Question on Temperature Setting for Leet Pro 4

[quillgordo]

Hi,
The instructions give you no clue as to where to set the temp. Only to put on high to initially melt.
Tried for the first time yesterday, and even backing it down to 7 or 8 my bullets were frosted.
Seems like 4 is closer to where it needs to be.
Can anyone with a lee pot, give me a clue what a good setting for wheel weights is? Also, i've seen a lot of people dont have a termometer. I'm thinking maybe I need to get one, Can you tell me what might be a good source without spending $50?
Thanks again

[DLCTEX]

That control is not very precise and can vary greatly from one pot to the next. You will just have to experiment to find where the best setting for the mould you are casting with is. You may need to invest in a casting thermometer, but if you are just using one or two moulds you should find settings that will work for you. If I turn my pot down to 6 the spout freezes. Set it where ever it works for the mould and rate of casting you are using, but know it will be different with other moulds, casting rates, and alloys.

[runfiverun]

one old guy i knew would set his pot by putting a piece on note papaer on top of the alloy if it just curled up and turned brown he went with that temp.
the little points inside the lee are somewhat adjustable but i'd leave yours alone as you will be turning the dial up in years to come.
the numbers are there but do not correspond to anything kind of like c.u.p. and p.s.i. don't really interchange.
so if 4 is gonna hold a good melt and pour good boolits go with that.

[stubshaft]

I've been casting for years and don't own a thermometer and don't plan on getting one. Like the others have said the temperature control dial on Lee is arbitrary. You might try to set it at a higher temp, let it stabilize and try to cast some boolits. Then drop the temp down until you reach a point where the boolit mold is not overheated. If you are using only one type of alloy use a sharpie and just mark that spot.

[Jailer]

Save yourself the headaches and buy a thermometer. It's a cheap way to eliminate a variable when casting especially if you get a stubborn mold.

You can get one from one of the vendors here by the name of SwedeNelson:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=102777

Or from one of the board sponsors Rotometals:

http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/lead_thermometer.htm


Good luck!

[mold maker]

You wont use it all the time, but having a thermometer will quickly answer a lot of questions.
Swede sells the same quality as the rest at a price advantage.

[williamwaco]

I have one of those pots. For the money I wouldn't trade it and when it dies I will replace it with another. I don't really like it but I can buy 6 of them for the price of one RCBS.

That said: You need to understand - that dial is not a thermostat. It is not a temprature setting. It is a rheostat. It does control the amount of energy going to the heating element but it is not calibrated.

It has two settings:

1) Too Cold.

2) Too Hot.

At any setting above about 5, if I don't cast, add metal, stir and flux to cool it down, the alloy temprature will eventually reach 800 degrees. (Too Hot )

At about 4 or less, the spout will freeze. ( Too cold )


I recommend you set it between 5 and 6. If the spout freezes up, raise it a half number. Start casting. If your bullets get too frosty for your taste, slow down the casting and/or add an ingot and flux to cool down the pot.

You can buy an excellent thermometer from one of our members.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=102777&highlight=thermometer

I bought one and am very pleased WAY less than $50.
( That is the way I learned thet the dial readings are not related to temprature. )



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[Mike W1]

All I'll add is I bought a thermometer from Brownells many years ago. (20?)

It finally gave out one day and I inquired as to where maybe I could get it repaired.

Brownell's replaced it free of charge!!!

That's just one reason I buy from Brownells whenever possible.

[41mag]

I fill mine with cornbread ingots, and set it to 5, then set a small pan under the spout and go get everything else ready. Once the spout has started to drip, I cut the setting back to about 3 3/4 or slightly under 4. Using my thermometer this will hold the temp around 630 - 675 which is perfect for my casting.

As the level drops the temp will climb and I usually add a prewarmed ingot to it when it hits around 680'ish then set another one up top to warm. This will keep the temp somewhat in the range I need but I still keep an eye on it and when I get close to calling it quits, I just moderate it down as I empty the pot.

As mentioned start out low and work up a little at a time until you find a happy medium, then use a sharpie and mark that spot. Those thermometers are great as well and I also suggest one. I started off with out one but it didn't take long until I wanted more control over what I was doing and picked one up. You could also look into setting it up with one of the regulators which is described in a sticky.

