So I bought a hot plate for my shot maker and decided to try it tonight to preheat my molds while the lead melted. Get ready to cast once the lead was up to 750 and low and behold second cast from my Lyman 4 cav mold and I had two keepers. Next cast, I had four keepers. I was up and running in two casts. Wow! I'll be using it from now on. What a great way to start off.