New Lyman Mag 25 Just Died...

[dverna]

I have an old Lyman furnace that is over 40 years old and last year purchased a Master Caster. Someone had a sale on the Lee 20 lb bottom pour and I bought one. JIC. I have never used the Lee but it is there in case I need it. But I cannot cast for long anymore so that is why I got the Master Caster. I have been thinking about using the Lee as a pre-melter for the MC. Cleatus, you might want to think about that as well. A pre-melter will give more consistency to temperature and pressure out of the spout.

BTW, I applaud your investment in the Lyman. It is unfortunate that it died so quickly but once it is working, you will enjoy using a quality unit for many years.

[Soundguy]

Glad they are replacing your furnace with a new one .. Now lets see if this one holds up ..
sitting on the fence waiting to see if the new RCBS furnaces with PID will hold up (if they ever start shipping)
Love my old RCBS Pro Melt .. just have to compare reliability between the new Lyman and new RCBS

they should have just sent him a new controller board... that and a heating element is about it. heating element is easy to test..

That said, I've been using my lee drip-o-matic for a while now, and aside from a drip or too.. it makes great boolits.

[brass410]

I cant wait anymore for the new RCBS, so I found a quantity of bnib old style pro pours and bought one, 300 bucks might go back and buy a 2nd one just for giggles.

[KenT7021]

The RCBS furnace is probably being made in China.I would expect the same quality.I've run a lot of bullet alloy thru my Mag25 with no problems.Like any product from China it could die at any time.The only product I got from Lyman recently that didn't work was a digital thermometer.Lyman shipped me a new one as soon as I called them.I ordered a replacement thermocouple from Amazon (Chinese of course) and the bad thermometer now works as well.

[brass410]

I agree with you on the made in china thing,mostly just trash products but the old pro pours are made USA so the quality is there still I was lucky to find these new old stocks they had 6 of em I like the lyman to but no dealers localy. But might find one when I'm out and about love to try one

[woodbutcher]

One thing that I`v found out over the years.Electrical or electronic products will fail in the first 10 or so hours of use,OR they will chug along for decades trouble free.Case in point.A friend has one of the old refridgerators that has the compressor on the top,It was bought new by his Grand Parents.Has it in his garage to keep sodas and water and tea cold.It`s a late 20`s build.Glad Lyman took care of the problem.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Mr_Sheesh]

Also, a point on Chinese stuff. Some GOOD things are made in China nowadays; And lots of cheap stuff. It depends on the manufacturer insisting on good results to get them. iPhones for example, are made in China and are pretty well made. Costs a bit more to make better stuff.

In past there have been some oddities in electronics, like the electrolytic capacitor's electrolyte formula that was stolen through industrial espionage; Only, the Mfg. somehow knew this was coming, or was just cagey as heck, and set up a trap? So the stolen formula was one that would work for a time, then fail. Remember the plague of Electrolytics on motherboards that would swell up? That formula let the water in the electrolyte dry up after a while and it bit the heck out of the thieves' co.'s reputation... Deservedly so. hurt a lot of other folks too, tho.

I hope to never meet one of those bad capacitors again, had to replace caps on some motherboards, it's a pain...

[murf205]

I agree with you on the made in china thing,mostly just trash products but the old pro pours are made USA so the quality is there still I was lucky to find these new old stocks they had 6 of em I like the lyman to but no dealers localy. But might find one when I'm out and about love to try one

You made the best choice. The old RCBS Pro's are the best of the bottom pours, bar none--IMHO. Mine just keeps on melting boolits. To find one bnib is a great score.

[Trapaddict]

After reading this, I am glad I have my RCBS ProMelt bought in the 70's. It has never failed or given me any problems. It was not cheap but became a lifetime investment. The manual controller of the ProMelt gives me confidence for reliability, especially after seeing inside the Lyman controller posted by the OP.

This type of story is soooo true anymore. The old saying "They don't make them like they used to" holds true here. Cheap, Quick and Quality. You only get to pick two. I like using the comparison of appliances. Large ones. Washers, Ranges and refrigerators. People that have older ones with click dials and no LCD displays and membrane switches rarely have a problem with them. Not so with all of the space shuttle type models out there now. Its a lead pot. Keep it simple. Pot, casting thermometer and a ladle. You will have far fewer headaches in the long run.

