Insulate The Lee Production Pot? Has Anyone Done It Before?

[SweetMk]

Well, it has been so long since I cast anything, I lost my Lee pot in storage,, somewhere,
So, I ordered a Lee Production Pot IV.

I ain't being cheap, and trying to save electricity, or anything , but, I am thinking abut adding an insulating layer to the pot.

Rather than save energy, the pot would stay at a more stabile temperature, if the heat loss were reduced.
Also, newly added metal would melt faster if the heat from the heating element is melting metal, not trying to heat the planet,,
so, this might make the Production Pot more productive!!

I think I have searched correctly, but, I have not found anything pertaining to DIY insulating a melting pot,,

I do have on order what I think I need to make the PID control.

I can not foresee any problem with adding insulation,, am I off base?

If there is some interest in my progress, I could take a few pics,,

So, has the Lee Production Pot been insulated before? Is there a link available to lead me to the project?

Thanks

[farmerjim]

It should work fine. I would try some of the Hi-temp 1/8 inch gasket material .

[Mike W1]

Well, it has been so long since I cast anything, I lost my Lee pot in storage,, somewhere,
So, I ordered a Lee Production Pot IV.

I ain't being cheap, and trying to save electricity, or anything , but, I am thinking abut adding an insulating layer to the pot.

Rather than save energy, the pot would stay at a more stabile temperature, if the heat loss were reduced.
Also, newly added metal would melt faster if the heat from the heating element is melting metal, not trying to heat the planet,,
so, this might make the Production Pot more productive!!

I think I have searched correctly, but, I have not found anything pertaining to DIY insulating a melting pot,,

I do have on order what I think I need to make the PID control.

I can not foresee any problem with adding insulation,, am I off base?

If there is some interest in my progress, I could take a few pics,,

So, has the Lee Production Pot been insulated before? Is there a link available to lead me to the project?

Thanks

Can't help you with a link but a fellow that goes by"gunarea" if memory serves has done some work in that area. Not sure if he's on here or CBA or Art & Science forum. Main thing I remember is he said his heat elements last a longer with his mod. You might try some searches on the various forums for his posts.

[redhawk0]

I rebuilt my 10# pot last year. I added 1/4" thick ceramic fiber blanket between the pot and the outer shell. (avoiding the heater coil). It works great for me.

I also use a PID unit and it maintains the set temp +/- 2* (unless I add cold material to the pot)

redhawk

[dimaprok]

I've done it on the Lee magnum melter it's like 4-20 but without bottom pour, it was actually a whole project I took it apart and replaced the whole pot with stainless steel one similar in dimention but taller container that I purchased for few dollars from thrift store, the purpose was to melt zinc and process lead in to ingots. I tried at first melting zinc without insulation but after waiting 45 min I gave up and decided to insulate it. I wrapped it with 1/2" ceramic blanket (kaowool) from ebay and was able to remelt all my zinc WW and cast them into ingots. I used the pot to also process lead and keep it next to my casting pot and refill it with a big ladle. The capacity was somewhere around 27lb and it was nice, the problem I found that at at lowest setting 2 without PID the temp would climb in to 900F!!! LOL. After some good use unfortunately the pot sprung a leak on a side, like a small drip, I think the over insulation caused too much heat buildup where elements touch, I have yet to take it apart, but thats my theory. Next time I would stick to 1/4 blanket and PID. I'll post some pictures if interested.

[SweetMk]

I took it apart and replaced the whole pot with stainless steel similar but deeper container that I purchased for few dollars from thrift store,

I'll post some pictures if interested.

I would like to see what you have done,,

[NyFirefighter357]

I have plenty of Koawool, I just rebuilt a Lee 10lb & didn't think about insulating it. I'll rebuild my other 10lb & insulate both, thanks.

[dimaprok]

Unfortunately I shot several videos but not pictures so here's the screenshots. I was planning on making youtube video. After I wrapped it with kaowool I used aluminum roll to make cover.
P.S. Because this pot was longer I used a tin can that I cut down as support.


Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

[gunarea]

Thanks to Mike W1 for the mention.
It has been over ten years since insulating my Lee pot. What a difference!! Both inside the aluminum cover and outside. The outside piece held in place with a #303 split tomato can bound with SS lashing wire. My how to thread is on Cast Bullet Association forum under the title "Cooling the mould". You might get some extremely useful information about mould cooling as well. Insulating the furnace gives a much more consistent temp at the spout, reduces PID dwell time, has a dramatic effect on ambient shop comfort, extends element life and faster heat-up. There are other tips I have for those who use the Lee drip-O-matic. Been using A Lee 10lb pot over forty years, I know the tool better than most and I win state titles using my home cast projectiles exclusively. Not sure I can post pictures, if you see pictures, then I can.
Roy

[pastera]

Adding a cover would be much more effective.

