PDA

View Full Version : Which Lee pot



awaveritt
10-26-2009, 02:22 PM
Come payday, I'm ordering a Lee pot. I had planned to get the 10lb. bottom pour for around $52 at Midway. But $20 less, I could just get the standard pot. I have cast my first 800 boolets using a Lyman Ladle on a coleman stove with satisfactory results. I'm using 2 cavity molds so the rate of production seems acceptable to me. I can see the advantage of the bottom pour in a six cavity mould but I'm not really in need of that much production.

Am I missing something or do I really need the bottom pour pot or should I spend the same $20 on another mould?

One more question comes to mind. How do you empty the standard pot's contents into ingot moulds when you're through with the session?

UPDATE:Just wanted to thank all who replied on my Lee Pot question. On the advice of most posters I've ordered the 20lb bottom pour model. I really like how helpful this site is.

Three-Fifty-Seven
10-26-2009, 02:36 PM
Got a ladle?

If you leave some in the bottom, it will melt faster next time . . .

Gohon
10-26-2009, 02:45 PM
Get the 10# pot. With the smaller pot you'll spend most of your time adding lead and waiting for the temperature to come up. Midway has then on sale right now for $44.99. Also you can still use a ladle as a second choice.

Sky King
10-26-2009, 02:47 PM
I received a Lee PRO 4-20 bottom pour from Midsouth for $63.00 a couple of weeks ago. This is a 20lb pot that I use for 2-cavity molds. I use to use a 10lb with a RCBS ladle and it was slow. This past weekend I poured 865 200gr .45acp swc in about 4hrs combined both days. Not only is it faster, you also don't get all the crud that builds up on the top of the melt in your ladle and in your boolits. You don't have to flux as often. I had 7 bad boolits after I looked at all of them last night. I don't think I'll ever go back to a ladle.

bruce drake
10-26-2009, 03:05 PM
Midway has the LEE 20lb pot on sale for 57 until the end of November. Might be a nice Xmas present for someone.

jameslovesjammie
10-26-2009, 04:03 PM
I agree with Bruce. I have the 10 lb bottom pour. For single/double cavity moulds under 180 grains and hollowpoints, it is tough to beat. But if you ever DO decide to cast larger bullets or go to a larger number of cavity moulds...you will wish you had a bigger pot.

When I bought my 10 lb pot, my wife asked me if I wanted to spend an extra $15 on the larger pot. I said, "Nah...this one will be fine." Boy...do I have regrets now.

EDK
10-26-2009, 06:12 PM
Get a 20 pound pot. I ladle cast and have been very satisfied with the MAGNUM MELTER. Get a 20 pound bottom pour if it suits you. BUT get the 20 pounder and you won't be looking back and cursing false economy.

:Fire::castmine::redneck:

Rusty W
10-26-2009, 06:24 PM
I cast mostly for 44 & 45 caliber boolits, 250gr up to 450gr. They are double cavity molds. I also cast for 30 cal rifle, 9mm, & .357. The smaller caliber pistol, I use a 6 cavity mold most of the time. I have the Lee 4-20 and have used it for about 3 years. I sometimes wish I had a bigger pot.
I'm no good with a ladle, I get more lead on the table than in the mold, and make a big mess. I like the bottom pour even if it does drip. If I's in your position and are happy using a ladle I'd stick with it. Electric is easier than propane/fuel for a stove though, and you can still use a ladle if you don't like the bottom pour.

The Dove
10-26-2009, 06:41 PM
A buddy gave me his old 10 lb bottom pour Lee pot and that brought me out of the ladeling. It is so easy to get going and neater to boot. Just my opinion! Probably gonna get a 20 lbs bottom pour pot because of all this. Damne d him! HAHAHA

The Dove

fredj338
10-26-2009, 07:26 PM
Having both the 10#BP & 20#BP, don't waste your money on the smaller pot. You have to constantly feed it ingots to stay hot when casting larger bullets. I have almost no drip issues w/ the Lee BP pots since I started leaving them at least 1/2 full. Never e,mpty one, that's how crud gets into the spout & causes excessive dripping IMO. I still use my 20yr old 10# but for casting soft LHP. The 20# gets used for everything else from 2cav 357 to 6cav 45s.

