bought a Lee 4-20 pot

[Cloudpeak]

My wife was in Valentine, NE (home of Lock, Stock & Barrel) so I had her pick me up a Lee 4-20 pot along with some powder and other stuff. I can hardly wait for her to get back home.

I've been ladle casting for years and recently have been casting 40 and 45 pistol bullets. I smelted a bunch of WW today and, no matter how hard I try, I always seem to have a little bit of crud on top of my melt, especially as I dip the big pot lower as I'm filling ingots. It occured to me that this floating crud would become less of a problem if I was filling the mold out of the bottom of a Lee pot.

Mainly, I can't count on good weather in the winter when I'm ready to cast. With the electric pot, I can cast in comfort in the shop. Did I read here that a layer of kitty litter on the top of the melt will keep the metal cleaner? I suppose I'll still need to flux the melt in the Lee pot?

Thanks, Cloudpeak

[twoworms]

I'm thinking about the same pot. If I get one I plan to pass my 4" 10lb'ed to a friend who needs a pot for his six hole molds.

Tim

P.S. I'll look for your review of the pot.

[454PB]

I'm one of the few that likes Marvelux as a casting flux. I flux once just before I start casting, then leave all the dross on top of the melt to provide an oxygen barrier. You can do the same with any flux, but Marvelux produces a layer of glass like coating that is more air tight.

I have the Lee Pro 4-20 and also two Lee 10 pounders, all have given me great service, the oldest for 30 plus years. Once you use a bottom pour, you will prefer it to ladle pouring.

[leftiye]

Cloud, That's the bugaboo of ladle casters- the crud that floats on top. Unfortunately, there's also crud that settles to the bottom of bottom pour pots, and ends up plugging up the pour spout or making inclusions in yer boolits.

I use two bottom pours, old Lyman 10 pounders. I wouldn't ever go back to ladling. The aforementioned precipitates are seldom seen, and there are techniques to remove them. The best one is to not use Marvelux. It sticks to the sides of your pot. Generally, good alloy made of known metal, and fluxed before casting, totally evades this problem.

[Marshal Kane]

Unfortunately, there's also crud that settles to the bottom of bottom pour pots, and ends up plugging up the pour spout or making inclusions in yer boolits.
The best one is to not use Marvelux. It sticks to the sides of your pot.

So true! Nothing like spending 4 hours casting and rejecting 60% of your bullets because of the inclusions. I flux regularly now, NOT just before starting to cast. The crud DOES settle to the bottom and floats on the top. Maybe that's why ladle casting has fewer rejects, the alloy comes out of the middle. Not to rile anyone who uses Marvelux but I stopped using it because it forms a coating which sticks to the sides of the pot and is very difficult to remove. In addition, Marvelux absorbs moisture out of the air. Leave it on the pot rim and the next day you will find water droplets where the Marvelux was. It's especially dangerous when casting on a rainy day and some of it sticks to the mixing spoon. Unless you leave the mixing spoon in the pot, water will form on it quickly, and when you put the spoon back into the pot, look out!

[HORNET]

This could get real amusing.[smilie=1: Bottom pour vs. ladle gets fought out here on a regular basis and there is always the Marvelux pro/con discussion.
As a general rule, I usually find that low sectional density (short& fat) boolits cast well out of bottom pour but high s/d cast better out of a ladle. There are exceptions, such as .22 cal. and my 10 pound LEE started leaking so I plugged the spout, pulled out the valve hardware, and ladle cast everything.:cbpour: It seems to be a matter of operator comfort and technique and to each their own.
The recommendation from the strict bottom-pour types is to flux well with used tumbler media, sawdust, or just stirring with a hardwood dowel and then apply about a half-inch of kitty litter (clean and without cats) to block air from the melt surface. They claim that it works well :drinks:
Play with it and see what works for you. Congratulations on the new toy and good luck,[smilie=s:

[randyrat]

I just smelted about 150 lbs of WWs another 500 lbs to go and also some pure lead ingots. I used a 20 lb cast iron pot with a turkey burner..I used exclusivly saw dust and the ingots come out nice n perdy..The greatest thing -It's free....Leave some of the burnt saw dust(activated charcoal) on top to stop oxidation. BTW keep your lead!! price is going up up up. I started this so called hobby(collecting lead) when i noticed bullets going up in price. Now i have to learn how to cast bullets.

[shooter575]

I agree with Hornet that the bottom pour pot will work better on 250 gr moulds and smaller.But most of my boolets are 400-500 gr so I dip. I very seldom flux in the Lee pot.I sometines use a bit of beeswax.Mostly I just skim the dross off when ever it interfears with my pouring.The dross I save in a coffee can and resmelt it when ever I am making ingots.Add a handfull of saw dust and stir and skim.[big fire and smoke result] Wham bang I get back 90% of the dross as clean metal.
The dross is lead oxide,add carbon and the oxygen turns to Co2 leaving what you started with lead. I hate to think how much of that dross I pitched out over the years

[Cloudpeak]

I just smelted about 150 lbs of WWs another 500 lbs to go and also some pure lead ingots. I used a 20 lb cast iron pot with a turkey burner..I used exclusivly saw dust and the ingots come out nice n perdy..The greatest thing -It's free....Leve some of the burnt saw dust(activated charcoal) on top to stop oxidation.

So, how do you fill ingots and laddle pour your bullets with sawdust on top of the melt? Doesn't it get into both?

Cloudpeak

[454PB]

It seems Marvelux is either liked or hated. I use it because I cast in an unventilated area and it doesn't smoke. For smelting outdoors, I use parafin or boolit lube to flux with, and recently tried using Ivory bath soap (it works great). Despite all the dire warnings, I've cast with no ventilation for over 30 years, and I had a blood lead test a few years ago that was fine. In fact, some of my co-workers that don't cast had higher levels of lead than I did.

It IS hygroscopic, and there are warnings on the can about that. I preheat everything, as should be done anyway. In the 30 years I've been using it, I never had a tinsel shower, and my Lee pots are rust free. I give them a cleaning every 200 pounds or so. None of my boolits have inclusions, and my spout doesn't plug anymore than it does using traditional fluxes I use when it's warm enough to cast with ventilation. My reject rate is the same whether using Marvelux or NEI flux.

I like it, but I wouldn't argue with anyone about what to use for flux, I use what works for me.

But again, if any of you have tried Marvelux and don't want or like it, I will accept any and all donations. I've said this before, and so far nobody has sent me any.

[GP100man]

i double smelt to clean & mix then melt it in my 10# pot & cast away
i flux with a pinch of parrifin about every time the mold cools.
havent thrown my dipper away but oiled it down & put away for now.

GP

[randyrat]

After i melt about 15 lbs i mix in about 3-4 tablespoons or more of any sawdust and stirr. Then i scim about half of it off just enough to ladle clean lead in to ingots. Then i add more WWs and flux some more, and pour more ingots. I keep as much burnt saw dust on the melt as possible to help stop oxidation. I was thinking about using the saw dust first then after it's clean throw in some wax to stop oxidation.