What kind of casting pot should I buy?

[TacticalGarand44]

I am a first time boolit caster, I plan to do just a modest amount of casting. Perhaps 200 boolits per month for now. When I graduate from college, I will start casting more, maybe up to 500 per month. Should I get a bottom pour or ladle style? 10 or 20 pound capacity? I will probably get a Lee, or similar budget model. What are the considerations for each style?

[Bzcraig]

I've never ladle casted so can't give an objective opinion of the differences but I can tell you I'm totally content with using my Lee bottom pour now for 5 years, in fact bought a second, one for boolit alloy and one for pure.

[imashooter2]

Electric bottom pour pots are just so convenient that I would have a hard time recommending anything else to a man just starting out on a small scale. The Lee 20 pound pot (really only holds about 17 pounds) is very affordable and a much better design than their 10 pound offering.

[Vinne]

I have to agree, the Lee pot is the way to go. Many years ago I started out with the Lee 4 pound pot and picked up a 20 pound Saco with the spout sealed at a very good price a few years later.
I have done both so it all depends on what you feel best doing. I was using the ladle for large bullets (large 44s and 45s) and 6 gang molds. For the smaller bullets (9s and 38s), I bottom pour and feel good with both. I am still working on the 40s and find it takes a little longer to cast those. You can start out with a bottom pour and use a ladle if you find it easier. Hope this helps.

[TacticalGarand44]

How is the 20 a better design?
Electric bottom pour pots are just so convenient that I would have a hard time recommending anything else to a man just starting out on a small scale. The Lee 20 pound pot (really only holds about 17 pounds) is very affordable and a much better design than their 10 pound offering.

[imashooter2]

The valve linkage is vastly superior and the mold rest is very handy.

[retread]

I too started with the Lee 20 lb. Never had a problem. Bought a second one so I would have one for pistol alloy and one for rifle. If my budget would allow I might think about the RSBS but now that I have PIDs on both Lees I am well satisfied.

[Greg S]

I started laddle casting big bullets, i.e. 45-70, 500 S&W and 475 LB. The Lee 20 lb pot is good. When I started cast I ng smaller, I picked up a bottom pour and went with the RCBS. No regrets with either.

[Bent Ramrod]

I used a Lee 10 lb pot for 30 years until the danged thing burnt out on me. Was so offended at the short service life that I bought a Lee 20-lb Magnum Melter to replace it! I figure it will still be going long after I'm not. Lee pots are a great value for the money.

With the 20 pounder I find that the heat retention is better over longer casting sessions, resulting in fewer light/wrinkled castings and other rejects for the number cast than the 10 pounder. It produces a worthwhile number of big, match-quality boolits per potful, which I keep in separate "lots." I can also use the multiple mould trick, where I alternate one mould with another, keeping both at the optimum temperature, with the 20 lb pot. There just wasn't enough metal or heat in the 10 pounder to do that.

I bought my 10 lb Lee pot when I was in Grad School and it lasted almost to my retirement. By the time you are ready to replace yours, you'll be old and wise like me.:mrgreen:

[toallmy]

The only experience with a pot is the lee 20 pound bottom pore and at around 60.-70. Bucks to get started casting I am satisfied with it I have put a few hundred pounds through it . After saying that , I dream of a pro melt one day in the future just because of the occasional bad days with my lee pot , when it wants to get a stubborn aggravating drip and doesn't want to play nice .

[Half Dog]

Buy it 1 time is my first thoughts. RCBS Pro-Melt was my first one and I believe it will last me a life-time.

[RogerDat]

Ladle caster here. I use the Lee Magnum melter. Plain hot pot that along with my Lyman Little Dipper ladle does everything I need from 20 grain rifle down to little 70 grain .32 acp and a ladle offers a few advantages, along with some drawbacks.

If you decide to purchase a Lee bottom pour the Pro Melter is generally recognized as having a better valve set up, one can even slip a large nut over the wood handle to provide more "down" weight. The mold guide under the pot is also considered a plus.

With my ladle I can "pressure cast" by turning the mold sideways and fitting it right on the round spout of the ladle, then tip the mold and ladle together. This forces lead in under pressure which can help some molds cast better. A ladle pouring over the pot also allows one to flow molten lead over the mold to put some additional heat into the mold to deal with a cold spot or to help keep the mold hot in a cold garage.

The downside to ladle casting is there is a limit to rate of pouring, I have no problem pouring 4 200 grain bullets, I think 6 cavity 255 grain is still within ladle capacity but I think that might be getting close to the single ladle limit, and I would feel more confident at a 6 cavity 200 grain. With a ladle not going to easily run 10 cavity mold or run multiple molds as easily using a ladle.

I have to use a paint stir stick and bent soup spoon skimmer plus a tiny piece of wax from time to time to remove the surface oxidation. Bottom pour pulls lead from the bottom so surface oxidation ending up in the bullet mold is less of an issue. I have to keep the surface clear since I dip through the surface of the lead, crud on top could end up in mold if I don't do my job with a ladle.

Hard to screw up a melter with no moving parts. No leaks, no drips, nada. Given a choice between a PID to control temperature or a second pot so I can keep pistol and rifle ready to cast, hmmm. Getting started I would tend to go with any Lee pot, you can add a PID later, they don't lose a lot of value, you have more money left to go toward another mold. ;-)

[runfiverun]

get the 20 lb pot.
later on you can skip the rest and get the magma 40 lb pot as money allows.

[Pee Wee]

RCBS Pro-Melt pot, buy once, last a life time, and if it breaks RCBS will rebuild it for Nothing.

