Drip-O-Matic no more-simple fix.

[bpratl]

This fall I got into BP shooting so I purchased another Lee pot to be a dedicated 100% pb for casting round balls.
I was expecting to find some improvements as I purchased the same pot 4 years ago. The only change was they replaced the wooden knob with a steel one, to add weight, which I think made it worst as it was constantly dripping no matter what I did. I modified the pot, as the old one, by removing the sheet metal screw, tapping the hole to 10-32 thread and installed a 10-32 x 1 1/2" screw, spring and adjusting nut. No more drips.

[chsparkman]

Very nice and simple modification. Well done! I'm gonna have to try that one. Is it still easy to operate?

[prs]

I would have thought that such spring would lose its tempor. If not, great!

prs

[el34]

Looks like the spring adds force to close the needle valve. I guess the nut is the flow adjustment and when you lift the knob the spring completely compresses, is that right?

[bpratl]

The spring puts a down ward force on the metering rod where as the heavy steel knob which put a slight diagonal force which can cause it to leak. You can barely notice the spring pressure, and so far the spring has not lost it temper on my first pot after 4 years.

[Frozone]

It works fine, for a while. I had that set up on my LEE 20# for a few years.


A better solution is to put a 3/4" wide 1/4" thick and 6" long piece of bar stock vertically on the 'handle' under the lift knob.
It stays in place and provides the same force as the spring. And it doesn't work loose.

[el34]

The spring puts a down ward force on the metering rod where as the heavy steel knob which put a slight diagonal force which can cause it to leak. You can barely notice the spring pressure, and so far the spring has not lost it temper on my first pot after 4 years.

I understand the diagonal force. I guess ideally the new force would be applied on top of the metering rod, its vector would line up with the rod. The spring is closer to the rod than the weighted knob so that's an improvement. And if it works, ....

How do you do flow adjustment- turning the metering rod or the nut or both?

[Frozone]

The amount of upward handle travel controls the flow.
Screw the rod down and it raises the handle.
The lower bent section of the handle will hit the pot bottom when you lift it. That is max flow for a given setting.

There is very little diagonal force on the rod, if everything is setup right. The lower handle is located by the spout and a lower screw.
The upper handle is located by a screw ( in this case the one with the spring on it), unless you don't lift straight up but force the handle to one side or the other it doesn't move diagonally.
On the old design the rod had enough free play in it that it would self locate. This new design doesn't And I fear it will be harder to stop drips with.

The Biggest cause of drips in a 20# (outside of trash in the spout) is that the handle gets bent easily.
If that happens the rod doesn't fit the spout correctly and leaks.

All in all, the new rod design is NOT an improvement!

[rodsvet]

Save up and buy the RCBS. Suffer with the Lee until you've got the cash. I used Lee product when I first started out 40 years ago, but no more except I really like their dies in my 650. Put aside 2 or 3 dollars a week and in a couple of years you're home free. Best investment I ever made ( in reloading in reloading I mean).

[el34]

The amount of upward handle travel controls the flow.
Screw the rod down and it raises the handle.
The lower bent section of the handle will hit the pot bottom when you lift it. That is max flow for a given setting.

There is very little diagonal force on the rod, if everything is setup right. The lower handle is located by the spout and a lower screw.
The upper handle is located by a screw ( in this case the one with the spring on it), unless you don't lift straight up but force the handle to one side or the other it doesn't move diagonally.
On the old design the rod had enough free play in it that it would self locate. This new design doesn't And I fear it will be harder to stop drips with.

The Biggest cause of drips in a 20# (outside of trash in the spout) is that the handle gets bent easily.
If that happens the rod doesn't fit the spout correctly and leaks.

All in all, the new rod design is NOT an improvement!

On bpratl's mod the 'adjustment' nut he added would limit upward movement, the screw adjustment of the rod sets the lower limit. I'm picturing the spring being fully compressed to establish a consistent upper limit, so there might be interplay between the two adjustable elements.

bpratl- howz it work?

[bpratl]

I do have full adjustment of the flow on the metering rod and yes the upper limit and pressure is adjusted by the lock nut.
So far there are no problems in adjusting the flow for a 2 cavity small caliper or 4 cavity 45 ACP. The only problem that I found with the Lee is that the meter rod is too light and the mounting very flimsy. The spring seems to help.

[popper]

I just want to find a steel knob to put on the top of the valve.

[bpratl]

I just want to find a steel knob to put on the top of the valve.

I m sure that will work...anything that would put a slight constant pressure on the valve.

[DLCTEX]

A pair of vice grips clamped on the rod for weight works well.

[collyer]

bprarl that is a very simple fix. What a great idea. Thanks for sharing.

Tom

[enoch59]

Great ideas guys. I'm right in the process of redoing my setup and I ran into this thread. What a time saver for me. I'll post pics upon completion.

[skeet1]

On my Lee 4-20 pot I just keep the small shoulder bolts on the top and bottom of the mechanism lubed with bull plate lube. This has kept things working smoothly and I have had almost no drips.

Ken

[dave 45-90]

Does that mod wear ones arm and back out quicker...My back gives me a fit after awhile......nice touch

[enoch59]

I gave it my best shot using your ideas to get my Lee pot working properly. If nothing else my setup was desperate for a cleaning. Just a few mistakes I made were too heavy of a return spring, opening up the spout to clean it and give it a little smoother flow and burnishing the metering rod to the point that it won't completely shut off the flow. No matter cause I noticed that most of you who posted pics have a threaded metering rod that joins with the lifting support which helps greatly in keeping the whole thing intact with the valve. I should have the new parts in tomorrow. Here's what it looks like so far.

[enoch59]

The new parts arrived today and were in an hour later. What a sweet setup and no drips. Thanks to everyone who posted their great ideas.