My Lee 20# BP tried to kill me today

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Imagine my surprise as I was casting away with a high rate of flow to make some .45's when my pot stuck open!

I've dealt with the constant dripping before and usually it only takes a screw driver to twist the rod a little but I've never had the stuck open situation. There was little I could do to stop it, so I had to end my casting session early and drain what was left back into ingots.

This thing could have seriously hurt me. I think I'm done with BP pots. I'm going to buy a good ladle pot now.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

its happened to me, I just whacked it with my sprue cutter ( a 2X2 with carved handle) which reduced it to a drip, then grabbed the cordless drill and chucked it on the screw, and went back and forth, applying pressure, for a couple minutes. that sealed it, then I put some heavy bolts/washers behind the black handle, the added weight helps hold it closed ( remember, steel floats in lead) lol, now it is fine, every once in a while I get a slight drip and I just push down on the handle a little.by the way never empty it, if you want to do that, leave about 2lbs in it and tip th whole unit so that the lead and any ash gathers on the opposite side of the valve, prop it up that way and let it cool, then you can dump the chunk out and put your new alloy in. never had a clog before! have a good one, Travis

[RedHawk357Mag]

I have read to keep a warmed ingot of several pounds handy incase something like that happens. Putting the ingot in the pot should freeze the spout. You should be fairly confident that the ingot is dry. Probably should not let a pot go without supervision. They apparently like to create one of a kind sculpture when left to their own violation.

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[DAFzipper]

Buy a RCBS pro melt. No drips, no stuck valves and good enough temperature control for my casting(no PID). Yes it's more money, but well worth it in the long run.

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[Sasquatch-1]

A cookie sheet or rectangular cake pan placed under the pot is always a good thing for this reason. As mentioned, a tap on the plunger is usually enough to stop this.

[gundownunder]

I was already convinced that I didn't need a dripomatic pot, but You've seriously reinforced that decision.
For 10 years I have used a 2 quart cast iron camp oven with a soup ladle. Actually I have two soup ladles. One is cast iron with a small lip ground into one side to pour, the other is a stainless steel ladle with a 1/16 hole drilled in the bottom. They both work well and I can't decide which one I actually prefer.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

though I haven't ladle cast in a year, I really like my lyman ladle,not too big and not too small

[country gent]

Sometimes thru wear the linkage bends enough to allow it to pull the rod and stem out of the spout completely allowing it to jam Ive had my old 10 lbers do this 2 me. The clips that hold the rod get sprung a little and allow this to happen once the end of the stem is out its open and hard to get back

[centershot]

Back in the day when I used a bottom pour pot I found that a periodic dab with a piece of beeswax helped keep the spout clear. A friend made that suggestion to me one day, recalling his dad doing the same with his SAECO bottom pour pot. I never really believed that it would work but tried it one day in frustration. It worked!

[Super Sneaky Steve]

A cookie sheet or rectangular cake pan placed under the pot is always a good thing for this reason. As mentioned, a tap on the plunger is usually enough to stop this.

Yes, a tap usually does the trick, but not this time. I tapped it then started to beat it with my sprew whacker stick and it kept coming. Even after clearing the pot I couldn't find exactly what was wrong. I had to keep constant pressure with one hand to partially stop it while I juggled a couple ingot moulds with my other hand. Not a fun dance to do.

I just ordered a Lee Magnum pot. I already have one that I used for my pure lead hollow points, now I'll have a second for my main alloy as well.

Now this pot has provided many years of drippy service so I got my money's worth but having the stuck on position with a nearly full pot sucks bad.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Buy a RCBS pro melt. No drips, no stuck valves and good enough temperature control for my casting(no PID). Yes it's more money, but well worth it in the long run.

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$400 is a lot of coin! I don't mind paying more for good stuff but at that price the pot should be perfect. I may look into it if I get tired of the ladle. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Mk42gunner]

It has been a long time (years) since I saw the bottom of my 4-20, but it shouldn't be too hard to permanently plug the spout on one. It would be cheaper than buying a complete new pot anyway.

