In the market for a new melter

[BEN BODEY]

I am shopping for a new pot. This will be my first, and would like to get it right. I am leaning toward a Lee 20-4. I want to know if there is a better melter. Will I see a melter for $20 more, and wish I had spent the money? What is to be avoided and what is the better stuff.

If anyone really knows they have to be here.

[carpetman]

Ben Bodey---To my knowledge after Lee there is a much bigger than $20 jump---possibly add another 0. Possibly they are worth that much difference but I fail to see how. My Lee bottom pour has served me well for many years. Most other stuff I do pay more and get RCBS.

[FISH4BUGS]

I have used my Lee Pro 20 for more than 25 years now without a hitch. I see people posting with complaints about them, but I have never had a one. Slight drips on occasion, sure, but a quick turn of the spout sealing thingie (a technical term) back and forth with a screwdriver takes care of that. I always considered that part of the deal in casting. I have no complaints.

[robertbank]

Faced with the same choice I went with the RCBS melter. A lot of money but "She who knows best" decided to get it for me for Christmas. If you are looking for a lifetime purchase I highly recomend the RCBS. I think the Lee Pot is probably OK and it certainly sells for a great deal less than the RCBS. Like the guys above posted. They have had good luck with their Lee Pots. I had the Lee Production Pot aka leakomatic. Nice pot and it served me well but I had to upgrade and the 10# Pot just didn't have the capacity I needed.

Take Care

Bob

[Jon K]

Bob,

She's a keeper, she's looking after you real good. The 2 ex's I had would usually say "Do you need that? or Did you have to spend so much?"

Ben,

If this is your first pot, and don't know if casting your own boolits is something you really want to do, then the Lee is your best bet. If you change your mind about casting, you're not out a lot of money.

RCBS is a good pot, and RCBS Customer Service is second to none. Buy one and never look back, you can't go wrong.

Have Fun Shooting,
Jon:castmine:

[wills]

waage is highly thought of by BPCRS shooters.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showpost.php?p=91633&postcount=8

[RANGER RICK]

The Lee's are good pot's for the money . I have had one for a few years and have ran over 2 tons through it .
The only problem I had is that I had an electrical short . Fixed it my self . All it is used for now is straight Linotype bullets which I do not do to often.
I now run a Magma 100 pound pot . It ran a lot more $ than the Lee but I never have to worry about my pot getting to low .

RR

[Shepherd2]

If money is a big issue I'd check the auction sites for a used RCBS or Lyman. I used a Lyman for 35 years and when it quit I bought a Lee 20-4. That was my first mistake. The second was wasting 2 years trying to stop the thing from dripping. I went back to Lyman.

[AZ-Stew]

Ben,

Personally, I'm mainly a cheapskate. There are some things where I'll go for the best first, but when the price difference is on the order of 4X the cost of the cheaper item, I'll go cheap.

I bought a Lee 10 pounder 30+ years ago and it still works well. When I built my workshop I decided it was time for a new pot with more capacity. I bought the Lee 4-20. I wired the shop to put a 220V outlet at my reloading bench, along with the several 110V ones, specifically so I could run the 4-20 pot that's designed for 220V. It keeps the overall amperage draw in the shop down to a reasonable level. The pot heats quickly, but since I don't have a 110V 20# pot to copmpare it with, I can't say it's faster.

Both the 10# and 20# pots drip. It's a design issue with the Lees. Turning the valve rod with a screwdriver will usually stop the drip, but it comes back after a few casts. I plan to try adding some weight to the mechanism for the 4-20 to see if I can get it to stop, but the real bottom line is that the drip from the spout isn't a big enough irritation to me to make me pay an additional $200 to get a Lyman or RCBS melter. But I'm just a cheapskate.

Regards,

Stew

[FISH4BUGS]

but the real bottom line is that the drip from the spout isn't a big enough irritation to me to make me pay an additional $200 to get a Lyman or RCBS melter.
Stew

THAT sums it up best right there.

[Poygan]

AZ Stew: I have a Lee Production Pot IV. The fix I use is to snap a small needle nose vice grips on the top of the rod. IF (when) it starts to leak, I turn it a bit. Maybe its the extra weight that also helps.... Much faster than using a screw driver to turn the rod. Its not a total fix but it has eliminated about 90% of the dripping. And its a frugal (not cheap) fix!

[robertbank]

One thing I did recently to my 10# pot was to take some very fine wire and wire the plunger to the lever tight. I notice the plunger does not clock like it used to and the dripping has all but stopped. The wire must be really fine and you have to ensure the groove in the plunger is tight to the lever arm. I, in the past used a vice grip in the plunger to add weight. This seemed to help, just be careful not to catch the vice grip under the lever. The back screws don't take much to strip out. Don't ask me how I know this.

Take Care

Bob

[Ringer]

Got a new 4-20 bottom pour that I'm about ready to trade back to Lee for a Ladle casting pot ! Ringer

[arkypete]

I am shopping for a new pot. This will be my first, and would like to get it right. I am leaning toward a Lee 20-4. I want to know if there is a better melter. Will I see a melter for $20 more, and wish I had spent the money? What is to be avoided and what is the better stuff.

If anyone really knows they have to be here.

I have a Lee pot
Spout freeze
Could not wait until I could afford a lyman 20 pound pot.
Spout freeze
Bought an RCBS pot,
Bought another RCBS pot.
Bought a third RCBS pot.
Makes life simple using two four cavity molds.
Jim

[FISH4BUGS]

I found that if my Lee 20lb pot spout freezes closed, I just take a small butane torch and heat the spout for just a second or two. VOILA! Unfrozen! Why didn't I think of that many years ago?

[BEN BODEY]

I want to thank all for the input. I am new to this whole concept of casting so I have a few more questions for later. Thanks again to everyone.