About my Lee 4-10 not dripping, I Lied

[Mal Paso]

Actually after hundreds of pounds of alloy and months of nearly dripless operation It made a liar of me. Like the old days it dripped between every pour. I emptied the pot but there wasn't much crud on the bottom. I pulled the lead out of the valve hole and the valve seat was covered with a yellowish white deposit like lime. The valve stem was coated, not as much but I'm showing it as I couldn't get a decent picture inside the pot.
Whatever it was bronze wool removed it. Test pot number 4 is coming up to temp right now and I'm back to nearly dripless operation. ( It's not unusual to go a couple pots between drips. )

[AR-15 Cowboy]

Mine doesn't drip at all. But I only use processed alloys in it. I think the drippers are because people clean ww and other stuff and get crud on the bar.

[1bluehorse]

Well I'd say you fellas are a couple of the more fortunate ones. Mine dripped every time I used it and I didn't smelt in it. Used "clean" ingots. I do agree that the biggest issue with the Lee pot dripping is obviously a dirty spout, also the light weight "needle" doesn't help. Admittedly after I started fluxing with sawdust which seems to keep the pot much cleaner, the dripping definatly slowed but didn't stop altogether. Still had to keep a screwdriver handy and keep the flow level down....glad to hear you're having such good luck with yours. Mine no longer resides on my bench, it was replaced with a better brand..

[AR-15 Cowboy]

The only reason I bought the Lee was price, it was the best for the money at the time. Maybe if enough people complain to Lee they will improve the system. It wouldn't cost much to use a thicker bar.

[Mal Paso]

The only reason I bought the Lee was price, it was the best for the money at the time. Maybe if enough people complain to Lee they will improve the system. It wouldn't cost much to use a thicker bar.

Actually a thicker valve rod wouldn't help. Steel is lighter than lead and larger would be lighter.

BUT I should have included that 4 large washers hang from the screw behind the pour knob. I stole that idea from another member some time ago.

And this is the 2nd Generation Pot. Anyone know when the production change happened?

[Dman4321]

I bought My 4-10 Lee pot knowing full well that it would drip and leak, but I also know that i cant justify buying a really nice bottom pour. I also added weight to the handle, which helps, but i find that just twisting the rod every time I add ingots(All clean and processed) keeps it running fairly well, and flux regularly also helps. This has almost become as regular to me as adding lube to my Lubrisizer, and only takes a moment to correct the drip issue.

[Mal Paso]

Yes and you can cast as good a quality boolit as with any other pot. Might have to work a bit harder but it leaves more money for powder and primers.

Unlimited budget? I'd have an RCBS of Magma fed with a float valve ( to keep pot full ) from one of those Linotype melters with an automatic chainfall that feeds those huge ingots. All PID Controlled. Someone here built 2 very similar units side by side. WOW!

[AR-15 Cowboy]

I plan on building a PID for mine. I think a constant temperature may improve the leak problem some. It certainly will help me cast better boolits.

[Mal Paso]

A PID and a Hotplate have changed my casting. You can be instantly "In the Zone" and focus on hitting that hole with alloy and dropping boolits.

[AR-15 Cowboy]

A hotplate is my next purchase. I've been looking for months at yard sales but no luck.