RCBS Pro Melt

[TXGunNut]

Had some moulds to break in today and remembered I had a new RCBS Pro Melt sitting to the side of the loading room. Awhile back I decided to see what all the fuss was about when Midway offered a slightly damaged one for a huge cost savings. Didn't see the dent in the side at first, it's on the far side when I cast so I'll never see it.
Decided today was the day so I unpacked and assembled the new furnace. All went pretty well and in a few minutes I had it plugged in and melting lead. Seems to melt lead a bit faster than my Lee furnaces but it's hard to say. I liked the pour control and after I got it adjusted for the flow rate I wanted I was pretty pleased with the results. I like being able to see the nozzle and watch things a little better. Cast about 120 keepers from my new NOE 312299 in a couple of quick sessions, cull rate a bit high but not surprised with new mould & furnace.
I almost miss the little sculptures my drip-o-matic makes but I'll learn to deal with it, lol.
Bottom line, is it three times as good as a Lee? I dunno, was pretty happy with the Lee and this is my first session with the RCBS. Temp seems a bit slow to adjust after adding lead but that's probably just subjective. Overall, I like it. I have an older Pro-Melt (gift from a friend) and I'll be shipping it back for repairs tomorrow. When it gets back I'll have dedicated pots for a different alloys.

[TXGunNut]

Hmmm....temp seems to be off about 50 degrees.

[Walter Laich]

I converted mine to pull down to open which is way better for me.
also built a PID for it and it holds the temp right on now
did build a wooden stand for it to sit on so I can see spout and top of mold. Much better that way and PID sits in the stand

[pjames32]

I added a PID to mine. Temps are much better and more consistent.
PJ

[Mica_Hiebert]

I have one ordered should be here soon. Gunna be miserable casting Temps out in shop once it finally gets here tho

[4719dave]

Guys buy the alu cover and the mold tray I believe I bought it from a fellow here ..good stuff ..
The only problems I have is the monster 45-70 boolits . The controller is your best friend ..

[TXGunNut]

Guys buy the alu cover and the mold tray I believe I bought it from a fellow here ..good stuff ..
The only problems I have is the monster 45-70 boolits . The controller is your best friend ..

I'll continue to pour the big ones. Tell me about the cover and tray.

[dikman]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...41#post3214241

I found that the Lee is noticeably faster at melting lead.

[lightman]

You will enjoy that ProMelt! The only thing that I miss from my old 10# Lyman is that the mold heated up better sitting on the side of the Lyman's cast iron liner than on the ProMelts stainless one. Gotta get a hot plate.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I believe that I have solved the pre-heat cycle on the molds before casting starts. I came across a 8" square cast iron flat skillet with low sides in a thrift shop. I place the skillet on the 10" steel plate square on the old hot plate. With the burner set on high I can pre-heat a 5 or 6 hole mold much easier than the several ways I have tried in the past.Robert

[TXGunNut]

Just realized I sort of got a twofer on my new Pro-Melt. Sent in the rebate coupon ($75) and the cost to refurbish the old Pro-Melt is $100. If you count shipping costs I figure the second furnace cost me about as much as a Lee bottom pour. The old furnace has already outlasted two casters, I suspect it will outlast me as well. I suspect it's poured many thousands of boolits, hoping the guys in Oroville can tell me when it was made.

[TXGunNut]

Got a call from a nice lady @ RCBS today. They just wanted to touch base with me (and went to the trouble to find my corporate office's phone number) and go over a few things. I was a bit worried when she apologized for bringing me some bad news. It seems the guy who responded to my earlier e-mail forgot to tell me I needed to add sales tax to the repair price, their invoicing software won't allow them to adjust things. Silly me, I thought she was going to tell me my pot wasn't repairable.
I have dozens (and dozens) of RCBS products but have had few opportunities to avail myself to their CS folks. Once again, RCBS rocks!

[Mica_Hiebert]

buddy told me mine showed up and is waiting for me but i delt with sick kids all day and didnt get mine picked up.

[TXGunNut]

Take care of the kiddos, Mica. It's an awesome furnace but it can wait. Won't be able to focus on it until the kids start feeling better anyway.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got two of them. there great pots. A GIANT step up from a lee pot.

[leadman]

The Lee pot only holds a little over #15 of alloy and is 700 watts. The RCBS holds #22 of alloy and is 800 watts. Yes, I did empty the pot and add alloy that was weighed to determine the weight they hold.
A few years back RCBS changed suppliers for the commercial grade thermostat and it does have a fairly wide temperature range from on to off. Two of these new thermostats that I installed in my RCBS pot had about a 40 degree range. The old one had about a 10 degree range before it went bad after over 30 years.
I spoke with the supervisor at RCBS about this and told him that I made pid controllers and sold several because of the new thermostat. He said he would look into it but I don't know if he did or not.
Might want to check the temperature range on your pot.

[Ed in North Texas]

"I almost miss the little sculptures my drip-o-matic makes"

Now THAT is funny! Admittedly, you need to have used a "drip-o-matic" to appreciate it.

[Mica_Hiebert]

Picked my pro melt up today, don't know when I'll get a chance to fire it up tho, had a fiasco with my mower today that had me running around parts shopping for 3 hours, getting ready for my daughters t-ball game, then start my work week tomorrow.

[Ranger 7]

Actually, the cost difference is double!
I can purchase 6.2 Lee 4/20 pots ($63.99 each) for the price of 1 RCBS Pro Melt.
I have 2 Lee 4/20 pots (running for 7 years now) and 1 Lyman Mag 25 (Running for 3 months). The Lyman has a built in PID and I built a PID for my Lee pots.
The Lyman IS superior to the Lee pots, however it also costs more: $63.99 verses $225.00

[TXGunNut]

ive got two of them. there great pots. A GIANT step up from a lee pot.

I'm looking forward to having a second Pro-Melt. Won't be retiring the Lee pots as the standard pot will work well for ladle casting 20-1 BPCR boolits, Drip-O-Matic for custom blends or pure lead. I think the old PM will run 50/50 and the new one WW's. Filling the pot with alloy after a casting session seems more efficient than filling it before you can start. I need to finish my lead shed; running out of room in my loading room, lol.