriver to clear the valve. Something I have noticed though is that after I turn the pot off and it is cooling down it will sometimes start leaking pretty good. My thought was that the surface has frozen holding the stem in place from the top, but then the stem contracts as it cools, lifting it off the valve.

Just a thought.

Ken
==========

[Mk42gunner]

With all the talk about dripping pots and valves, it has gotten me to thinking about needle valves used in some of the old carburetors. The needle passed "thru" the orifice to form the seal. Looking at my Lee pot sort of reminds me of one of the old carbs. I wonder how hard it would be to make a needle valve to pass thru the opening in the pot to form the seal. Too bad I didn't pay more attention to what the valve looked like when the pot was empty.

That might not be as crazy as it sounds at first. The only real problem I can see is if there isn't enough space in the spout for the extended needle valve to clear when seated. it has been many years since I saw the bottom of the rods in both my Lee pots; but I think the 4-20 would be easier than the 10 pounder. A six inch piece of 3/16" or ¼" rod should be sufficient, and I think a taper that is about ¼" long would work.

Robert

[quilbilly]

I just keep a screwdriver handy and give the plug a twist now and then. It's just a normal part of my casting with the Lee
10 pounder.
This is spot on with the Lee bottom pour pots and I have been using them for over 30 years casting custom fishing lures for my customers. If your do a lot of casting however (over a couple hundred pounds of lead per year), they will eventually develop a permanent drip after about 2-3 years which is why I have a couple extra pots on hand. Just don't let the pot run dry and keep about 3/4 " of lead in the bottom after the end of a session so no dirt gets into the spout and this will help make the pot last much longer.

[Rhoa4396]

That might not be as crazy as it sounds at first. The only real problem I can see is if there isn't enough space in the spout for the extended needle valve to clear when seated. it has been many years since I saw the bottom of the rods in both my Lee pots; but I think the 4-20 would be easier than the 10 pounder. A six inch piece of 3/16" or ¼" rod should be sufficient, and I think a taper that is about ¼" long would work.

Robert

Hi Robert,

That is pretty much what I'm thinking also. The needle section could be truncated (bottom section of the rod) and would not need to extend very far past its interference. Now I'm really wishing my pot was empty so I could get a good look at it and maybe take some measurements. I couldn't hurt to try messing around with it..

Ken
====

[w5pv]

I let mine drip Lyman 20 pounder and when the drip piles up I scoop it up and return it to the smelt.Not much of a problem for me.I also use a steel top table so no worry there.

[Dale53]

This has been mentioned many times before. However, it works and the "idea" MAY work with your Lee pot.

I have a couple of RCBS 22 lb. pots. I bought a cheap Chinese pair of "Vise Grips" (the small set) and clip them onto my release handle at the curve of the release. The extra weight pretty much eliminates the problem. I leave the vise grips on permanently. Occasionally, I tap on top of it to seat the rod.

I put NOTHING but clean bullet metal in my pot. I do all of my smelting with a turkey/fish fryer and large cast iron Dutch Oven from Harbor Freight.

FWIW
Dale53

[Smoke4320]

its just another one of those annoyances in life..
my RCBS almost never drips and if it does as said above run a drill bit (holding with pliers ) turn a little side to side while letting lead pour out and that solves the problem for a long while

[rsrocket1]

The needle idea sounds good, but be careful about how much taper is put into the needle. You have the extra problem of that thin piece of metal hanging in the air and quickly cooling. This could freeze the lead and you wind up with a stuck valve. This happens to me once in a while with the stock parts depending on the weather. I keep a hand held propane torch nearby just in case. It only takes a touch of the flame for a second or two to get the flow going again. Maybe one of these would be handy. (http://www.harborfreight.com/http-www-harborfreight-com-micro-torch-42099-html.html)

[cr2]

My Lee drip-o-matic makes a lead tower under the spout every few minutes. I agree it's easy enough to just plop it back into the pot. What bothers me is the splatter from each drip. After a casting session my workbench is covered with small pieces of lead foil from every splatter. I just picked up a 7x10 cake pan for $1 at the thrift store, and the whole pot sits right down into it. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm thinking this will contain all the spatter in the pan. Should keep my work space a lot neater.

[rr2241tx]

My Lee 4-20 leaked so badly that it was completely useless as a bottom pour pot. The original rod was positioned by interference with an "adjustment screw" that served only to insure that the rod entered the spout at an angle. Eventually bought a new spout and rod from Titan that adjusts with hex nuts and now it works as advertised.

[snuffy]

Here's my solution to the occasional drip I get with 2 Lee 4-20 pots.

103819

103821

That's a 1-¼ hardwood dowel, with a 7/8 hole drilled nearly through to form about 1½ deep cavity filled with boolit alloy. Then a pilot hole drilled to thread onto the screw that the original handle goes on. This adds just enough weight to the valve rod to prevent almost all the drips

I don't know what it weighs, way more than my digital scale can weigh,(750 grains). But it works, is solid state,(nothing to fall off, get hot).

[Rhoa4396]

My Lee drip-o-matic makes a lead tower under the spout every few minutes. I agree it's easy enough to just plop it back into the pot. What bothers me is the splatter from each drip. After a casting session my workbench is covered with small pieces of lead foil from every splatter. I just picked up a 7x10 cake pan for $1 at the thrift store, and the whole pot sits right down into it. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm thinking this will contain all the spatter in the pan. Should keep my work space a lot neater.

Funny you should mention that about the pan. Yesterday I was shopping with the wife at a local Walmart and found a 9X13 cookie sheet for $.92 cents to set my Lee pot into. It is about 1/2 inch deep. I figure that 9X12X.5 comes up to 54 cubic inches. 54 X .409 pounds per cubic inches comes up to a capacity of 22lbs of lead. A little less for the volume the legs of the stand take up. I was not worried so much about the dripping but about a failure of the valve in a worse case scenario. I also figure that my pot is seldom full all the way.

I purchased a different stand and cover for my pot that has an adjustable table and mold guide. Drips land on the table and are a bit of a pain even though they don't stick, but I worry more about 15 or so pounds of hot lead running all over.

Ken

[Rhoa4396]

Here's my solution to the occasional drip I get with 2 Lee 4-20 pots.

103819

103821

That's a 1-¼ hardwood dowel, with a 7/8 hole drilled nearly through to form about 1½ deep cavity filled with boolit alloy. Then a pilot hole drilled to thread onto the screw that the original handle goes on. This adds just enough weight to the valve rod to prevent almost all the drips

I don't know what it weighs, way more than my digital scale can weigh,(750 grains). But it works, is solid state,(nothing to fall off, get hot).

Snuffy,

I like those photos of yours. I somehow misplaced the wood handle on my pot and was intending on cobbling together another handle anyway. I think I'm going to try the same thing you did. As far as the weight goes, I'm guessing that handle of yours weighs between 6, and 7 ounces.

Ken
====

[Polecat]

Thanks fellows for all the suggestions I will work on replacing the spout and rod. bought this pot at a garage sale $25 with a broken control. I wired it direct and built a PID for it. When I get it working I will post 103880