A couple of old melting pots

[part_timer]

Did a trade with a friend of mine for 7 buckets of lead containers and he threw in these melting pots with the deal. I'm going to open up one of them at lunch today and see how crusty the electrical connections are inside the box and then do a bit of rewiring on it. My goal is to be using them in the next couple of weeks. Does anyone have an idea of the age of the two with the dial on the front? The silver one is a newer on for sure.

[mold maker]

Lyman and Saeco both sold pots like that in the 60s. I have a Saeco that the Tstat is stuck and wont open the contacts. I just added a PID and still use it.

[runfiverun]

the silver one is a LEE 10 pounder.
it's in current production.

there isn't much to see inside the other pots, they should have a heat band that goes around the inner pot and some insulation, with a wire hooked to both ends.
the dials are where your corrosion issues will exist.

[bstone5]

Some time back I read where these pots were rebuilt by purchasing the heating element material from McMaster Carr.
There is a web page where a guy goes thru the process of rebuilding the old Lyman pots.
The heating element material can be bent when new to configure to the pot geometry.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

The Lyman pots (and Saecos) were made in the sixties and they were good working solid pots. They can be cleaned up, restored and will work well again. The Mcmaster Carr source is still active and you can find any part that you need. LLS

[3006guns]

A caution on the Lyman and Saeco pots......the cord connections to the heating element and heat control are made with brass screws and nuts, and the "wire" that the cord is connected to is actually the stiff element wire. So, don't start bending that stiff "wire" too much or you'll be replacing whole element. Not the end of the world of course but why break something that's useable? Now if you HAVE to make a connection without the screws/nuts, use porcelain wire nuts not the plastic ones. I found porcelain nuts of the correct size on Ebay for cheap. They will stand the heat.

I had to bypass the heat control with wire nuts on my old Saeco pot and used a PID controller until my son bought me a new 20 lb. Lee pot. That Saeco was probably 1965 vintage and still worked well.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

part timer, I also have two Lyman pots like yours and they are in the same condition, that is to say ,one rusted and the other in much better shape. I found that both pots had highly corroded pins where the female cord connects to them. You will have to take the potentiometer off the pot to clean them. Be careful because the insulation that they are mounted in is very brittle. I cannot think of the name of the stuff but it is the same thing they used to put in the door of stoves so you could see if the fire was still going. Use sand paper to clean the pins. While you are at it clean the female contacts in the cord. See if you can't find a new cord. They are the same as the cords they used to use on clothes irons. You won't have to do any more disassembly. I am sure the pots will work well for you. Mine did.

[Grump]

Rather than porcelain wire nuts (not sure I could find them here), I re-connected a zizzing wire on one by duplicating the original setup--bare metal crimp-on connectors.

DEFINITELY recommend using a real crimper. Too easy to get a dangerously small crimp contact point or one that works loose with similar results by cheating with regular pliers or side cutters.

[William Yanda]

" but it is the same thing they used to put in the door of stoves so you could see if the fire was still going"

isinglass or stove mica. I have those senior moments too