I started casting when the ammo madness started several years ago. My equipment has consisted of Lee molds, a Lyman iron pot, a Lyman ladle, and a Lee stirring spoon. That's it, except for my Bayou Classic burner and a section of broom handle about 18 inches long.
So I bought a Lee 4 20 furnace and used it for the first time today. Melt time was as advertised, about 20 minutes. I had the valve screwed shut, but there was no dripping while melting.
I was using a Lee .379 for 38-55 that was bored by JES. I sized the boolits to .378 in an RCBS lubrisizer using White Label 2500+ lube. I am the kind of guy who wears belts and suspenders just for extra safety, so after sizing I did a light application of 45-45-10. Boolits sized and lubed came in a 253 grains.
For mold lube I used Lucas semi-synthetic 2 cycle oil, because that's all my local Autozone had in stock, but before this I had only used wax.
Some observations:
I never had to use the broom handle to release a boolit using the Lee bottom pour, but I have to use the stick pretty frequently when using the ladle.
There is no comparison between using wax as a lube and 2 cycle oil a mold lube. I now think I have destroyed some molds with wax. But I learned on Lee molds, so I guess that's cheap tuition.
I only got drips one time: when I added more lead to the pot. The Lee pot began to drip a lot right after that. I guess the rapid addition of a large ingot raised the valve from its stem. It was easy to stop.
I opened the valve one full turn. I had too many boolits with wrinkles. I think I should have opened the valve more for faster flow.
I got more near-perfect boolits that I ever got from ladle casting.
Lead temperature was much easier to control as compared to my Bayou Classic. I never over heated the mold. With propane I have probably destroyed a couple of aluminum molds due to over heating.