I used a lyman dial thermometer for the first time today. In melting the lead I was confused because the dial was reading almost 900 but the lead hadnt melted completly. I pulled it out and let it cool. It was cold to the touch but still read over 250. I am thinking it is not calibrated / broken. Any advice?
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Last edited by runfiverun; 04-16-2017 at 10:58 AM.
Test I a pot of boiling water. See if it reads close to 212* If it doesn't then there may be a small screw on the back of the dial that when loosened allows you to turn the face to line it up.
Also don't have the tip touching the pot, that measures how hot the pot heating element is. clip so that tip rests about 1/2 inch off the bottom. That measures the lead temp.
Lead takes time to melt. Part of it can be liquid while not all of it has absorbed enough heat to melt. People who melt down clip on wheel weights can have zinc ones caught against the bottom that melt while the lead ones are not all melted. Despite zinc melting at a much higher temperature than lead.
Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.
Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.
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You can hold the little hub that the probe comes into on the back side with a pair of pliers and twist the face of the thermometer to align with the 212* F. mark, or thereabouts.
One of mine was off by almost 70* F. and it was a Dillon...go figure!
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The 2 LYMAN thermometers I have are both off by 50-60 degrees. One to the plus and the other to the negative. Regardless of the brand name stamped, they are likely made on the same (TelTrue) machinery. Some have the ability to adjust and others don't depending on how old.
Getting the needle to point at 212* when in boiling water is as close as you can get even though it may still be off at the temps we use.
As important as temp is to making consistent boolits, you'd think the major names would produce a thermometer that was at least consistently close.
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And the actual number really doesn't matter. It's repeatability that you really need. If your lead doesn't melt until 800 degrees indicated, then that's fine. You know where you need to be with your thermometer. If your alloy will frost at 900 indicated, then you know where that is. Not sure what you really need otherwise. Who cares if the lead is melting at a temperature of 660 degrees but your thermometer says something else. As long as you know where that point is and can keep your pot there, who cares?
Hey all, thank you for the replies. I am happy to report that I contacted Lyman via the contact form on their website. They reslonded and mailed me a new onevthe same day.
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