HammerMTB
10-26-2009, 07:35 PM
I have a 10# bottom pour that has been doing the job for 25 years. However, I got the itch to get more production and got a 6-cavity mold. The 10# doesn't feed it well, as ingots must be added too often.
So I got a 20# bottom pour, and use it now for all my alloyed boolits. Much better.
The 10# is now relegated to pure lead jobs, for the most part BP projectiles.

So my suggestion is to think about where this may lead (not lead, but lead :bigsmyl2:)
Then get what will serve in the long term. You will likely buy many more $20 molds over the years, tho I am about convinced I just need to break down and get the 6-cav right off the bat, as I wind up with one anyways.....

mooman76
10-26-2009, 07:51 PM
I've been ladle casting for over 40 years and see no need to change now. You can get a pretty good production going even with a ladle. I would get at least a 10# pot though that way when you add lead it won't cool your hot lead down as much and you can keep production going. If you can afford it get a 20# though and if you ever deside to move up to a 6x you will be there. You can get those without the bottom pour feature if you want.

ScottJ
10-26-2009, 10:20 PM
I just got a 10lb bottom pour earlier this month. Only thing I don't like about it is it's a bit crowded in the pot. Hard to flux and stir.

Wish I'd sprung for the 20lb for more room.

geargnasher
10-26-2009, 10:36 PM
Trust me, get a 20# unless you're planning on only casting tiny boolits. I recommend the Lee pro 4-20, WELL worth the few extra bucks. That way you can spend a lot more time focusing on casting boolits than monkeying with pot temp and having to stop to add ingots, flux, stir, skim, reheat mould, cast a half-dozen culls, et cetera.

The reason for the big pot is your "sweet spot" of usable, stable, constant -temperature alloy is only about half the pot (middle half), so if you're casting 250 grain boolits you can only cast about 250 before you have to stop and add lead. With a 10 lb pot, you will only be able to cast a little over 100 250 grainers before the melt overheats and you have to turn it down. Also the tin content can fluctuate some as dross forms, and that always seems to happen more quickly in the bottom third of the pot than the top third, so I always try to cast above this level.

Get the 220 if you have or can wire a wall outlet for it, otherwise the 110v works fine. And yes, you can just fill up your 10 lb and cast it dry, but when you study the results you will find large weight and size variations in your boolits as well as slight alloy differences.

Gear

vinnyg
10-26-2009, 10:45 PM
I made some ingots a couple of weeks ago in the cast iron pot and while I had some lead hot I decided to cast some bullets too: doing all, using the rcbs lead dipper ladle which is a nice product imho. I didn’t make too many bullets because I’m spoiled with the Lee bottom pour pot. Once you use one you probably will not want to go back to ladling even with 2 cavity molds.

I currently use the 10lb pot. It’s a little tight to scrape the sides so I use a small SS spoon for that and if the bottom pour clogs up some I keep a channel lock with a bent paper clip ready and insert it while lifting the handle, no big deal as I keep a shallow SS monkey dish under the spout to catch the drippings anyway, nothing is lost. I always use welding gloves while smelting they work well for me on splatter and or heat. Soon I will pick up the Lee 20 LB-er to cast more out of one batch without adding and fluxing often.
Enjoy.

stubshaft
10-26-2009, 10:58 PM
Get a 20 pound pot. I ladle cast and have been very satisfied with the MAGNUM MELTER. Get a 20 pound bottom pour if it suits you. BUT get the 20 pounder and you won't be looking back and cursing false economy.

:Fire::castmine::redneck:


I ladle cast and use the 20lb pot. I also use the 10lb but only for rifle boolits. Believe me big boolits can drain a pot in a hurry.

Gohon
10-26-2009, 11:25 PM
Midway has the LEE 20lb pot on sale for 57 until the end of November

Oops......you're right. I was looking at the wrong pot. Still a good buy at $57.

GRid.1569
10-27-2009, 07:41 AM
I'm still new to this but...

