Leaky Lee

[armoredman]

The 10 pound bottom pour pot I have started to leak today - badly. Splashed my pants, too. I poked a thin nail up in the spout with my pliers, twisted the screw back and forth, and emptied the pot completely to try to scoop any goop on the bottom. Would stop for a minute, then start right back up again. I ended up putting the ingot mold underneath the thing. Any ideas?

[imashooter2]

Add weight to the valve rod or the activating lever to help hold it closed.

[armoredman]

I didn't think of that - I'll try it tomorrow. Thank you!

[VTDW]

Is is a Lee pot? I used to have trouble but after taking it apart and cleaning it a couple of times I decided two things:

1. Never use the pot to melt anything but clean ingots...never

2. When you clean the rod that fits into the nozzle be sure to clean both the rod and the nozzle completely.

I also keep a stubby screwdriver at hand to give the rod a twist on occasion. I have not had to take the pot apart in over a year now.

Dave

[No_1]

I have to agree with Dave. I have had mine maybe 10 years and got the occasional drip that a twist of a screwdriver would fix. It started pouring last time I cast. I try the usual twist of the screwdriver but it did not work so I emptied it out, un-plugged it, let it cool off then took it apart. In the valve seat area (it is a recessed cup design) there was a lot of crud. I cleaned that out and also cleaned the valve stem. When I put it back togther, I carefully "lapped" the stem to the seat. I loaded it with lead for a test run, adjusted the valve stem to my likings and had a wonderful casting session. You may want to try the same thing.

YMMV,

Robert

Is is a Lee pot? I used to have trouble but after taking it apart and cleaning it a couple of times I decided two things:

1. Never use the pot to melt anything but clean ingots...never

2. When you clean the rod that fits into the nozzle be sure to clean both the rod and the nozzle completely.

I also keep a stubby screwdriver at hand to give the rod a twist on occasion. I have not had to take the pot apart in over a year now.

Dave

[armoredman]

I don't smelt yet, so it's only ingots going in. I am going to scrape out the valve stem/hole soon. Sounds like a good idea, thanks.
PS...ummm...how do I dissasemble it? I am as mechanical as an old shoe.

[No_1]

Find the thin, c-shaped piece of metal that the handle is on. Look at the top of it where it mounts to the pot with 1 screw. Remove that screw. Look at the bottom of the c-shaped piece of metal and you will find another screw. Remove that one too. Now carefully flex / bend the c-shaped piece of metal until it clears the spout. It has a little spring to it so do not be afraid. Now carefully wiggle / jiggle / flex the c-shaped piece of metal to get it past the side of the pot while wiggling / jiggling the stem. It WILL come free.
Clean the seat (inside the spout inside the pot) carefully. There is the area you want to be careful since that is the sealing area. DO NOT USE A METAL TOOL. Use a very long tooth pic (fondue stick from Walmart will do) to scrape around in the seat area. Try the stick sharp and then break the stick to give a jagged flat edge and scrape some more. Carefully clean the stem. You can use a scotch-brite pad (same as the plastic scrubbing pad your better half uses to clean the dishes). Put it back together the exactly the same but opposite as the disassembly. If you have problems send me a PM and I will call and talk you thru it.


As a side note; you did nothing wrong in your casting process to cause this. It happens. Even clean ingots have dirt. That is why you get dirt every time you flux.

Robert

I don't smelt yet, so it's only ingots going in. I am going to scrape out the valve stem/hole soon. Sounds like a good idea, thanks.
PS...ummm...how do I dissasemble it? I am as mechanical as an old shoe.

[quasi]

The best fix for a Lee pot is a B.F.H.!

[Buckshot]

The best fix for a Lee pot is a B.F.H.!

...............HA! Sure seems that way sometimes. I have the 20lb bottom pour and put up with the occasional dripping sequence. As a matter of maintanence about every 5 pots full, when I'm done I'd drain the pot to clean it. THis isn't somehting I'd do special. JUst along in there somewhere when the level was low and I was finished I'd do it.

Even just melting clean ingot-ized alloy you'd be surprised in the amount of (I call it black sand) stuff in the bottom of the pot. This stuff is trapped between the lead and the bottom of the pot. Unless you fluxed and stired and scrapped the BOTTOM of the pot, then dragging it up the side to the surface, you'd never see it. Due to alloy flowing out of the spout, alloy flow will slowly pull some of this toward the valve seat pocket. Once in, it can hold the valve stem up away from the seat and allow it to drip, drip, & drip.