Jeff

[Soundguy]

Very much agreed!

[quasi]

where is Lyman's PID pot made?

[gwpercle]

With as much bad mouthing as Lee electric melters get I would like to say I purchased my first Precision melter in 1972 (I was messing up the new wife's stove top). Discovered size does matter ( wife keeps saying that too) That led to the Lee Production Pot 10 lbs. is better and my years of bottom pouring, I discovered I like pressure casting with a ladle best and next came the 20 lb. Magnum Melter...whoa Momma...what a pot...bigger is better.

My small 1972 pot still works, I use it for pure lead, the production pot , 15 years old went to a fellow member who lost his in a fire , needed it and is still using it. And the Magnum Melter is now a good 5 years old and due to some new NOE 3 and 4 cavity moulds has seen lots of long use....20 lb. capacity rocks.
All three of these pots , have never ever not worked, plug them in and they go to work like a proper melter should. No LCD displays, no PID , no LMN or OPQ or RST....just a low tech knob.
Bad mouth them all you want...I would use the Lee pot and keep that pricey Lyman for the back up.
Checking Amazon prices:

Lyman Mag25 Digital Furnace ....$291.77
Lee Magnum Melter ..................$ 64.17

You pays your money and you takes your choice.

After a few experiences with electronic car replacement parts from China , Taiwan and Mexico....I'm going to avoid any electronics if I can. Every part was junk....Junk that didn't work out of the box or only lasted days. Maybe not having any cheap foreign electronic parts is an advantage.
Rant over...Gary

[jmort]

where is Lyman's PID pot made?

China, China, and China

[Beagle333]

I hope mine works. I ordered one when they first were offered, and then it took about a year or so for it to actually be stocked and delivered, and so I forgot that I even wanted one, so it's still sitting in the unopened box in the loading room until a need arises for it.

[Soundguy]

With as much bad mouthing as Lee electric melters get I would like to say I purchased my first Precision melter in 1972 (I was messing up the new wife's stove top). Discovered size does matter ( wife keeps saying that too) That led to the Lee Production Pot 10 lbs. is better and my years of bottom pouring, I discovered I like pressure casting with a ladle best and next came the 20 lb. Magnum Melter...whoa Momma...what a pot...bigger is better.

My small 1972 pot still works, I use it for pure lead, the production pot , 15 years old went to a fellow member who lost his in a fire , needed it and is still using it. And the Magnum Melter is now a good 5 years old and due to some new NOE 3 and 4 cavity moulds has seen lots of long use....20 lb. capacity rocks.
All three of these pots , have never ever not worked, plug them in and they go to work like a proper melter should. No LCD displays, no PID , no LMN or OPQ or RST....just a low tech knob.
Bad mouth them all you want...I would use the Lee pot and keep that pricey Lyman for the back up.
Checking Amazon prices:

Lyman Mag25 Digital Furnace ....$291.77
Lee Magnum Melter ..................$ 64.17

You pays your money and you takes your choice.

After a few experiences with electronic car replacement parts from China , Taiwan and Mexico....I'm going to avoid any electronics if I can. Every part was junk....Junk that didn't work out of the box or only lasted days. Maybe not having any cheap foreign electronic parts is an advantage.
Rant over...Gary

Agreed about avoiding all the fancy electronics. I just use a dial thermometer.

[KenT7021]

I have and like the Mag 25.Mine works fine and I've done a lot of casting using it.I also have a Lee 4-20 bottom pour and a Lee 10 lb bottom pour.The 4-20 works fine also.I'm not sure while I replaced the 10 lb bottom pour?I think it still works.While I like the Mag 25 I would not hesitate to recommend the Lee melting pots.I don't much care for their molds but the Lee melting pots are excellent.