I've got a Lee 20 lb'er and I sure get through lead quickly using a 6 cav mould... Wouldn't like to think what a 10 lb'er would be like...

canebreaker
10-27-2009, 10:00 AM
I bought the Lee 10-2 production pot from fmreloading.com some 20 years ago. It was 10.00 cheaper than the 10-4. Since I mold different size sinkers too. I added 3 1x boards between the base and stand for added clearence. I start off with temp on 10. When lead is melted, I turn it to 6. When needing to add more lead, I turn the temp back to 10 before adding.

Cloudpeak
10-27-2009, 11:52 AM
I ladle cast for years before buying the Lee Pro 4-20 5 years ago. I'll never go back.
I cast with Lee 6 cavities (9mm) or a Lyman 4 cavity 200gr SWC and, with the Pro 4-20, I can get a lot of good bullets quickly. I'd also recommend a hot plate to pre-warm molds and to pre-melt lead to pour in the 4-20. This really speeds things up and will eliminate the "spout freeze" that you can get when adding ingots directly into the 4-20. A small vice grip clamped on the top of the needle valve will help eliminate "drip".

59sharps
10-27-2009, 12:23 PM
I have both the RCBS mag and the Lee 4-20 Pro like them both equaly. For the $$ go for the 4-20. The 10# is to small, at least for me. most of my casting is 58 and 69 ca. had a 10# pot it was Just ok for 44 cal 2 cav. mold but runs out to fast on others. Just as you get going its time to refill it.

Leftoverdj
10-27-2009, 12:31 PM
Bigger is better.

Ladle vs downpour is a matter of opinion. You can probably cast better bullets with a ladle, but you'll cast them a lot faster with a downpour pot. In either case, a larger pot will hold a more stable temperature and let you cast a lot more bullets.

If you only need a couple of hundred bullets at time, sure, you can get by with a small pot. Even for that, you'd be better off with a larger pot. If you are an avid shooter of pistol or rattle guns, you'll need thousands of bullets. I cast from a Lee 20-4 and use a Lee 10-4 while the bigger pot is coming to temperature. The 10-4 is not even really big enough for that. When I run into a deal, I'll add another 20-4 so I can cast continuously with six cavity moulds.

acl864
10-27-2009, 12:56 PM
I'm a newbie and based on advice I received here bought the 20 lbs. Lee pot. No regrets. I'm sure the 10 lbs. will work, but for less than $20 more, get the big one.

fredj338
10-27-2009, 02:51 PM
I ladle cast for years before buying the Lee Pro 4-20 5 years ago. I'll never go back.
I cast with Lee 6 cavities (9mm) or a Lyman 4 cavity 200gr SWC and, with the Pro 4-20, I can get a lot of good bullets quickly. I'd also recommend a hot plate to pre-warm molds and to pre-melt lead to pour in the 4-20. This really speeds things up and will eliminate the "spout freeze" that you can get when adding ingots directly into the 4-20. A small vice grip clamped on the top of the needle valve will help eliminate "drip".

I found just placing the mold on top of the pot easily keeps it hot. I often cast w/ two molds & alternate them to keep the mold temp constant. I don't know how anyone that has used a 20# BP pot can go back to ladle casting.[smilie=1:

13Echo
10-27-2009, 04:58 PM
For me at least casting the large bullets for BPCR is best done with the ladle. For smaller bullets and gang moulds a bottompour pot seems preferable. So it turns out I have two pots.

Jerry Liles

papa bear
10-27-2009, 06:59 PM
Buy the larger pot. If you are going to keep using a ladle then buy a Rowell ladel from The antimony man.

XWrench3
10-27-2009, 09:02 PM
my vote is for the lee 4-20 bottom pour as well. trust me, you will soon find out that 10 pounds just does not cut it. especially if you ever get a lee six hole pistol mold. personally, i wish all molds came in six hole configuration. i get tired of flipping those little two hole molds.