During one of thes cleaning sessions I decided to try and make the thing better, or ruin it in the process. I've had it then for over 10 years (about 15 now). I chucked up a piece of 5/16" steel rod, then turned the end down to a smaller OD for about 3/4", then put the taper on it. On the opposite end I turned 5/16-18 threads. Then I took a piece of hexagonal 1" steel bar from the scrap box and cut it off to 1-1/4" long. Then drilled and taped it with threads to match. I then drilled and tapped a 10-32 hole in the side and inserted a suitably threaded piece of brass rod (I had on hand) bent up for an easy to use arm to tighten against the valve rod.

My objective was to make the valve assembly much heavier. I drilled a 5/16ths hole in the lifter arm and with a cone shaped abrasive opened the hole just enough to allow the rod easy passage. I then drilled the delivery spout out for a larger hole. I put some coarse valve grinding paste on a swab and put it down in the spout cup inside the pot. Then some on the valve rod and inserted it. Using a cordless drill I ran it slowly forward and in reverse, lifting and replacing the the rod a couple times. Flushed with carb cleaner and went to fine lapping compound to finish.

You only want a seat maybe 1/16th inch wide at the most. Any wider just allows more room for crud to get into. Also, the larger the seating area, the less effective the added weight becomes. For simplicities sake, a gross example would be that is your valve rod weighed 1 lb, you'd have that weight resting on a 1/16" wide seat for 1lb /sq inch, say. If the seat were 1/8" wide you'd have the same 1 lb rod exerting a half lb/sq inch. A knife edge might be best, but would lack durability. It would have no place for ANY crud to cause problems.

Once cleaned up the rod is replaced and the 1" hex steel bar is threaded on top of it, and down to a likely position above the lifter arm. The brass rod is tightened to make sure the extra weigth doesn't move. The piece of hex steel is what the lifter arm now comes up against to lift the valve off it's seat. By loosening the brass arm you may adjust the hex steel bar very finely up and down to increase or decrease the lead flow.

At the first try, I realize I might have been a bit too enthusiastic in drilling out the spout. I had a veritable FLOOD of lead gush out! As it turned out it was a blessing. With a full pot you have a very good head behind the flow. By adjusting the bar up, you lessen the amount of lift and vice versa. Even as the pot empties you can maintain a good solid flow by being able to lift the rod higher off the seat, and also the larger delivery hole helps.

I think that lapping the rod and seat did the most good, but the larger delivery hole and the ability to finely tune the amount of lead through the spout is an added bonus. I had completed a marathon 2 day 58 cal Minie' bullet casting session resulting in over 160 lbs of good slugs and never cleaned the pot once. Only a couple times did it drip, and a quick spin of the rod by hand ended it. And it was a VERY slow drip as it was.

................Buckshot

[VTDW]

I am not an envious person but you danged machinists almost make me that way.

Dave

[armoredman]

I agree - I can't do ANY of that! My tools include a rip saw and a Leatherman.

[Crash_Corrigan]

Hang on a pair to the top of the control rod. This will allow you to rotate the rod when you get a drip and stop it. The extra weight also will help to keep the rod seated hard against the hole and prevent drips.

[Cayoot]

I just took a big pair of vise grips that I got really cheap from a garage sale...I clamped those to the slotted end of the valve stem rod (where you apply the screw driver to turn it). That seems to provide enough extra weight to stem the leaking for the most part. If the leaking starts again, I just twist the vise grips back and forth.

Cheap and (seemingly) effective fix that has worked for me for the past 4 years.

Bary

[armoredman]

I am a big believer in cheap and easy - I do work for the government, after all. I wish I could do that nice mechanical fix, but I would end up burning down my house or something stupid like that.
thanks for all the replies, guys!

[armoredman]

I cleaned it as best I could, and voila! it worked MUCh better this morning! Thank you all.

Have I said lately how much I appreciate the people on this board? Lemme say it again!

[No_1]

Good deal! Glad you got it running good again. I have heard that some people drain and clean their pot after every casting session. I leave lead in mine...


R.

I cleaned it as best I could, and voila! it worked MUCh better this morning! Thank you all.

Have I said lately how much I appreciate the people on this board? Lemme say it again!

[VTDW]

I just remembered that I don't remember exactly which one but Ranch Dog like to apply a certain Permatex to the metering rod in his Lee pots. I did a quick search on my computer and didn't find it. If I do, I will post it here.

Anyone know?

Dave

[Finn45]

Permatex #133; you mean this thread at MO:

http://www.marlinowners.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=23481

[dromia]

What is the difference between the Lee bottom pour pots and the RCBS, both my Lee's leak like crazy, all the fixes work for a short while but the alloy cataract returns.

Now my RCBS Pro Melt which has far more use than the Lees over the past two years has never dripped.

If you could do to the Lee's what makes the RCBS drip free then the Lee's might work better.

Just a thought.

[VTDW]

Permatex #133; you mean this thread at MO:

http://www.marlinowners.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=23481

that is the one Finn45. Thanks!!

Dave