Ballisti-cast Mark II question

[yammerschooner]

First question:
As I am reading the instructions I see that it says not to leave the melting pot full of alloy at the end of the day because it will cause the valves to leak.

Why will this cause the valves to leak?

Second question
It says to never let the lead levels get lower than the point they were when it was shipped from the factory. The problem is that I purchased this used, so I am not sure what that level is. Looking at other information, I am guessing that the level is 3/4" from the bottom. Anyone with first hand knowledge of this would be greatly appreciated.


I am sure I will have a plethora of other questions as I read through this information and get this machine running.

Thanks for the assistance.

[ANeat]

Glad to see youre getting that thing set up there Yammer.

As to your first question. Ive seen it mentioned here a few times. What I think happens if you have to much lead in the pot cold. The bottom part of the pot gets the lead melting. The top part of the pot still has solid lead in it. The molten lead is expanding as it heats and cannot get out because it is still held down by the solid lead on top of it.
The resulting build up of pressure will cause the lead to leak out of the spout causing a terrible mess.

For yor second question I would call Ballisti-cast. I dont have any of their casting equipment but I do have some of their molds and they have always been very helpfull with my needs

[yammerschooner]

Turned it on early this afternoon and spent well into the evening figuring it out. You are right on on the assessment for not leaving it full. I had thermocouple issues about halfway through the evening which turned into a built in breaker flippage. This happened with a full pot. When reheating, the bottom heated up and the top stayed solid. It wasn't as much of a mess as I would have imagined.

I produced a lot of bullets, but had personal satisfaction and second guessing issues that will send them all back into the pot in the morning. I will be using a mold with more sharp edges tomorrow to better assess if things are running as they should be.

I am where I was with bullets at this time yesterday, but a little wiser. If I took time to sort I am sure I could come out ahead, but it isn't looking like it would be worth the effort.

It looks like I need to hunt down a couple of people who have one and figure out what the norms are. The instruction manuals suck incredibly bad, but this is a fun toy.

Many of my issues have come from a slower hole that wont seem to dental pick out. I am considering bending the manual rules and emptying the pot in order to clean, but don't want to mess something up. I will call them in the morning, but all advice here is appreciated.

[Sundogg1911]

I have the Magma Master Caster. I found out the hard way about letting a pot cool down that is full. When I heated it up the next time, I walked away for about 5 minutes. that's all the time it took for the pot to empty into the machine. Took about 3 hours with a torch to find the mould. as the lead heats up from the bottom it causes expansion. the top of the pot is the only thing open so the alloy is forced upward pushing the rod out of it's seat. That's one problem I wouldn't wish on anyone.

[yammerschooner]

I called them up today, and they were extremely helpful. The gentleman walked me through what I needed to do to clean up the spouts and different ways I could adjust things. Now that I have the instructions and have yet to touch the tools I feel like I have it whupped.

I am always amazed how well product support, customer service, and overall just being pleasantly helpful is done in the reloading industry.

It is hot enough outside that I will probably wait until late afternoon to get after it. Working inside on ducting (while the AC is running through it) seems like a much better option for the next several hours.