Robert

[TexasGrunt]

$400 is a lot of coin! I don't mind paying more for good stuff but at that price the pot should be perfect. I may look into it if I get tired of the ladle. Thanks for the recommendation.

Wait for the new model to come out. It's supposed to be under $300.

[gwpercle]

Imagine my surprise as I was casting away with a high rate of flow to make some .45's when my pot stuck open!

I've dealt with the constant dripping before and usually it only takes a screw driver to twist the rod a little but I've never had the stuck open situation. There was little I could do to stop it, so I had to end my casting session early and drain what was left back into ingots.

This thing could have seriously hurt me. I think I'm done with BP pots. I'm going to buy a good ladle pot now.

I was swayed by the talk of increased production buy the bottom pour pots so I bought one.....I didn't find it a help. I made more unusable boolts but not more good ones. And it leaked , luckily I kept it in a large baking pan with sides, all the lead stayed in the pan. But I got a Lee Magnum Melter , it holds an honest 15 pounds with room to stir, got the Lyman dipper back out and haven't regretted not using a bottom pour in the least. Best $60.00 I've spent in a long time.
Gary

[jamesp81]

These kinds of stories is what ultimately what caused me to choose ladle casting to start with over bottom pour. I'm not going to cough up 300 bucks for a lead melter, and I don't want to babysit the Lee. So ladling it is for me. I'm in control of it more directly, and it's a simple device. Less can go wrong.

[jeepyj]

I have read to keep a warmed ingot of several pounds handy incase something like that happens. Putting the ingot in the pot should freeze the spout. You should be fairly confident that the ingot is dry. Probably should not let a pot go without supervision. They apparently like to create one of a kind sculpture when left to their own violation.

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This is a great idea!

[Sasquatch-1]

First off triple S, Find a cheap cake pan at the dollar store. Just make sure it's a cake pan and not a cookie sheet, high sides. Plug your pot in and just let the lead melt out. If it gets to the point there is a void under the lead and the rest won't melt use a propane torch and melt it out. With an empty pot some people have inserted a screw in the spout and removed all the linkage and turned their Lee bottom pours into ladle cast pots.

Reread your response post again and originally I though you had lead left in the pot. So disregard anything that is not of use.

On the other hand I have been using the same 10 lb bottom pour for 40+ years and have never had the pot start dumping the lead uncontrollably. I have had some nice size stalagmites when first warming up the pot but nothing like mentioned in the OP. When you get to be my age and start taking certain meds, you get the shakes and ladle pouring is not an option.

[tomme boy]

Empty you pot and clean it well. Take the rod and handle off the pot. Take the rod to a wire wheel and clean it up. Now take some valve lapping compound a coat the tip of the rod. Put the rod in a drill and put the rod into the recessed spout and spin it for about 30 sec. then reverse the drill and do it again. Clean the rod up and repeat one more time. This will seat the rod into the spout. Most of the leaking will be GONE. If it does start to leak a small 1/4 turn of the rod will all it takes.

You should be cleaning the pot anyway after a few casting sessions. And never use the pot to process your lead from WW or range lead. If you do, Clean it after you get done. While they are cheap, they are not that bad of a product. LEE is cheap because they use cheap materials. But they can be made to work really well if you want to put a little time into them.

[lightman]

Glad you were not hurt. This is on reason that I have my pot in a shallow wooden box. I've never had my ProMelt leak but the shallow box also allows me to separate my bullets from the sprues.

[armoredman]

I have the worst solution, low tech of all low tech, and I am sure a bunch of people here will tell how how this is such a horrible bad idea...but it works.
I have a thin nail clamped in my Leatherman when I am pouring, and if the nozzle starts running slow or fast, I insert the nail into the nozzle to knock any blockage out of the way. It works for me, but I am also certain anyone looking at my pot would scream in falsetto horror at that I haven't really done much to it since I got it about 7 years ago...
I also keep a generic iron ingot mold under the spout, so any and all drips are captured for re-use - I don't have so much lead that I can waste it.