which bottom pour melting pot is best, and why?

[fredj338]

I've used both & like the RCBS a bit better. For the money though, tough to beat the Lee mkIV. Mine works great,. Don't smelt in it or run it dry & it rarley drips. If I was spending $300 for a bp pot, I would probably look at the magma 40# for a bit more. I like very little of what Lee makes, but their 20# pot works pretty well.

[Jammer Six]

Ah, the Magma. I forgot all about the Magma.

Any dissatisfied Magma users out there?

I'm thinking a pattern is emerging, that pots that give satisfaction cost more, and in lead pots, you can actually judge what you're going to get by the price.

[cbrick]

My only gripe with the Magma 40# is that I didn't get two, may have to remedy that. I even got the PID for it.

It takes about 10 minutes longer for the Magma to heat up 40 pounds than the RCBS to heat 20.

I tried for a lot of years to wear out my RCBS but it wasn't having any of that, runs today just like the day it was brand new (1984). Now like Springfield I use the RCBS for my soft alloy and the Magma for my regular alloy. There ain't nothing like starting out with 40 pounds of the same alloy.

With the Magma there is a double spout, fills two cavities at once, how nice is that?

Rick

[Jammer Six]

The pattern continues...

Anyone? Anyone unhappy with either Magma or RCBS?

[jimkim]

If I couldn't find a Lee, I guess I would buy the RCBS.

[1bluehorse]

I started casting with a dipper and a steel pot. Decided to move into the 20th century and purchased a Lyman 61. (this was a while back) Used that for quite a few years, redid the wiring on it once. Gave it to a friend about 5 years ago, it is still working fine for him, I just wanted a bigger pot. I purchased a Lee Pro 20-4 or some such thing and have been using it ever since. To shorten this story a bit, ( and lessen the agony ) I just ordered an RCBS Pro melt. Not real sure what I'm gonna do with the Lee at this point. I don't know anyone I dislike that casts, so that's out... well, I'll find some kind of use for it...

[MikeS]

The Lee 4-20 pot is a nicer pot than Lee's 10lb pots. It's slightly more expensive than them too. It's also a LOT less expensive than either the Lyman or RCBS pots. The only pot other than my Lee 4-20 pot that I've used is a Lyman 10lb Big Dipper pot, but it's not a bottom pour pot. While I'm sure the Lyman & RCBS bottom pour pots are nicer than the Lee, they're also more than 5x more expensive than the Lee, so even if the Lee lasts you less time than either of the other, you're still money ahead!

Having said that, the pot I really want to get is the Magma 90lb Cast Master pot! Magma sells it primarily for alloying, not actual boolit casting, for that they sell the 40lb Masterpot. but I think you can also cast boolits with their 90lb pot, as I'm pretty sure I remember some folks here doing just that. Their 40lb pot is the same one used on the Master Caster, so anyone thinking about getting one of those casting machines might be better off getting their smaller pot. I don't see going with machine casting myself, I have way too many 4 or more cavity moulds, and machines can't use them. But the idea of having a 90lb pot sounds really good to me, I would be able to retire my turkey fryer, and just mix up my alloy right in the casting pot! I currently use clean metals to make my Lyman #2 alloy, but I'm using stereotype plates that have already been cut in 4, as well as a 26lb brick of pure lead, and only use the dutch oven / turkey fryer due to the size of the raw lead I start with, so I shouldn't have a problem alloying them in a 90lb pot. (it's not like I'm melting down used wheel weights, which if done in your casting pot can make a mess as it introduces lots of crud into your bottom pour casting pot).

To my way of thinking, I would say the Magma pots (either one) would be a better upgrade than going with either a Lyman or RCBS pot, as with them you're not getting any more capacity than with a Lee 4-20 pot, just more expense, and quite frankly, unlike a mould where quality makes a BIG difference in how a mould works, I can't see where there's such a big difference from a Lee pot to justify the additional cost.

[jimkim]

I think more than likely the nicest regular pot would be a Magma Engineering Masterpot, but I'm probably gonna' stick with my Lee's. I cast my own bullets and they work. They drip now and then, but apparently so do the more expensive ones. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=51996

[cbrick]

I'm probably gonna' stick with my Lee's. They drip now and then, but apparently so do the more expensive ones.

Really? That's news to me. I've been using my RCBS for 28 years and a drip is a very rare occurance, been using the Magma for several years now and I'm still waiting for the first drip.

Rick

[jimkim]

a drip is a very rare occurance

Like I said," They drip now and then, but apparently so do the more expensive ones".
Thank you cbrick for verifying that the magma pot is the better of the two and that your RCBS pot DOES in fact drip. I appreciate it. It's so nice when you can have someone confirm you observations.

[cbrick]

your RCBS pot DOES in fact drip.

Hhmmm . . . Seems you left out the part about "a very rare occurance" and only stated that it does. A very rare occurance is a far cry from the piles of lead I've seen pictures of from LEE pots.

Odd.

Rick

[jimkim]

I just said I thought the Magma was the better pot. Your'e magma doesn't drip, but you're RCBS does, ergo the Magma is better.

Hhmmm . . . Seems you left out the part about [COLOR=navy][I]"a very rare occurance"
Rick

A "very rare occurrence" is in fact an "occurrence". So it does in fact drip, "every now and then."

From Webster's Dictionary: Occurrence- something that occurs.

