Requiem for an old Saeco

[Kraschenbirn]

My ol' Saeco 24 went completely "south" last night. It had "died" (burned/corroded heating element connections) a half-dozen times before but I'd alway been able to resurrect it. This time though, it shorted out internally and sort of welded the thermostat strips together before the element connector burned off. Of course, You can't say I didn't get my money's worth, either. Bought it NIB in the early 1970s and, except for a few years when an old buddy was doing commercial casting, it's been the only electric pot I've ever used.

Last time the Saeco went down (before it went completely t*ts up), I looked at both the Lyman and RCBS 20-pounders and could see positives and negatives in both. RCBS is a bit pricier but there's the Lyman reputation for poor service on out-of-warranty pots. (I, personnally, have always been treated quite well by the folks at Lyman Customer Service but there's too many negative tales to disregard completely.) On the other hand, there's a shooter I know who's had his Lyman for, at least, ten years without any problems and, having looked at both pots assembled and set-up, the Lyman feels more "comfortable" with my casting technique...

Decisions...decisions. Gotta make up my mind pretty quick, though, 'cause I've got a Midway promo discount that expires at midnite tonight.

Bill

[94Doug]

I posted on another RCBS Casting Pot post, but if you missed it.... you might try calling RCBS customer service, it sounds like they do have some seconds or refurbished pots once and a while, somewhere in the 2-250 range.


Doug

[Bret4207]

Don't give up the ghost yet!

http://www.sixshootercommunity.com/articles/aaronb/heating_element_replacement.html

[beagle]

Thought I read a thread on here a month or so ago about available replacement elements and thermostats for Saecos. Maybe somebody remembers it and will post as I don't./beagle

[Bret4207]

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=55431

There's the thermostat thread.

[Kraschenbirn]

Don't give up the ghost yet!

http://www.sixshootercommunity.com/articles/aaronb/heating_element_replacement.html

Thanks, Bret...some real good info there.

Guess I'll have to put the old clunker on the "To Do" shelf rather than just junking it outright. In the meantime, a brand new Lyman Mag 20 landed on my back porch a couple hours ago and I'm figuring on trying it out this evening.

As I wrote earlier, I had a promo credit for Midway that expired at midnite, 10/26 so I went ahead and placed the order Tuesday night. Received an e-mail from Midway confirming shipping (via USPS Ground!) yesterday afternoon and darned if it didn't show up today. Made me wonder it's ever worth paying USPS for "priority" or "next day" service.

Bill