Let's talk melting pots gentlemen...

[Matt3357]

It currently has number 8 drippers in it but they can be changed out for other sizes anywhere from #6 to #12 I think. I get my drippers from the guy who makes the Stewart The better shot maker.

GLL,

What is the price of the waage large capacity pots and what features do they have? That might be a better value if one wanted to only ladle pour.

Thanks,
Matt

[tonyjones]

Matt,

Please tell us more about the solenoid actuation feature of your pot.

Thanks,

Tony

[Matt3357]

I used the same valve design on my casting pot as I did on the upper pot on the shot maker. It is really simple yet effective. The solenoid pulls down on a lever that pulls up on the valve stem letting lead flow out. It is a dead man valve, meaning that the valve is held close with a spring so that if power gets cut, the spring holds it closed. I have come up with a super simple way to make a dripless valve and stem set up that so far has held back 60 lbs of lead with no drips whatsoever. The solenoid can either be setup to operate by the push of a button or by a foot pedal. The one i have is operated by a push button. The button either controls the solenoid directly or i have it so I can switch it to an adjustable timer circuit that will pour anywhere from .5 sec to 10 seconds of lead. I guess I like features. I'm telling you I like designing tools more than using them when I am done. I guess that's why I went into mechanical engineering.

Matt

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

I have been PM'ing with Matt.

Here are my thoughts:

1. six inch diameter by eight inches deep. Matt says a bit over 90lbs capacity.
I like that size. You can alloy a decent sized batch of alloy that way.

2. I smelt in an 8qt Dutch oven/Turkey Cooker set up. I can run that pot just hot enough to
keep the melt liquid.

3. Or, run Matt's pot half empty, then refill and take a break/cull the boolets.

4. with his automatic shutoff solenoid and adjustable pour time you can find a bottom pour setting to fill my 960gr Ten Bore mould (7 per pound) or the 4-5 cavity NOE 247gr 308 boolet tandem casting with two moulds.

Make it big enough to run a day.

Rich

[Matt3357]

Keep thoughts coming. Pot size is the easiest thing to change on my design. Just keep the diameter 6 inches. The depth is a non issue. Just keep in mind that 1 inch of lead in a 6 inch diameter pot is about 11.5 lbs.

Matt

[tonyjones]

Matt,

For rifle bullets I'll be casting 34 grain .22's to 400 grain .416's and for my hand guns 100 grain
.32's to .45 cal. whatever. Will your solenoid actuator handle from 34 to 960 grains?

Even though I'm primarily a ladle caster there are some design features of your pot that intrigue me. I've also been thinking of bottom pouring some hand gun bullets with higher production in mind.

Regards,

Tony

[GLL]

Matt:

The "standard" WAAGE pots seem to go up to 500 pound capacity. There are several other different models available but you must contact them for information. If you backtrack from the page I send you can find a variety of other solder pot designs that operate up to 800 degrees. Some are 6600 watt and operate only on 440 volt 3-phase though.

They are very nice people to deal with !

Jerry

http://waage.thomasnet.com/viewitems...ks/solder-pot?

[Matt3357]

GLL

I looked at their stuff and boy they sure are proud of them. I know I can beat them on features and price easy.

Tony,

If you have the actuator set up so it is operated by a momentary contact button, you can have it pour as much or as little as you want. It is just like a manual bottom pour in that aspect. I have not checked to see how much will pour out in 10 seconds and would have to do some testing before I would make any claims, but I don't see a problem as the amount of time is easily changed by changing a few capacitors in the circuit.

Matt

[GLL]

Matt:

I REALLY look forward to hearing what you might eventually have available in a 40-60 pound bottom pour AND ladle pot !

Jerry

[376Steyr]

Matt:
Does your pot run on 110V or 220V?

[Matt3357]

376Steyr,

It could easily be setup to run on whichever voltage you wanted, but mine runs on 120 and that's what I would be producing mainly because it is the most common for people.

GLL,

As far as a ladle pot, you are just talking about a heated pot, no bottom spout? If that is the case, you got rid of all of the extras and the price could be a bit less. I'll be sure to draft one of those up as well.

