Using the two pot metod for speed

[bhp9]

For those of you that are pressed for time the two pot method is one I have employed with much success for many years. I use two 20lb. Lyman pots at once. When one gets about 1/3 empty I simply ladle hot metal from the other pot into the one I am casting with. If you have enough room on your bench you could also just switch to the other pot. I find that when casting some bullets once the pot gets more than 1/3 empty that the flow velocity often slows down and bullets sometimes do not fill out as easily as when the pot is full.

When you only use one pot stopping to add metal will lower the temperature of the mix, which will cause less than perfect bullets until the mix heats up to the temperature the pot is set at. This is why I use the two pot method as it saves me a lot of time when casting large amounts of bullets in the shortest possible time.

[copdills]

Thats good information, I'm new to this and I have a question when the lead is up to temp but low in the pot and you need to add lead is there anything special you need to do to the besides just adding it to the pot in ref: to do you need to preheat the lead or can you just put it in the pot
Thanks

[ANeat]

Someone on here (perhaps a few) have a twist on that method where they mount one pot above the other and as the bottom one gets low the top one gets poured into the bottom. Very similar to what youre doing.

Ive done the 2 pot, side by side technique myself, it really helps when youre doing a heavier bullet/6 cavity run.

Ive also pre-heated my ingots on a hotplate before adding them to help reduce the re-melt time

[ANeat]

to do you need to preheat the lead or can you just put it in the pot
Thanks

Either way is fine, If its cold it just takes a little longer to get everything back up to temp.

Sometimes I will use that as my cue to take a break:drinks:

[copdills]

Thanks Adam , didn't mean to hijack the thread this was just some very good information

Thanks Copdills:drinks:

[runfiveslittlegirl]

the pot over the other is the way to go if you are doing large boolits i have even seen where
you lift the handle and as you pour your boolit the other one is refilling the pot.

if i am ladle casting i keep a couple of 10 lb. pots going and switch back and forth.

[hammerhead357]

I use the two pot method myself. One mounted above the other, however I go one step further and use a total of four pots two premelt pots mounted over two pouring pots.
Anymore I just use this if I am going to cast with two H & G 8 or 10 cavity moulds. If I am using just one or something smaller I just use one set of the pots.
I also use ingot feeders to feed the premelt pots. These are taken from some old printing equipment and feed large long ingots (pigs) of lead. In lino they weigh about 23 lbs. and in ww about 25 lbs....Wes

[686]

i used a rcbs 22 lb foe years thinking as long as it did not freez up when i added my 5 lb ingot , i was dooing good. and not over fill it. i bought a digital thomoter and found i was having a 120 de. swing when adding the lead. i bought a magma 90 lb pot and never looked back. from full to 1/2 the temp is the same. maybe even lower i dont let it go below 1/2 . when a add a 5 lb ingot the temp changes maybe 10 de. with the bigger the lead pot you do not get any different in pouring with full to 1/2 like you do with a 20 lb one. does any one else use this pot?

[Echo]

I use an old SAECO 10-pounder, and, after the initial fill, I put a couple of ingots on top of the furnace to warm up. As the alloy level goes down I use channel-locks to pick up and place a hot ingot into the pot, and then replace it with another to warm up. I haven't checked the temp change, but notice no difference in casting. Using 6-gang Lee's to cast 150-grain .357', it means refilling about every 8 mold-fulls - and I always throw the sprues back in as soon as they are cut off, while they are still hot (or at least warm).

[Christian for Israel]

i melt my ingots in a stainless steel saucepan on a hot plate near my 20lb lee furnace and refill when necessary. when i'm not in a big hurry i simply add ingots to the furnace every 30 castings or so and use the melt time to get on the net and see what the rest of you are up to. ;)

[Dale53]

I used the "two pot method' for many years when I was commercially casting. Now, that I am "old and feeble":mrgreen: I normally fill one pot to the brim. When it is empty, I quit[smilie=1:.
I am retired now, so it is not necessary for me to cast so many at one sitting.

TIP: I leave the screw that controls the discharge nozzle of a bottom pour pot loose. When the pot is full, I adjust it so that the "proper" amount runs out. As the pot level goes down, I adjust the screw from time to time to maintain the same "proper' amount. It only takes a second or so and has proven to be VERY helpful. I use a bottom pour to cast EVERYTHING from pistol to rifle to BPCR. I typically allow the mould to be 3/4" or so from the bottom of the spout. The molten metal falls this amount and seems to help fill out. Once I am started, the bullets come near perfect every time. I MUCH prefer 4-6 cavity moulds and have as many LEE moulds as I do all of the rest (H&G, SAECO, NEI, Lyman, etc). As a point of fact, this method of casting works with both iron and aluminum moulds.

Dale53