[Walks]

RCBS is not what it once was.
My old late 1970's Pro-Melt started acting erratically, the TEMP would rise and fall just sitting there waiting to cast while I prepped molds. Start casting and TEMP would still bounce, went up to 900degrees, I turned the pot down to 650 on the dial and 5 minutes later the spout froze up. I know RCBS has discontinued them And replaced them with a chinese made pot. So I figured to get it back to them and get it fixed before they ran out of parts or just stopped servicing them. I called and they said to send it on in. $28.65 later it was on it's way. Two days later USPS tracking said they received it. A week later I hadn't heard anything, so I called. A nice young lady said she'd check. Came back a few minutes later and said it had just gone down to shipping, I asked how much ? She answered no charge. BOY HOWDY I was happy. Went right over to the N.O.E. website and ordered a new mold guide.

A week later I called back to get a tracking number. The lady didn't know what I was talking about. My pot wasn't in the system. I repeated my conversation from the previous week, she said she would call back. Called next day. Found my pot, needed a Credit Card number to authorize work on it. It would be $100.00 plus return shipping.
And they would get to it sometime next week. That was Tuesday.

Talked to them TWICE about sending it back, NO ONE ever said there would be a cost or how much it would be. Asking for a Credit Card number without a final total, literally a blank check, is ILLEGAL IN CALIFORNIA, RCBS and I are both in CA.

Only complaint I ever had about RCBS is that they don't make 4 cavity molds.

So that POT is going to cost me $160.00 with shipping. I could have spent another $100.00 and got a new LYMAN with a PID. In 45yrs + of dealing with RCBS on my own this is the first time I've ever been DISAPPOINTED. I grew up using a A2 press and RCBS dies in my DAD'S garage. First die set I bought was RCBS. Still using the same RockChucker 43yrs.

GEEZ

[keyhole]

[QUOTE=In 45yrs + of dealing with RCBS on my own this is the first time I've ever been DISAPPOINTED. [/QUOTE]
----------
Hopefully, their new customer service motto isn't "We're not happy unless you're not happy."

[Mal Paso]

RCBS is not what it once was.
My old late 1970's Pro-Melt started acting erratically, the TEMP would rise and fall just sitting there waiting to cast while I prepped molds. Start casting and TEMP would still bounce, went up to 900degrees, I turned the pot down to 650 on the dial and 5 minutes later the spout froze up. I know RCBS has discontinued them And replaced them with a chinese made pot. So I figured to get it back to them and get it fixed before they ran out of parts or just stopped servicing them. I called and they said to send it on in. $28.65 later it was on it's way. Two days later USPS tracking said they received it. A week later I hadn't heard anything, so I called. A nice young lady said she'd check. Came back a few minutes later and said it had just gone down to shipping, I asked how much ? She answered no charge. BOY HOWDY I was happy. Went right over to the N.O.E. website and ordered a new mold guide.

A week later I called back to get a tracking number. The lady didn't know what I was talking about. My pot wasn't in the system. I repeated my conversation from the previous week, she said she would call back. Called next day. Found my pot, needed a Credit Card number to authorize work on it. It would be $100.00 plus return shipping.
And they would get to it sometime next week. That was Tuesday.

Talked to them TWICE about sending it back, NO ONE ever said there would be a cost or how much it would be. Asking for a Credit Card number without a final total, literally a blank check, is ILLEGAL IN CALIFORNIA, RCBS and I are both in CA.

Only complaint I ever had about RCBS is that they don't make 4 cavity molds.

So that POT is going to cost me $160.00 with shipping. I could have spent another $100.00 and got a new LYMAN with a PID. In 45yrs + of dealing with RCBS on my own this is the first time I've ever been DISAPPOINTED. I grew up using a A2 press and RCBS dies in my DAD'S garage. First die set I bought was RCBS. Still using the same RockChucker 43yrs.

GEEZ

Just looking at the thermostat in my Pro Melt I would guess it's on the high side of $100. I think the forever guarantee was nice but unrealistic. RCBS has to be profitable in order to continue. I got a few free parts from RCBS and will remember those days with fondness. LOL

Your $160 is well spent. I just spent $148 for one with a short and was happy to do so. You have an freshly rebuilt classic now and won't be posting "New RCBS Pro Melt 2 just Died". LOL

[HangFireW8]

Agreed about avoiding all the fancy electronics. I just use a dial thermometer.

Only one is correct... and it's not any of the dial thermometers.