[MT Gianni]

I melt on 9 until it reaches 700. I then cast and add sprues to keep the temps even. At 1/2 ful, lI have to drop the temp dial to 6 to keep it from going over 750. There is nothing to suggest that your pot will act anything similar to mine. Lee pots and thermometers work well together.

[462]

Ambient temperature will affect the setting, too.

[MtGun44]

Thermometer is unnecessary. The settings mean nothing in particular other than 8 is
hotter then 4. Alloys are all over the map, molds need different temps to work best,
casting rate is the critical variable in mold temp.

Don't over plan and over think this. If the boolits are frosty - so what? That is just
fine if you have nice fill out. If you get good fill out at a lower temp - then, by all means
use the lower temp. I seriously doubt that if I told you what setting I use on my Lee
potts (which I have NO IDEA what they are) it would be almost certainly wrong for
your pot, your alloy, your mold and your casting rate.

Like driving a car down a road. If you are too far left, steer a bit right, don't get a compass
heading and try to correct it a couple of degrees. This is really pretty much seat of the
pants stuff, not rocket science. Kinda like asking "where do you set your steering wheel
when turning left?" Well, I don't know, I adjust it as I go.

I leave my pot where ever it was last set (and maybe knocked around between sessions to a
different value, who knows?) and start casting, as the mold comes up to temp I will adjust the
metal temp up and down and casting rate up and down to get what works well - that session,
with that alloy, and that mold (most are different).

Bill

[mpmarty]

I turn my LEE up all the way and when the lead is liquid at around 700* by thermometer I crank it down to five or six and go to casting. If the temp raises I lower the setting and if it seems to be cooling off I raise it. It's all seat of the pants and the thermometer is a great aid. If you are getting frosted boolits and don't like them slow down and the shine will return.

[sleeper1428]

I start my Lee 4-20 Pro out on a setting of 8 and with my chosen mould resting on the top rim of the pot. With the majority of my moulds I let the pot and mould heat for at least an hour before I begin casting. At that point, it depends on which mould I'm using as to what setting I change the dial to for casting. With moulds such as Miha's brass .380 and 9mm moulds and both SAECO and LYMAN iron moulds in these calibers I will usually keep the dial set at 8 or just below 8 since with the small boolit cavities in these moulds it's hard to keep them hot enough even if you cast quite rapidly. As the mould caliber increases, say to 357 and 40 cal boolits, I will generally lower the dial setting to 6 to 7 which seems to be about right and will give me nice looking boolits on a consistent basis. However, when you get to larger 44 caliber and 45 caliber boolits, especially Miha's brass multi-cavity moulds, I find that I need to lower the dial setting to 5 or just above 5 in order to keep the boolits from coming out frosted. Not that a frosted boolit is bad, it's just that they don't look quite as nice as a smooth, slivery boolit. These settings seem to hold true for most of my SAECO and Lyman moulds but I have to alter them a bit when it comes to casting with Lee moulds, especially the two cavity 340 and 405 gr 45 cal rifle moulds and the six cavity moulds.

I'm finding that Miha's brass moulds are perhaps the most consistent moulds I've ever used and at least to me, they are the easiest to figure out as far as what melt temperature works and how long they need to be pre-heated. I've gotten to a point that I rarely have to make more than two pours before I'm dropping good boolits, no matter which of my 9 MiHec moulds I happen to be using. My old SAECO moulds - purchased about 20 years ago - are a close second and work very much like the brass moulds.

Summing up, I'd say that you might want to try setting your dial somewhere around 8 with your mould resting on top and then give it plenty of time to heat up completely. Alternatively, if you have the room in your casting area - which I don't happen to have - you might want to purchase an inexpensive heating plate on which you can pre-heat your moulds. But regardless of which way you do it, it's important to get the mould hot enough BEFORE you start casting because with the exception of the large caliber rifle boolits, you will have a difficult time getting the mould up to temperature simply by dropping multiple casts. This is especially important if you're casting HP boolits because if you don't get the HP pins hot enough, you'll have all sorts of trouble getting the boolits to drop off the pins.

Hope this helps out. I've been using Lee pots for over 30 years and while they do have a tendency to leak a bit, they certainly will give you excellent service for minimal cost.

sleeper1428