Matt

[johnny356ER]

Matt,

I might be interested in a bottom pour.... without too many bells and whistles....
maybe something like Rich (Idaho Sharpshooter) said about the accurate temp setting/gauge
....but maybe with a manually operated spout...that hopefully doesn't drip!!

johnny

[bwgdog]

Matt-Same as johnny said and Rich also-great minds + all !!!! Keep us updated! tia bwgdog

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

I would also suggest you look at offering a decent hot plate with a thermostat that would go to about 375-400-degrees.

As an aside; I do NOT consider a 20lb solder pot for $426 much of a bargain. Or the 120lb for $870.

I am pitching Matt on the 90lb for about $599.95. We need to help this young man pay off those student loans...!

Rich

[Matt3357]

I just accepted a job yesterday for a mechanical engineering position here in St. Louis. I start June 1st. Once things settle down after graduation next saturday, I'll start modeling it up and pitching official ideas. In the mean time, keep the ideas rolling and get in mind what you might want. Since each one of these will be fabbed up individually, most aspects are very easy to change with minimal effort. Not sure about a hot plate. Seems kinda like people have beat me to it unless you want different features than are already out there.

Matt

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Congratulations on finding a decent job in the StL area.

My thought was purely on quality, and a thermostat. Wide enough to set two 5-cavity NOE moulds on, side by side.

With this site, NOE moulds, and now Matt with a high quality pot coming, this would be a great time to be about 30 with a rack full of surplus military rifles and your own 200yd range...

Rich

[mpbarry1]

What would you guys think about removeable/interchangeable pots? One for smelting and one for casting?

[tonyjones]

Matt,

Here are my ideas for what I think I need/want. Two pots will be required.

1) Casting Pot, 6" diameter x 8" height, 90# capacity (I don't have to put 90# in it). A momentary contact button with the option to manually operate the lever without damaging the electronics is all the control of the valve I would ever need. I doubt that I would ever program the thing to pour 1/2 second, 10 seconds, or anywhere in between. PID temperature control accurate to within plus or minus 5 degrees F.

2) Melting Pot, ?" diameter x ?" height, 90# to 120# dry capacity to melt WW, sheet lead, indoor range lead, etc. The same control capability as above except temperature to within plus or minus 25degrees F. Higher wattage/220V may be desirable in this application.

If you can control the temperature closer than I have specified without driving up the price then great. However, 5 and 25 degrees is good enough for what we're talking about.

Also, it seems desirable to me to be able to easily disassemble, clean, and reassemble the valve assembly. Does your design utilize an orifice plate?

Regards,

Tony

[Matt3357]

Tony,

The way I have my PID setup, it is in a box separate from the pot. The box has a switched outlet on it where the pot is plugged in. The thermocouple is of the water tight variety and is threaded in the bottom of the pot into a half coupler. On the other end is a special plug that plugs into a socket on the control box. I use my box to control the temperature of my propane smelter and of my lube heater. Just have to have a thermocouple on each unit. Plug in the heater and thermocouple, adjust the set value and you are good to go. For an electronic smelting pot, I would recommend a higher wattage heater to speed up the process but 1200w would certainly do it. 120 volts on an 8 inch pot would give 1500w. an 8inch pot 7 inches deep will hold about 140lbs of lead. my smelting pot on my propane set up is 10 inches by 12 inches and will hold 386 lbs of lead. I basically smelt just a couple batches every once in a while to hold me over. Just did about 100lbs of ingots last weekend in a little over an hour.

Since it is just a melting pot, I would imagine that a thermostat could be implemented and could be upgraded to 240v if more wattage is desired. With no bottom pour it would be easier and much less complicated.

I see no issues what so ever with your requests for a casting pot. Give me a couple weeks and I'll draw up some prototypes for you guys to critique.

Matt

[Matt3357]

mpbarry,

The way i am going to have these set up, it would take quite a few modifications to set up an interchangeable pot setup. It could be done, but for right now I am going to stick with two separate pots and maybe a hot plate.

Matt