How often do you drain your pot to cast from a different alloy?

[Willie T]

As needed depending on if I want to cast for low, medium, or high velocity. I only have two pots. One 20 pound bottom pour and a 20 pound for ladle pouring or pre heating alloy for marathon bottom pour sessions. Emptying the alloy is no big deal. Pour what is left in the pot into a muffin pan and stamp L, M, or H on the ingots depending on what I’ve been casting. Three favorite alloys are all I mix and cast with. Unless I live to be 120, I have enough of everything to keep mixing and casting the same three alloys till I die so I keep it simple. When I die my son can start a “how can I tell what these ingots are” thread on here.
Willie

[Bazoo]

I drain my pot a couple times of year. I normally cast until its down pretty low and then ladle out as much as I can, then I (with gloves on)turn the put up and pour out the remainder into an ingot mould.

[ShooterAZ]

I drain my pot a couple times of year. I normally cast until its down pretty low and then ladle out as much as I can, then I (with gloves on)turn the put up and pour out the remainder into an ingot mould.

This is similar to what I do too, only once a year though. Once a year I like to completely empty the pots out, and give them a good cleaning. I don't ladle it out though. My pots are RCBS Pro Melts, so I just let them get a little low and then pour ingots. Drain, refill, clean it, and cast more boolits. When I only have a little bit of lead left, I don't worry too much about changing alloys.

[higgins]

I only cast a couple of times a year with my Lee Production Pot - spring and fall. Some years I don't cast at all, and since I cast a lot of bullets when I do I like to empty the pot when I'm done with a session and clean all the crud out of the pot and off of the valve. Having the pot empty allows starting anew with harder alloy for rifles or not so hard (i.e., wheel weights and range scrap) for pistols. Sometimes if I haven't cast as much as I normally do in a session I will just leave a piece of paper in the pot identifying what kind of metal is in it.

[Finster101]

Just reread the title of this thread. Like a couple of others have mentioned, I have two pots. One for softer pistol boolits and one for rifle and higher velocity pistol stuff. Neither are left empty though, always refilled at the end of a casting session while still hot.

[Gobeyond]

I empty mine to clean the red and white oxides out of it with a wire brush, when it needs it.

[ioon44]

I have been running the same alloy for about 3 years now and haven't seen any need to drain and clean it, I just cast 63 lbs of 9 mm 140gr FP from an Accurate 5 cav mold, all went very smooth, very good casting session.