If adding insulation to the sides, I would add it to the outside like @dimaprok then cover the insulation. This would allow the heat to circulate between the pot wall and the case increasing the heat transfer area and reducing the temperature differences.

[Mike W1]

Thanks to Mike W1 for the mention.
It has been over ten years since insulating my Lee pot. What a difference!! Both inside the aluminum cover and outside. The outside piece held in place with a #303 split tomato can bound with SS lashing wire. My how to thread is on Cast Bullet Association forum under the title "Cooling the mould". You might get some extremely useful information about mould cooling as well. Insulating the furnace gives a much more consistent temp at the spout, reduces PID dwell time, has a dramatic effect on ambient shop comfort, extends element life and faster heat-up. There are other tips I have for those who use the Lee drip-O-matic. Been using A Lee 10lb pot over forty years, I know the tool better than most and I win state titles using my home cast projectiles exclusively. Not sure I can post pictures, if you see pictures, then I can.
Roy

Way back when you talked me thru bending the tip on the operating plunger rod you gave me a link to a little site that had a lot of your ideas on there. Used to check once in awhile and there hadn't been much activity there. Now I'm unable to find it so it may be gone for all I know. And in switching over to a different computer and Win 10 that could also have been the culprit. Do you still have that URL or is the site now kaput? Thanks.

[SweetMk]

,,,,,,, you gave me a link to a little site that had a lot of your ideas on there.

Used to check once in awhile and there hadn't been much activity there.

Do you still have that URL or is the site now kaput? Thanks.

I think he cryptically mentioned it in his post,, Anyways, this is what I found,,

https://castbulletassoc.org/forum

[Old School Big Bore]

I have an ancient Lyman pot and an old Lee 10# that both need rebuilding, and gave a fairly new 10# to my eldest son who will be joining here shortly, and currently use a Lee 20#. After reading this thread I will be insulating all of them, with steel cans around the outer layer of insulation, and installing PID controls as well. Thanks very much to all who contributed to this thread.
Ed <><

[Mike W1]

I think he cryptically mentioned it in his post,, Anyways, this is what I found,,

https://castbulletassoc.org/forum

Thanks but that's not the one I'm talking about. Never saw anything on it by anyone but Roy and I kind of monitor Boolits, CBA and one call Art & Science. Used to get CB-L also but think that one's gone now too.

[gunarea]

Hey Mike
The site never got any sponsor funding and it failed. The article I referred to is on the Cast bullet association. Insulating the Lee furnace came into the thread by a casual question posed by a follower. The original topic was "cooling the mould". The system I employ produces very high quality, consistent projectiles at an increased rate. Insulating the Lee furnace kinda got us off topic for a while, like this is doing. My apologies.
Roy

[Mike W1]

Hey Mike
The site never got any sponsor funding and it failed. The article I referred to is on the Cast bullet association. Insulating the Lee furnace came into the thread by a casual question posed by a follower. The original topic was "cooling the mould". The system I employ produces very high quality, consistent projectiles at an increased rate. Insulating the Lee furnace kinda got us off topic for a while, like this is doing. My apologies. Roy

Figured it didn't survive. Thanks for the reply.

[SweetMk]

Well, I finally took a couple pics of my insulated melter,,the insulation works really good.
I cut a piece of stainless steel sheet that I had, just long enough to reach most of the way around the pot.
Then, I clamped the stainless to the pot with two geared hose clamps.
The pot was plugged in for 20 minutes, or so, and the outside of the stainless was just starting to heat up.
Stainless is a horrible conductor of heat (it doesn't conduct electricity very well either)
and, with the stainless resting on the lip of the pot, there is an air gap between the pot, and the stainless.

I did have to trim a little, where the electrical connections come out of the pot.



Oh, yea, the "stop" for the pour lever needed a little bit of "bend adjust" because, now it hits the new outer layer.



If I had taken the time to polish the outer surface of the stainless, the new layer would loose even less heat.

[oley55]

Since PIDs have already been mentioned a few time, I have a PID question. Do you bypass the twist knob thermostat entirely or do you leave it connected and crank it up to MAX and let the PID do it's own thing?

[SweetMk]

Since PIDs have already been mentioned a few time, I have a PID question. Do you bypass the twist knob thermostat entirely or do you leave it connected and crank it up to MAX and let the PID do it's own thing?

The thermostat in the Lee pot controlled by the "twist knob" is not proportional, it is "ON or OFF"
so, I guess at a setting, and leave it at some number, less than full.

Then, the thermostat in the pot will act as an emergency over-temp control.

If something happens to the PID, the thermostat is there as a backup just for safety,

Free safety is good!! .

[Acorn]

Just curious but do you use multiple layers wrapped tight or loose? About how thick total?