Empty or not?

[Chris C]

I'm new to casting. Have 95% of the equipment in house, and waiting on the rest. Reading as much as I can on the subject.................even to the point of eye-bleeding! ;-) As I mentioned in a thread yesterday here on the site, I've probably got a million questions to ask. I'll do my best to sort them out myself so as not to bore all those much more experienced on the site. But I do have one question I can't seem to find the answer for. I have a Lyman Pro 20# bottom pour pot. A friend of mine said I should empty it when I finish casting each time. Is that really necessary? If so, why in the world would it be?

[tg32-20]

No, you do not need to empty it and in fact if you leave some in it, it will start to melt quicker the next time.

I actually fill it up at the end of casting so I am ready for the next time. I do give it a good scrape down on the sides and bottom with a paint stir stick and clean off any crud that comes to the top before I fill it back up. If you have clean ingots there should be very little to clean.

Tom

[wddodge]

I use the Lee 20 lb pot and try to leave at least an inch in the bottom when finishing. It seems to heat up much faster when there's a good chunk of lead in contact with the bottom of the pot.

The only time I empty it is when I know I'm going to cast with a different type of lead the next time.

Denny

[Chris C]

Thanks guys. I thought so! My friend often has some pretty strange habits. :lol:

[Walter Laich]

You'll find there are several ways to do/store things and all work to a degree. Nothing says you can't try one way and change; there are no casting police out there.

to the question at hand: I leave mine full to the top when I finish. I feel that allows it to melt quicker the next time around. Now some will tell you as the lead melts from the bottom it will expand and put pressure on the lead around the valve and cause some leakage since the top is still a solid mass; I have no found that to be true, for me.

Good luck and keep those questions coming

[DerekP Houston]

oh hell I usually top my pot off and leave it full. haven't had an issue yet other than the standard lee drips

[mold maker]

Either way, stay close and observe the pot while heating, so if a leak starts, you'll be there to stop it.

[buckwheatpaul]

Chris, I use a very ollllddddd Lyman and never leave it empty.....have never had a problem.....Paul

[44man]

No, do not empty it. As said, only to change alloys and I pour into ingot molds and mark the ingots.
Lyman and RCBS pots have poor thermostats so lead left in will absorb heat to keep the thermostat cooler. The thermostat is against the pot wall. Better to fill it before you shut down. Pots have no heat coils at the bottom, only the sides.
I love the Lee 20# pots with the remote thermostat.
Now for questions asked. The fellas here ignore typing answers you need even if posted a million times. Help is a few keystrokes away. You can search but you need a year to read them all.
Darn just got stars for Shut down because my letters on the keyboard are worn out and I hit I instead of U.
I sure did not want you to poop down.

[dudel]

I don't empty my Lee bottom pour pot. Seems to heat up faster (more heat transfer to the lead left in the bottom), and I think it keeps oxidation down. My Lee pot has not behaved like a drip-o-matic like others. I think it's because I don't empty and expose the bottom pour mechanism. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I'm new to casting. Have 95% of the equipment in house, and waiting on the rest. Reading as much as I can on the subject.................even to the point of eye-bleeding! ;-) As I mentioned in a thread yesterday here on the site, I've probably got a million questions to ask. I'll do my best to sort them out myself so as not to bore all those much more experienced on the site. But I do have one question I can't seem to find the answer for. I have a Lyman Pro 20# bottom pour pot. A friend of mine said I should empty it when I finish casting each time. Is that really necessary? If so, why in the world would it be?


Thanks guys. I thought so! My friend often has some pretty strange habits. :lol:
Looks like you got your answer, but I will add, like you friend, I empty my Lee pot after every session. I would surely leave it "full" if I were planning on using the same alloy next session, as the alloy will come up to temperature faster...BUT, I never know what alloy I need to use for the next session, so I empty the pot. Maybe your friend does so, for the same reason?

As to your million questions. Don't be shy, ask away !

[Chris C]

Well, not only will I continue to ask questions.............................but I'll be ever vigilant that I do a search before doing so. Don't want to upset anyone. ;-)

[44man]

Well, not only will I continue to ask questions.............................but I'll be ever vigilant that I do a search before doing so. Don't want to upset anyone. ;-)
You will have to shoo all the deer away from me to upset me. Everyone here feels the same. Ask away.

