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last week I was casting with my lee pot when I noticed a red glow on the top of my mold. I bent down and saw that there was a bright red hot spot on the bottom of my pot just to the left of my spout. the thermometer was at about 750 degrees. it's the first time I've noticed this. Do I have a burned out pot to look forward to?
Probably light from the heating element that surrounds the pot.
That's normal. If it's anything like my Lee bottom pour it'll give you lots of other problems before it finally does you a favor and dies.
You say the thermometer was at 'about' 750*...where was the thermostat knob set?
Elvis Ammo, (You-Tube) was casting zinc and had his brand new Lee bottom pour set at maximum on the dial, about 1/2 pot through the casting session the bottom of his pot let go through about a 1/2" hole that 'melted' through the bottom next to the spout.
Another You-Tuber, 'Johnny's Reloading Bench', ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6nhuQvD9vw ) addressed Elvis's blowout and used a PID to monitor just how hot a Lee bottom pour can get (with the dial all the way up to max.).
He records 1,351*F. @ 8:11 in the video...so...there's a possibility that you have accomplished the same thing through either negligence or a bad thermostat and/or a bad thermometer.
+1 on bad thermostats. My lee pots are set from 3 to 8 to get 750 ° temperatures.
My main pots are on PID
Lyman is renowned for having bad thermometers.
went to PIDs for a number of reasons--above is just one of them
PID's make casting so much easier, now if I'd just keep the 6 cav mold more level and figure out where the spout is for that first cavity pour. PID's are like cruise control. It takes care of a detail and you can concentrate on pouring.
The Lee concentrates heat on the nozzle so that it will continue to drip, especially if you leave the room.
The best piece of reloading equipment I ever bought is a RCBS Pro Melt. Worth ever penny. /Chris