Best furnace?

[selmerfan]

This will probably spark a lively discussion, but what do you all think is the best furnace for casting? I've got a Lyman 10 pound dipper pot and a Lee 10 pound bottom pour drip-o-matic. I do most of my casting with Lee 6 cavity molds and an H&G 10 cavity, so mold weight is DEFINITELY a consideration. I'd love to upgrade, but I want to get "the best". RCBS? Lyman? LEE? I'd love a bottom pour pot that I don't have to hold the mold freehand under the spout like I do with the Lee. Thanks for your opinions and experience!

[lightman]

The RCBS ProMelt is a favorite. I like mine well enough that I would buy it again. Magma makes a 40# pot that is nice. A 20+ # pot is nice when you are casting with a large gang mold or casting heavy bullets.

[jeepyj]

I know that there is probably others just as good but the staple of my shop is an RCBS pro melt. It is a very fine piece of equipment that I'd rather not be without. All I can say is she seen a lot of lead go through it. Over 500 lbs just getting ready for the upcoming shooting season.

[selmerfan]

Honestly, my first thought, based on reading hundreds of discussions over the years, is "RCBS Pro Melt". I don't need a 40 pound furnace, but a 20 pounder sure would be nice!

[Beagle333]

RCBS Pro Melt. It changed my whole outlook for the better. I won't say that I don't/won't own and use other pots too..... but I definitely won't be without a Pro Melt here as well.

[selmerfan]

Uff Da. I didn't realize quite how expensive the RCBS ProMelt is...it'll be a while before I pull the trigger on one of those! I have other "wants" before a new furnace. Like paying off student loans and finishing paying for two very expensive musical instruments for our daughters...

[wv109323]

1.) RCBS pro melt
2.) Lyman XX with PID
3.) Lee 20 lb.

[lup]

Waage lead pot for ladle casting
Magma master pot for bottom pour

[LenH]

I have a ProMelt, second hand, got it from a member here on the Swapping & Selling. It even had a PID come with it. It was still pricey but worth every penny.
I still have a Lee 20# bottom pour and have cast 1000's of bullets with it. I even put together a little stand for the big H&G 8 cavity mold that is a pot drainer.
I still have a 4# Lee pot that I have Ladle cast 100's of bullets and a couple thousand crappie jigs.

I guess my point is that use what you can afford, I have been able to up grade since my kids are all grown and gone.

[Sur-shot]

My first pot was a Lyman dipper pot but in short order I burned it out, got a Lyman bottom pour, neither had a temp adjustment, then I saw the RCBS Pro Melt and have had that 20 pound pot ever since, paint peeled off, painted it with Bar B Q Black heat paint and it is still pouring bullets after about 40 years. It is like the M-1 Tank of 20 pound pots or the Rockchucker of lead.
Ed

[mold maker]

FORD, CHEVY, TOYOTA, DODGE, CADDY, KIA. They all have a devout following, and everyone has an opinion. The same is true of casting furnaces.
There is no best, only your preferences. They can all drip, but can be fixed. Some cost LOTS more but may require less maintenance. They come in different colors, as it that matters. They are all capable of doing what is intended.
Asking what is best is not a fair question when really all you'll get is biased opinions.
The real answer is, if your not a brand snob, get the one you can afford and make it work.

[Springfield]

You asked, so I'll have to say the best is a Magma. I also have an RCBS Pro-melt, so I can say this. The Pro-Melt is a great pot, but for me it can still be too small. I prefer to cast a few thousand at a time, when I find the time. It just works out better for me. And even with a 22 lb pot, when casting lead balls or my BP bullets with a Lee 6 cavity mold I can still outrun the RCBS. Then I have to wait, and re-heat the mold, and it wastes time. Plus there are more culls. This never happens with the Magma, due to it's 40 lb pot and also due to it's 1500 watt heater. Plus the Magma has the optioaln double pour spout, which also speeds things up. Plus, the spout is removable, even with a full melted pot, so you can clean it, and you never(at least I never have, in 8 years) need to empty the pot to clean the spout. So once heated, I can just keep on shoving in ingots and keep casting and I can get more consistent bullets. So, it is the best, but it is also the most expensive. If RCBS would up the watts it might be OK, but they haven't. So the Magma is pretty much in a class by itself. I am glad I bought mine before everybody jacked up their prices in the last 5 years due to our last President scaring everyone, and everyone became a reloader.