RoyRogers
10-27-2009, 09:55 PM
For what a newbie's advice is worth I'll pile on with the Pro4-20 crowd. I've only had mine a short time and it’s the only pot I've owned but so far I'm quite pleased and really glad I went with the 20 pounder. Even as a greenhorn I'm already casting very nice bullets - which surprises me somewhat. I'll attribute my success to the helpful folks here sharing knowledge, the Lee pot, and my insatiable desire for reading. My pot has been quite stable at holding temp and aside from one runaway dripping episode shortly after first firing it up it has performed flawlessly. I'm cheap by necessity but must admit that Midway's Nov sales price makes me covet another one to keep full of a different alloy. Speaking of price, for anyone interested Kittery trading post has free shipping and runs short duration 10% off orders over $100 fairly often. Thanks to their offer, I got my Lee pot, a Dillon 550 conversion, and a crimp die to my front door for < $100 (after the 10% discount) recently. Their customer service seems top notch as well.

wellfedirishman
10-27-2009, 11:28 PM
I recently started casting, using the Lee 10 lb bottom pour. It is a great pot, but if you start casting lots of heavy bullets (45-70s) you run out of lead very fast.

If you are just going to cast a few bullets at a time, the 10 lb is fine. If you want to cast a lot in one sitting, get the 20.

Either way, make sure you get the bottom pour. For all the reasons mentioned above, it is MUCH better than ladle pouring.

awaveritt
10-30-2009, 12:41 PM
Just wanted to thank all who replied on my Lee Pot question. On the advice of most posters I've ordered the 20lb bottom pour model. I really like how helpful this site is.

TAWILDCATT
10-30-2009, 01:49 PM
I started with ladle as that was all there was.then I looked at my toy soldier Gilbert pot and read Phil Sharps book and saw a picture of the Miller pot.it looked like my Gilbert so I added a spout.yrs later lyman came out with their pot.when it burnt out I got a lee 10,they did not have a 20 then.when you ladle cast you dip hold mold with left hand and ladle with right,pour lay ladle down knock the plate dump pick up ladle. theres no way you can keep up with a bottom pour.:violin:
I have a Lee 20 and Saeco 10 plus my Gilbert and a Potter.:coffee:

HORNET
10-30-2009, 03:14 PM
I really like how helpful this site is.
Just wait, there's LOTS of enablers on here.....Always willing to sink the hook deeper

canebreaker
10-30-2009, 06:14 PM
I got my pot from fmreloading.com . Saved about 10.00 on the 10# pot.

John Guedry
10-31-2009, 01:12 PM
I've got the Lee 10#er given to me by afriend 15 years ago . It's been dropped a time or two so it's not pretty anymore but still works fine. If and when it quits I'll probably get a Lee 20#er.

paul edward
10-31-2009, 01:23 PM
Get the biggest bottom pour pot you can afford. The cost differential is only $20 or $30. If necessary skip a couple lunches or beers. The sacrifice will be forgotten in a week. The bigger pot will satisfy for a long time.

PED

big dale
10-31-2009, 01:43 PM
My advice would be to get at least a 20 pound bottom pour pot. I started with one in the mid 60's and was very happy with it till I added a 4 cavety H&G 68 mold in the late 80's. Then I found it much more convenient to add a RCBS 20 pound furnace as well so that one could be coming up to casting temp while I was casting from the other. That way I could cast up about 80 pounds of boolits in a day, but I must say that then it was a whole lot more like work instead of being fun.

Big Dale

stephen perry
10-31-2009, 02:19 PM
I have a LEE 10 and a LEE 4. Both work great. I use the LEE 4 for singles cavity molds and the LEE 10 for 2, 4, and 6 cavity. Have my LEE 10 plugged now to cast a 2 cavity mold.

I have SAECO 14 lb and have had the same in Lyman. Anymore I use the SAECO to melt ww and make bars. I do plan on buying a LEE 20 to ladle from.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR

geezer56
10-31-2009, 06:27 PM
Buy the 20 lb'er. The 10 is tooooo small. By the time you get the mold hot with a 10 pounder, it is time to add lead ingots, then you get to restart the process.

stephen perry
10-31-2009, 06:37 PM
The LEE 10 is fine. Really depends on what bullet weights you are casting. If you are casting 500 grn bullets maybe a larger pot is desireable. But like most that are casting 200 grn and less the 10 lb is fine. So what if you have to throw in a couple bars once in awhile.

