Upgrading from the 4lb Lee melter to the Lee Pro 4 20 Furnace. Any tips?

Howdy guys! So, I got a birthday deal (didn't even know any reloading suppliers gave discounts nowadays!) on the Lee Pro 4 20, which was needed since the 4 lb melter was too small to handle the 8 lb ingots I have on hand safely (and no, I'm not going to get lead filings all over by sawing them to size, I live in an apartment, no yard to work in). Since the bottom pour pots are more complicated than the little melter I'm used to, I'm concerned that there is more that can go wrong. Any things to remember with this bottom pour pot as far as maintenance? Do I have to completely empty it each time? Will I be able to fit my ingot mold (standard Lee ingot mold) under there?

Midway says that my order is in the process of shipping, so I'm looking forward to getting this next week. :-) I feel like a kid who got his allowance.

I have that pot . The bottom pour sometimes drips . I have the LEE ingot mold and I put it under the spout to catch the drips . Then occasionally drop them back into the pot . Your Lee mold will fit under the spot no problem . I don't run it totally empty . You will notice that when it gets low , the alloy flows very slowly , usually making very wrinkled bullets . I leave about 1/2 - 3/4" of melt in the bottom . I'm on my 3rd LEE pot , still overall happy using them . I see you're in Tucson . I grew up just down the road a piece from Tucson . I remember as a kid in the late 50's going to Tucson , parents going in the stores down town and us kids running up and down the sidewalk . Definitely a different time . Drank a lot of coffee @ the Triple T Truck Stop in later years . Regards Paul

Based on some stories from here I hit up a goodwill store and got a small stainless bowl and/or cake pan that sets under the spout during the warm up. The standard practice(though a bad one I guess) is to plug the pot in and wander off during the heating as 18lbs or so of lead takes a while to warm up and putter with something else occasionally checking the progress. Unfortunately the warming lead’s expansion pushed open the valve some and by the time I wandered back the melted lower end had drained and left most of the top a still solid mass. Took a while and a propane torch to get the top crust to melt down back into the pot and of course the pan chunk was too big to fit back into the pot and had to go to the turkey frier.

Lesson learned... I now putter real close to avoid a repeat performance.. though I do still get the occasional drippy spout abstract art but a tap or two of the rawhide mallet seats the valve back in place until the whole pot comes up to temp.

Regular sized muffin pans make perfect sized ingots if your looking for a cheap ingot mould for it.

Yeah, I moved to Tucson for my ex, originally from Las Vegas. It's far more 2A friendly here in Tucson, although Vegas was still a nice slice of The West when I was a kid, developers and casino corps ruined a lot of that. I've been to the Triple T a few times, but now I'm on the north part of town. Still trying to figure out good places to get lead around here, although I do have a few hundred pounds for right now. LOL I definitely have more lead than I have primers to load it! LOL

I lapped the valve and seat with some 800 grit lapping compound before I even put any lead in my 4-20. It seemed to help; I never got fast drips, just slow ones that would eventually self limit when I was ladle casting from it.

Instead of messing with some sort of ingot mold under the spout, I have been using one of the aluminum turkey roasting pans to put the whole pot in. It definitely has the volume to catch a whole pots runaway flow, plus it gives a bit of a rest for your wrist while operating the valve.

A 10 pound Lee is the only one I have had self empty over the years, the valve rod popped off the wire bail.

Good luck

Robert

I went from a 4 lb dipper pot to a 20 lb magnum melter which is still a dipper pot.
But it does hold a lot more and will take a much bigger chunk.

I gave up on bottom pours 40 years ago and refuse to go back.

I have a Lee 20# that I've been using for several years. An occasional problem with dripping but a few twists of the pin clears that. When first firing it up the spout will sometimes freeze up. A kiss of a propane torch for a few seconds clears that up.

WOW, I still have my old 4# pot and it still works. I was basically given a NIB 4-20 and didn't know how to act, it does drip a bit but as others have said put
a small bowl or ingot mold under the spout to catch drips, I used a cut off soda can to catch the drips. I traded up to a PRO-Melt about 8 years ago.

I think you will do ok once you get used to it.

Here is a tip for you. When you have finished casting, screw down the valve while the lead is still molten. When you fire up the pot for the next session, you dont have to watch for drips or leaks while the lead heats up.

Good info! And I got the shipping notification that the furnace will be here on the 24th. :-D Kinda happy about this upgrade!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bird

Here is a tip for you. When you have finished casting, screw down the valve while the lead is still molten. When you fire up the pot for the next session, you dont have to watch for drips or leaks while the lead heats up.

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Genius!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bird

Here is a tip for you. When you have finished casting, screw down the valve while the lead is still molten. When you fire up the pot for the next session, you dont have to watch for drips or leaks while the lead heats up.

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Maybe the new ones are different, but my 4-20 from about fifteen years ago was so touchy on flow adjustments, that once I got it set to work with my molds, I never touched the adjustment again.

Robert

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mk42gunner

Maybe the new ones are different, but my 4-20 from about fifteen years ago was so touchy on flow adjustments, that once I got it set to work with my molds, I never touched the adjustment again.

Robert

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I also have the older model with the side screw, separate from the valve rod. Once set for an appropriate flow it has not moved since

Pro tip go to the PID controller for the Lee pot a few posts above in the equipment forum and build one.

I didn’t disassemble mine.
I just put it in an old metal box I had and put a plug on the front of the box.
This way I just leave the thermostat on the pot all the way up and the PID controller does it’s thing.