[jmort]

Agree. For a non-commercial caster, the Master Pot is the "best"
$800 with a PID
Someday soon I will get one

[Springfield]

I built my own PID for mine, plus one for the RCBS. I managed to knock the RCBS off the table and bent the spout, and tore it loose from the pot. So a friend of mine is welding on a thick metal piece with a nut for a PID thermocouple and I am going to thread it to hold a Magma removable double spout. Am also trying to find a higher wattage heater. I think it will make a good second pot, for all the pure lead casting I do, and leave the Magma for the regular bullets. No more draining the Magma when I switch alloys. No way am I paying over 500 for a second Magma, just can't afford it.

[Drew P]

If money is a concern then a lee 4-20 and a home wired pid is tough to beat. You're into it less than 100$ and it works better than a promelt for regulation. I don't want a 1500w heater element because that might mean I couldn't use my hot plate on the same circuit.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

This will probably spark a lively discussion, but what do you all think is the best furnace for casting? I've got a Lyman 10 pound dipper pot and a Lee 10 pound bottom pour drip-o-matic. I do most of my casting with Lee 6 cavity molds and an H&G 10 cavity, so mold weight is DEFINITELY a consideration. I'd love to upgrade, but I want to get "the best". RCBS? Lyman? LEE? I'd love a bottom pour pot that I don't have to hold the mold freehand under the spout like I do with the Lee. Thanks for your opinions and experience!

The Lee Pro 4-20 pot has a 'shelf' that works with most molds. Now, I don't know about a H&G 10 cav mold? maybe a proper sized oak block underneath would work? and you'd have to move the large mold diagonally under the spout.

I haven't used a RCBS or Lyman or Magma, but I have had enjoyable casting sessions with my Lee Pro 4-20 by using clean alloy ...and adding a weight to the handle and lapping the valve when it was new (which almost eliminates all the dripping). And adding a PID totally eliminated the need to continually adjust the heat control knob(to maintain a constant temperature), which is typical of all Lee pots as the alloy level goes down.

[OuchHot!]

I use more alloys that I probably need to so have added furnaces rather than trying to shift from one alloy to another. I have an old Promelt. It is fine and reliable; it does dribble a little, but I expect that and keep a pan under it. The temp. control was poor from the outset (this is my second, pro-melt the first one was replaced) and so I use a PID. I have a lee 4-20 that dribbles a little more than the promelt but nothing I worry over. It too is on a PID. I have a waage that is magnificent in every way for the times when only ladle pouring works. I have a 14mo old Lyman. If the lyman continues to be as good as it is, it would be my choice for bottom pour. If it breaks tomorrow, I would promote the lee or promelt. The rcbs is not God's gift and the Lee ain't trash....both work very well. BUT the small extra capacity of the lyman and the built in PID decide it for me. Now the new promelt might be sold at a more reasonable price and that bears watching.

[John J]

Greetings

what ever pot you decide on you will need to consider the tunnel space beneath the pot...looking at the pic of the lee 4-20 how would you fill a H&G 10
As for a shelf set up to help hold the weight of the mold theres a guy on this sight that makes very nice upgrades
I use an rcbs promelt with his adj shelf set up and it works very well...i cast with the H&G molds also the 4,6,10 and the shelf helps a lot

happy casting

John J

[ioon44]

I just added a PID plug and play controller to my RCBS Pro Melt and after using it a few times I think that the PID would benefit any pot.

[toallmy]

I dream of a upgrade , my experience is a lee 4/20 over 2 years , it was a giant leap up from a cast iron pot on the burner . But as hard as I try I can't shoot all the boollits the 4/20 pours . Some days it drips enough to bother me but I can generally enjoy casting with it , the vision of a bottom pore with a larger capacity , smooth flow and no drips seams heavenly but I haven't even set up a PID yet .