Flip a coin?

[Captain*Kirk]

Well, I finally pushed the button. Been agonizing over which lead furnace to buy for a good week now...either the Lee Magnum Melter or the RCBS Easy Melt.
Clearly, the Easy Melt was the more modern, high tech unit with PID temp controller that adjusted the temp to lead quantity in the pot as it decreased...and a built-in thermometer as well. Midway had free shipping (which ends at midnight tonight) and I also had a birthday discount until the end of the month. By buying the RCBS I could save 20 bucks plus get it shipped for free.
If I bought the Lee, I could save 11 bucks, same free shipping.
Neither has a pour spout, which is fine as I will be doing ladle casting.
The Lee has no PID controller and no built in thermostat, so at best I would need a separate lead thermometer.
On paper, the RCBS looked like the better value. BUT...I simply could not get past the fact that the RCBS needs to stay plugged in with internal fan running until the lead has cooled to 160 F or lower (generally 2.5-3 hours according to reviews) or you risk frying the PID. If you leave it to cool and you blow a fuse or trip a breaker and you don't notice, toast. If cooling down outdoors and inclement weather moves in, you have to drag it inside and plug it in...quickly. Or, toast.
I'm sure the Lee pot takes just as long to spool down, but without a PID to fry, one can just shut it off, unplug it and let it cool down. No cooling fan required.
Maybe I'm overreacting and overthinking this thing, but it would seem to me "simple is better".
So...I ordered the Lee Magnum Melter and a Lyman digital lead thermometer and still came out 50 bucks cheaper. Time will tell if I made the right choice, I guess.
Which one would you have bought?

[Jniedbalski]

My lee melter workes fine got the 10 lb and the 20 lb bottom pour pot. I have had the lee 10 lb for about 23 years still going. The 20 lb still new in the box I got cheep and had to have it in case the 10 lb pot quit. Never used the rcbs but as long as the lee has lasted don’t thank i need one any time soon.

[Ozark mike]

Geez you guys make me feel like I'm back in the bronze age. I use a stainless bowl and a single burner gasoline stove been doing it that way for years. can't seem to drop the coin on something I don't absolutely need

[GhostHawk]

I've had my magnum melter for a year and a half and will never look at anything else.

I have mine plugged into a small electric timer that someone posted about here a long while back. Push the one hour button and I know if someone knocks on the door I won't worry about it sitting down there on and hot.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For most casting sessions I set it for an hour and end up pushing the off button.


Around 12$ at Amazon, I have a couple of these and find them pretty handy.
And I love my big Magnum Melter, especially when casting large bore stuff.
Go through a lot more lead, but I need to refill and get back up to temp much less often.

[RED BEAR]

If you have the extra money to spend then go with rcbs. The lee has worked great for me only one i have owned. Used pot on grill before it. As far as having a pid wouldn't impress me much. I really think people over think casting a lot. Now i do have a thermometer to get idea of where i am don't use it all that much . I don't want to offend anyone but buying a pid to me is like flushing your money down the drain.

[Burnt Fingers]

I've had my magnum melter for a year and a half and will never look at anything else.

I have mine plugged into a small electric timer that someone posted about here a long while back. Push the one hour button and I know if someone knocks on the door I won't worry about it sitting down there on and hot.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For most casting sessions I set it for an hour and end up pushing the off button.


Around 12$ at Amazon, I have a couple of these and find them pretty handy.
And I love my big Magnum Melter, especially when casting large bore stuff.
Go through a lot more lead, but I need to refill and get back up to temp much less often.

Ordered!

[Captain*Kirk]

Thanks for the responses. So far no one has called me either a fool or an idiot, so that's a good thing!
I'm gonna be casting some big slugs with this pot; Lyman Postell 535gr boolits for my Sharps so I needed to get something bigger than my Lee Melter. The Magnum looks like a pretty robust pot, with no aggravating spout to drip. The timer is a great idea!

[OuchHot!]

If ladle casting, Waage sells a very good pot. It is the only pot (I have lee, rcbs, and lyman pots for several alloys) that I never felt the need to PID. The control on the Waage works very well.

they don't give it away, however

[gwpercle]

I bought the Lee Magnum Melter about 4 years ago . I wish I had bought one much sooner.
No regrets . Best value for us old ladlers who don't use/want /need PID or even a thermometer .
The 20 pound capacity is most welcome. I would buy another .

One thing I've never forgotten to do was turn off a casting pot...but the timer is a good idea if it starts happening .
Gary

[mazo kid]

I started out ladle casting for 3-4 years, then went to a Lee 20 pound bottom pour. I also bought a used RCBS Pro-Melt a few years ago. That would trip my GFCI outlet so sent it in and they rebuilt it. When it came back, it still tripped the outlet (nuisance tripping). The Lee doesn't do this so is my go-to pot. I have to go away from my reloading bench if I want to use the Pro-Melt, or use a short extension cord to keep it under the exhaust fan. Once your particular mold is casting well, make note of the temp setting for future use. Personally, I don't see this as rocket science and have successfully cast over camp fires using a ladle, moving coals under or away from the pot as needed for temp control.

[megasupermagnum]

Fair warning, I've never used an RCBS pot.

Simple is better, and the Lee pot is about as simple as it gets. I've got an old 10 pound, and two newer 20 pound pots, all bottom pour. The thermostat does work, but temps can swing quite a bit. I built a PID box, and it makes a perfect combo with the Lee pots. I have multiple pots, with different alloys. Unless you only run one alloy, dumping a pot, and melting new is time consuming. Keep that in mind. You only need one PID box, and then you can buy as many Lee pots as you want. I've even loaned out my PID to a beer maker (using a new thermocouple). Last I checked, a Lee 20 pound pot can be had for $65. Some claim they drip, mine don't. Should be an easy fix if they do. A ladle pot doesn't even have that problem.

That cool down would be annoying. I just shut down and go.

[Pontiacthrasher]

Last week I was able to spend a couple of evenings casting for the first time. As a kid I used to watch my neighbor Dick Maddux (was a great man) cast and somehow it took 40 plus years for me to get around to it myself. Used a rcbs easy melt to cast .735 round ball in a Lyman mould using pure lead. Finally had good results at 770 degrees setting and waiting for the 1000 and 1 thru 15 count before releasing the ball from the mould. Full n mirror finish : )

Dick used to use a cast iron pot over a natural gas burner and had great results too.

The easy melt was easy, and portable which helps since I did these while out of town for work.

So far really happy with the rcbs easy melt. I work in property management in the SF Bay Area, so regarding being annoyed by cool down, on a level from 1 to 10, did not even register ; )

[44magLeo]

Mazo kid, replace that GFI outlet with a regular outlet. Not hard to do and will work fine.
GFI outlets are like Circuit breakers. They have a certain number of trip/reset cycles. Once they go beyond that they trip very easy.
Leo

[Winger Ed.]

Thanks for the responses. So far no one has called me either a fool or an idiot, so that's a good thing!

No reason for that, It's not like you need to be saved from yourself.
They're both good, have withstood the test of time, and are well proven items.