[RogerDat]

I don't use an electric pot but do both, leave some alloy in a pot so it is ready to go, I think it melts faster because it is 100% surface contact with pot as the pot gets heat the lead all gets heat. Ingot only touches on one surface and a few in the pot and some won't make much contact with hot pot. But I also dump a couple of pots I use because I don't know what I'll want to put in them next time. Mind you these are pots I put over a propane burner but figure the same principles apply.
I ladle cast so what is bottom pour? Does that mean there is a leak in your pot or is the pot like a bottom pour ladle with a skimmer tube for dumping out large quantities? :kidding:

[Victor N TN]

I cast A LOT in the 1980s. When changing alloys or when the pot was VERY low, I would drain the pot into ingot molds to clean the dirt and "junk" out of the bottom of the pot. I did that every now and then. But not on any type of regular basis. I had to replace the heating element on the Lee pot 2 times.

I also have a habit of when I plug the pot in, while it's heating up, I lay the mold across the top of the pot so the mold will heat up at the same time. From the factory all the supports the pot on my Lee pot is the heating element, (I think). I made a support out of all thread rod and a small piece of flat bar stock and used it like a support for the front of the pot. If I didn't it looked like the pot was trying to tip over. That may have been from the extra weight of the molds resting on the pot. I don't know.

[Gtek]

May I suggest that you find a suitable pan to place pot during operation that will contain entire contents of pot. Over the years here and elsewhere there have been some lovely photo shoots and stories covering the Lee Dripomatic or the Lee Dumpomatic. Research the threads about lapping valve and weight addition to valve handle and away you go. You will find CLEAN ingots to be your friend. I own and use one and you may want to find a nice ladle to work with out of the top also.

[lightman]

As you see, most of us leave lead in the pot. My only suggestion is to tag the pot with the alloy type if there is going to be much time between uses. Lots of casters have more than one pot for this reason.

[Chris C]

Thanks for all the pointers, guys. Only using one alloy mix right now, so don't have to worry about keeping track of that. I'll just keep 'er filled so's I'm ready to go when I plug 'er in.

[FISH4BUGS]

Either way, stay close and observe the pot while heating, so if a leak starts, you'll be there to stop it.
Boy isn't THAT the truth! The mess is unbelievable.
Don't ask me how I know.
I usually top mine off and yank the plug. That way I start with a full pot next casting session. But you can do whatever floats your boat. As an earlier poster said.....the casting police won't be there.

[mdi]

So, it looks like "keep full vs always empty" is mainly personal choice and both have their reasons. I do both, depending on the alloy and what I'm gonna melt next.

One hint I learned when I first started working with power tools (many, many years ago, right after Edison invented light bulbs), and that is never walk away from a tool/machine when it's running. That includes electric lead pots. While some may never have a problem, some may return to the shop to find 20 lbs. of lead on the bench and floor, or even a fire. The only tool/machine I'll let go unattended is my Lyman wobbler (I set it on a rug in the middle of the floor) and I don't even like doing that. I've seen bench grinders burn up and one when the wheel came apart after running for an hour ("ummm, I forgot to turn it off".). Can't help it as I'm a lifelong machinist/mechanic and it's ingrained in me to never leave a power tool/equipment unattended. Basic "Machine Shop 101"...

[Bonz]

The only time I empty mine is when I am changing alloys

[higgins]

I have a Lee pot that is very old. sometimes it seems to heat faster, and cut on and off more or less often. I just leave about an inch of metal in the bottom of it to speed up the next melt because I just know one of these days I'm going to plug it in and it's not going to heat up. I've already decided I won't try to repair it; I'll just get another Lee pot, and I don't want to have a chunk of lead that I can't easily get out of a dead pot.

If you've had this happen, I'd like to know how you got the lead out of the dead pot.

[edctexas]

You can disassemble the pot and replace the heating coil. If you want to move to a new pot, disassemble and use a bernzomatic torch on the pot to heat and melt the lead out. Both methods have worked for me. The other method involves a lot of sawing (haw haw).Slit the pot and pry it off.

Ed C