Why lead a new guy to a 20 lb pot if he is a occasional caster makes no sense. That's why small pots are made for the part time Caster.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR :brokenima

skeet1
10-31-2009, 11:57 PM
Lee Pro 4-20, the best for the money.

Skeet1

MikeSSS
11-01-2009, 01:22 AM
Good choice, it will serve you well.

Crash_Corrigan
11-01-2009, 01:17 PM
I use two Lee 4-20's at the same time. One is mounted on a shelf two feet higher than the casting pot on the bottom. I have a piece of angle iron running from the spout of the top pot to the surface of the casting pot.

This way I add hot alloy from the top pot whenever the level of the bottom pot drops below 1/2 full. I have found that the ideal level of the casting pot works best for me when it is between 3/4 and 1/2 full. Too low and the flow of alloy is too slow and the temps of the alloy tend to be too high. Too high and the flow of alloy is too fast and the again the temps fluctuate too much.

I melt both pots about 3/4 full of ingots and wait until they get up to temp. A good flux and stir, then I start casting, usually with a Lee 6 banger or a RCBS 4 or H&G 4 from the bottom pot.

Prior to casting I add a few more ingots to the top pot to bring it up to nearly full. After a time when the bottom pot level gets down to 1/2 I stop casting. I again flux the top pot and check the temperature of the alloy.

I open the spout with the attached small vise grips on top of the op rod and let the silver stream flow down the channel of the angle iron to bring the bottom pot to 3/4 or a little bit more but certainly not full up.

I now flux the bottom pot again and check the temperature. While the therrmometer is getting the information I again top off the upper pot with more ingots.

When all is well I resume casting from the bottom pot. When I really get into a good rythem I just add ingots to the top pot and flux as needed to minimize the stoppage of casting. If the temps are off I can tell really fast as my boolits will tell me if they are too hot or cold.

Using the Bruce B method of cooling down the sprue plate, usage of Bullshops fine Sprue Plate Lube and a 5 gallon bucket of cold water covered with a towel that had a nice slit in it I can really produce some quality boolits really fast.

After I remove the freshly cast boolits from the water bucket I lay them out in the sun on a couple of layers of old towels to dry.

I usually try to lube them within 36 hours as they will harden up some and make lubing and sizing more difficult as they age. After lubing they are given a corn starch bath.

When dried I toss a few handfuls at a time in a large plastic pickle jar {three gallon size} with a few tablespoons full of corn starch. This allows the fresly lubed boolits to remain easy to handle and they will not stick together nor make a mess of my reloading dies.

When I am making .38's, 9 MM's or .45's I usually fill up Captain Black tobacco cans with fresh boolits. With the plastic covers on I can rest assured that these boolits will remain fresh and clean and ready to assemble into quality reloads whenever I am ready for them.

I have some that are over 10 years old in .44 size that I will not use until I again obtain a suitable weapon as I sold off the Ruger REDHAWK in that calibre many years ago. These old castings hold down my reloading bench very well and will need to be replaced eventually after I get my grubby paws on that Lipsey's .44 Spcl RBH in the old smaller frame.

warf73
11-02-2009, 01:04 AM
I started with a Lee 10lb pot was good pot till the heat element went out. I got the Lee 20lb pot and its still going strong today. Only issue I have with the 20lb pot is the allow leaves way to fast since I started casting with 2~3 molds. My next purchase will be http://magmaengineering.com/products/cast-master once I get the wife talked into it :).
But get the 20lb pot because allow leaves really fast even with a 4 cavity mold once you get into your rhythm. Nothing worse than get rolling really good and bam your low on alloy and need to refill the pot.

whisler
11-02-2009, 11:16 PM
I got the Lee 10 lb. pot and wish now that I had gotten the 20lb'er. Am thinking seriously of getting the 20 and using the 10 lb'er to pre-heat alloy for it. We'll see how the money works out.

nonferrous
11-03-2009, 12:29 AM
Lee 4-20 and your gonna want a lead thermometer.

Bucks Owin
11-03-2009, 04:31 PM
I've had A Lee Production Pot since the 70's. Good choice IMO....Dennis