[gundownunder]

I've been casting for ten years using a 2 quart cast iron Dutch oven on a gas ring, and a 9kilo gas bottle lasts months. A full pot will hold close to 40 pounds of lead. I cast using a vintage cast iron soup ladle with a little pouring channel ground into one side. It takes a good 1/2 hour to get the pot up to casting temp but then I'm good for hours by just adding an ingot every now and again. With a 4 gang mold I can cast about 500 bullets per hour, about 900 per hour if I use 2 molds. A stainless steel soup ladle with a 1/16" hole drilled in the bottom makes a nice bottom pour ladle if you can't be bothered skimming off all the dross on top. I still can't decide which of the two ladles I prefer. I don't see myself ever wanting to buy a drip-o-matic pot.

[TacticalGarand44]

Unfortunately, I just can't justify over 300 dollars into a melting pot. I think I will go with the Lee 20 pounder bottom pour. The ladle set up just seems more tricky, plus I like the idea of not needing to keep the surface of the melt as clean. Thanks for the replies.

[Mk42gunner]

I started using a pot on a Coleman stove and a small stainless steel soup ladle from Walmart. Upside of this setup was it was cheap. Downside was it radiated a LOT of heat. I bought an RCBS dipper on Dean Grinnell's advice as soon as I figured out I liked casting boolits.

My next major improvement was to buy a Lee 4-20. It is a decent bottom pour and it is easy to dip from. Mine doesn't drip a lot, it will eventually self limit with drip art. You can also pressure cast from it if needed, I have one mold that the only way I have been able to get it to cast acceptable boolits is to pressure cast with the 4-20.

I did eventually buy an RCBS Promelt, it is better than the Lee, but I am not sure it is worth four times the money for a new one. I gave $80 for mine at an estate sale.

Bottom line: If I were starting over today, I would buy a new Lee 4-20 and an RCBS dipper and be satisfied. The RCBS dipper has a fin to clear the surface scum with while dipping.

Good Luck,

Robert

[lightman]

I prefer a bottom pour pot and I recommend going with a 20 pound one. If you cast larger bullets or use a large gang mold the 10# pot gets empty rather quickly. Brand wise, let your budget decide.

[RogerDat]

My back made standing for long casting sessions uncomfortable (to say the least) so I bought the Lee so I could sit down. Before that I cast as gundownunder does, on a gas ring with a pot. My fish fryer ring had legs that put it up too high to sit at. His 9 kilo bottle is our 20# bottle which is what I used. You talk about even heat! Get a pot of lead at right temp and it took real effort to change it much.

I forgot to mention cleaning a plain melter is easier since it does not have all that hardware inside it. I'm also sort of enamored with the idea of having a skill set that would allow me to cast over a fire with a soup ladle using anything that holds molten lead as a pot.

[Norske]

My first bottom pour was a 10# Lee. Later I added a 20# model. The larger one doesn't drip while heating up like the small one does, but the tapered end of the 10# pot fits the holes in mold's sprue cutters better. The flatter end of my 20# Lee spills more while casting.
My first pot was a cast iron Lyman with the ladle. I think it still does a better job of filling the mold than either of my bottom pour melting pots.

[country gent]

A lot depends on what you are casting for bullets. Normal pistol bullets in the 32-45 cal range and 100-250 grn range I you can do good with the bottom pours. For the longer bigger rifle bullets ( bullets in the 1.2"-1.5" length ranges) running from 360 - 550 grn I prefer the ladle. Perferably a rowel #1 with its larger spout or a RCBS, or Lyman with the spout opened up to .210" size. These put the lead in fast and a strong flow. I also think the stream is hotter from the ladle if its kept in the pot while not used.

[country gent]

Another thing to consider is if on a budget a pretty nice ladle set up can be put together for little money and the left over spent on more or better moulds.

[RGR175]

I see some others have already recommended it but the Lee 20lbs bottom pour seems like a good fit. I'm new as well and my research lead me to believe that is a good place to start.

[marlin39a]

I grew up on a Lyman drip O matic. I then found a Lyman 61, 10 lb pot. I love it. I just rebuilt it, and hope it last forever. If I had to do it over, I would get the RCBS Promelt.

[Javater]

My setup is called Bottom Pour ladle.

Stainless Steel 1.5qt Pot $6 at Goodwill (they go on sale as low as $3) depending on the week and sticker color
Stainless Steel Ladle $1 at Goodwill
Walmart Electric Coil single cooktop $10

Drill middle of the cup on the ladle with 3/32 drillbit

for 17 dollars i got my setup that does same as 20LB lee Bottom Pour.

[RogerDat]

My setup is called Bottom Pour ladle.

Stainless Steel 1.5qt Pot $6 at Goodwill (they go on sale as low as $3) depending on the week and sticker color
Stainless Steel Ladle $1 at Goodwill
Walmart Electric Coil single cooktop $10

Drill middle of the cup on the ladle with 3/32 drillbit

for 17 dollars i got my setup that does same as 20LB lee Bottom Pour.

Someplace there is a YouTube video of a guy using that set up and it looked like it worked pretty well. He just put the mold over the larger pot of lead on his heat (propane as I recall), pulled some up in the ladle and let the stream from the hole in the ladle bottom flow into the mold. Was doing a 6 cavity pretty much boom and done.

Myself I can only really see myself buying a 6 cavity either used (good deal) or maybe for 7.62x39 but my preference has become 4 cavity, productive but not too heavy when filled, less tiring. None that I have, including 200 rifle or 250 grain pistol give me any problem with a ladle pour. Me doing it wrong sometimes has issues but nothing to do with how the lead is being dispensed.