problem drip drip drip

[snuffy]

Here's my solution to the occasional drip I get with 2 Lee 4-20 pots.





That's a 1-¼ hardwood dowel, with a 7/8 hole drilled nearly through to form about 1½ deep cavity filled with boolit alloy. Then a pilot hole drilled to thread onto the screw that the original handle goes on. This adds just enough weight to the valve rod to prevent almost all the drips

I don't know what it weighs, way more than my digital scale can weigh,(750 grains). But it works, is solid state,(nothing to fall off, get hot).

[Rhoa4396]

My Lee drip-o-matic makes a lead tower under the spout every few minutes. I agree it's easy enough to just plop it back into the pot. What bothers me is the splatter from each drip. After a casting session my workbench is covered with small pieces of lead foil from every splatter. I just picked up a 7x10 cake pan for $1 at the thrift store, and the whole pot sits right down into it. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm thinking this will contain all the spatter in the pan. Should keep my work space a lot neater.

Funny you should mention that about the pan. Yesterday I was shopping with the wife at a local Walmart and found a 9X13 cookie sheet for $.92 cents to set my Lee pot into. It is about 1/2 inch deep. I figure that 9X12X.5 comes up to 54 cubic inches. 54 X .409 pounds per cubic inches comes up to a capacity of 22lbs of lead. A little less for the volume the legs of the stand take up. I was not worried so much about the dripping but about a failure of the valve in a worse case scenario. I also figure that my pot is seldom full all the way.

I purchased a different stand and cover for my pot that has an adjustable table and mold guide. Drips land on the table and are a bit of a pain even though they don't stick, but I worry more about 15 or so pounds of hot lead running all over.

Ken

[Rhoa4396]

Here's my solution to the occasional drip I get with 2 Lee 4-20 pots.





That's a 1-¼ hardwood dowel, with a 7/8 hole drilled nearly through to form about 1½ deep cavity filled with boolit alloy. Then a pilot hole drilled to thread onto the screw that the original handle goes on. This adds just enough weight to the valve rod to prevent almost all the drips

I don't know what it weighs, way more than my digital scale can weigh,(750 grains). But it works, is solid state,(nothing to fall off, get hot).

Snuffy,

I like those photos of yours. I somehow misplaced the wood handle on my pot and was intending on cobbling together another handle anyway. I think I'm going to try the same thing you did. As far as the weight goes, I'm guessing that handle of yours weighs between 6, and 7 ounces.

Ken
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[Polecat]

Thanks fellows for all the suggestions I will work on replacing the spout and rod. bought this pot at a garage sale $25 with a broken control. I wired it direct and built a PID for it. When I get it working I will post