From Webster's Dictionary: Occurs- To come into existence : Happen

[MikeS]

Rick: Yes, some Lee pots drip. I'll bet not nearly as many of the 4-20 pots leak as folks would have you believe. Or that if/when it does, that those folks would be willing to admit that it was probably due to their own stupid action(s) that caused the leak. Another thing to think about is this: 2 guys get lead pots, one gets a Lee, the other an RCBS. At exactly the same time they both do something to cause a leak (either getting crud into the spout, etc.), the RCBS pot guy says to himself "This is an RCBS pot, they're the best, so it must have been something I did" the Lee guy says "They were right, the Lee pots are junk" pulls out his digital camera, and clicks a few pix of the modern art that gets created by the leak, and posts it to a forum as further 'proof' of what junk the Lee pots are. Now I'm not saying that this is what happens, or that it happens all the time, just saying it could happen. Admit it or not, but there are lots of equipment snobs on this forum, just as there are on almost any other forum, and because of all the high praises heaped upon the RCBS pots, somebody that has one that leaks might not admit it for fear of having the snobs jump on them.

I have a Lee pot, and so far it works for me. Perhaps an RCBS or Lyman pot would work much better for me, but I'll never know unless I find one dirt cheap, as I'd rather wait to get a Magma pot. And the main thing I like about the Magma is it's capacity. If Lee came out with a 50-100lb pot, I would probably buy that one.

[dromia]

I've got two Pro Melts and love them, one was bought new and the other was bought second hand, it had some parts missing and RCBS replaced them FoC, I told then I'd just bought the old pot second hand and that the parts were missing but they replaced them just the same.

I've had a succession of Lee's, two 10 lbers and two 17 lbers and they all leaked and I tried every fix anyone has thought of and they still kept leaking, a couple of them I plugged up and removed the pouring parts and used them as dipping pots, they were OK at that. I also didn't like there ergonomics, the spout is invisible unless you raise the pot up to almost shoulder level and I was never comfortable with that.

The RCBS's have never leaked and I can see the spout at table level. Also the position of the pouring mechanism on the RCBS means that they have plenty of room if you want to dip so double as a dipping pot without modification.

I've toyed with the idea of getting a Magma but I don't really need a 40lb pot and I like the flexibility of two RCBS 22 lbers for different alloys.

If I needed a larger pot I wouldn't hesitate in getting a Magma though.

[CollinLeon]

I have the Lee 20 lb bottom pour pot... Perhaps the "4-20" model that someone previously mentioned? I have not had a problem with it dripping, but I keep an ingot mold underneath it, just in case it either drips or I spill some... The only complaints that I've had about it was when I was casting some 405 gr bullets for my .45-70... It seems that the flow of lead is slow enough that the bullets just did not come out that great initially... I turned up the temperature of the unit a bit and it seemed to work acceptably... I've had the nozzle clog up a couple of times while casting the 405 gr bullets and even with the temperature turned up, it did not unclog... Putting a propane torch to the nozzle quickly fixed it though... Maybe my alloy was contaminated with zinc and the propane torch produced enough heat to melt the zinc? Not sure, but the bullets seemed to cast ok...

[bslim]

My Magma is just over a year old. I've pushed over 60,000 CAS bullets thru it without cleaning it or having to do any maintenance work on it. And yes I do get the occasional drip but nothing I'm going to worry about for now. I only flux with sawdust and this seems to keep the pot clean with no build up on the sides. I'm not sure what the bottom of the pot looks like because I've never emptied it yet. Being new to casting, I had enough to learn without having equipment issues to deal with.

[Recluse]

Not real sure what I'm gonna do with the Lee at this point. I don't know anyone I dislike that casts, so that's out... well, I'll find some kind of use for it...

I'm kind of in the same quandary.

So far, here are a few ideas:

1. Fill it up with molten zinc and use it as a wheel chalk for the nosewheel of my Cessna.

2. Fill it up with molten zinc and use it as a trotline anchor weight.

3. Fill it up with molten zinc and use it as a makeshift anvil.

4. Fill it up with molten zinc and let it drip, creating zinc-art, then sell the individual art pieces on Ebay as "vintage NEA-sponsored sculptures." (I really like this idea as it should net me enough money, off of each art piece, to buy a Star sizer for each caliber I cast)

Just a few thoughts that have come to mind. . .

In reality, I'll plug the spout and use it for ladle casting, of which I do quite a bit.

[cbrick]

Recluse, I like number 4 except then you'll get rich and famous and then of course snotty and not talk to us common folks anymore.

Rick

[Mal Paso]

I have a Lee pot, and so far it works for me. Perhaps an RCBS or Lyman pot would work much better for me, but I'll never know unless I find one dirt cheap, as I'd rather wait to get a Magma pot. And the main thing I like about the Magma is it's capacity. If Lee came out with a 50-100lb pot, I would probably buy that one.

Lyman and RCBS both have Real Thermostats whereas Lee has an infinite switch like an electric range. I'm sure the quality is better than Lee too.

That said I have 2 Lee 4-20s with K thermocouples brazed into the bottoms cuz at $57 I felt free to drill holes in the bottom.

Since I moved alloy mixing to a smelting pot and quit stirring with a wood stick, my (2nd Generation) Lee Pots don't drip.

I'm with Mike. If I'm shelling out real money, I want more than a 20 pound pot.

[jimkim]

I don't know anyone I dislike that casts,

Ask anyone, I'm kind of a jerk. Send it to me. Really I'm horrible.