Brand new Lee Pot Pr0 4 #20 Leaking

[TacAlert]

Hello Everyone,
Today, I unboxed my brand new Lee pro 4 20# furnace. When I intially started casting, everything worked fine. Then suddenly after adding more lead, it started leaking until the entire pot emptied out. Luckily, I had a stainless steel mud pan nearby.


I noticed that by lifting the action lever the bar that fills the hole had worked its way completely out of the hole. I let it drain and reassembled. Feeling good about my first cast, I set everything up again. It leaked again.

I know this issue has been discussed ad nauseum, but because the forum follows a discussion format, responses tend to wonder WAAAY off topic. Hence, I am going to pose this question again

How do I get it to stop?

[zxcvbob]

With the furnace hot and the lead melted, use a screwdriver in the slot on top of the valve rod to turn it back and forth to reseat it.

Don't put dirty lead in the furnace, and never run it completely empty.

It's always gonna leak a little except right after you reseat the valve, cuz that's what they do. Keep a drip cup under the spout.

[shotman]

Best way is to add weight to the lift handle . dont use any steel on the wood knob as it gets hot . I used 2 -- 3/8 in bolts bent in U shape an hung on the back near the pot . The pin does need to go in the hole. so need to make sure it does .
But they are small steel and it will float in a 3/4 to full pot
you can "seat" the pin with some sand and a battery drill

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I noticed that by lifting the action lever the bar that fills the hole had worked its way completely out of the hole.

you may have a problem other that the typical drippy problem.

Check all the screws that hold the mechanism in place.
and check them against photo's in the manufacturers literature.
Maybe as simple as a loose screw...maybe a cross threaded screw
that isn't "seated"...because the valve rod (Bar that fills the hole)
shouldn't come completely out of the hole.

Also, make sure the screw that adjusts the flow of molten Lead
is adjusted correctly.
Jon

[mooko]

I have had a leak problem the last couple of times I have used my Lee 20 pounder. But, today, it would only piddle like an old man at a urinal. I tried poking a piece of wire from the bottom of the spout, twirling the spout rod, adjusting the spout rod adjustment screw, etc. Nothing helped. I emptied the pot and removed the spout rod. I couldn't see through the spout. I found a drill that was a tight fit through the spout and poked it through a few times. It pushed out quite a collection of crud including a piece that had been partially plugging the hole. The spout rod was also covered with thick crud. I chucked it in a drill and polished it with 0000 steel wool along the sides as well as the tip. It took about half an hour. Then I fired up the pot and added a couple pounds of clean alloy. When it was melted to temp, I added enough to bring it to half full. After twirling the spout rod once, everything worked fine, and I went on to knock out a fine pile of 454424's
I yhink what may have caused the whole problem was taking internet advice recommending spraying WD40 over the inside of the pot after a casting session. It seems to have left a lot of crud in the pot. Now that it's clean, I will keep it that way. I always use an old cast iron pot and a GI emergency stove to prepare alloy so that only clean stuff goes in the casting pot.

[1bluehorse]

It's been covered here several times, but fluxing with "sawdust" will keep the insides of the pot clear of all the "crud" that otherwise will accumulate in and around the pot. At least it did on mine. It also does the same on the RCBS pot. After I started using "wood particles" for flux the Lee pot I had (ALMOST)stopped leaking completely..give it a try..

[Frozone]

Next time you're at 'Home Depot" or "Lowe's" look for a bin full of 'cute' little vise grips.
They will be about 3" or 4" long. clamp em on the spout rod. you have the extra weight you need, plus a way to spin the rod to remove the crud.

Adjust your spout rod so it just barely opens. That's the screw right beside it on the top.
You can have it so far up the rod will pull all the way out and jamb open - that sound s like what happened to you. you need to adjust that screw for flow rate as the pot empties.

That rod/screw combo can pull away from each other too. a little bending with pliers can make a world of difference.

[Inkman]

Mine leaked occasionally right out of the box. Very sporadically and wasn't a problem. Steadily got worse and now at around 10,000 casts it was a constant drip/dribble.

Took it apart yesterday and cleaned it out real good except for the actual spout as i'm not a handiman with dozens of drill tips at arms length. Used a propane torch and some fine sandpaper on the rod, torched the inside of the spout and scrubbed the inside of the pot real good. Lot's of crud came off.

Put it all back together, fired it up with lead, starting out small mind ya and everything works good. Had another little drip (talking one or two drips a minute). Turned the screw rod back and forth a few times and the drip was virtually gone. If i have to do that every now and then i can live with that. If it gets drippy like it did the last month or so, i'll look into getting a RCBS or Magma pot.

FYI, i do not flux in the Lee pot. Nothing but fluxed lead goes in it. Even stopped using paint sticks to scrape the sides and now use a flat metal piece for that and the bottom.

Al

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Inkman,
Here is how I clean a gunked up spout.

I wrap the valve rod with some steel wool
and install that into the spout, then just
turn the rod with a battery screwdriver for a while.
Jon

[sourceofuncertainty]

I removed the stock wood round grip, made a new one out of a piece of broom handle then put a lead weight into the center (simpler than it sounds - see pic).

This has helped with dripping, though it can and does still drip just a little. But definitely less than before, and the added handle weight gives it a more positive feel.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_132264f6f4c20b21d3.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=4586)

[Inkman]

Inkman,
Here is how I clean a gunked up spout.

I wrap the valve rod with some steel wool
and install that into the spout, then just
turn the rod with a battery screwdriver for a while.
Jon

One thing i had wished i'd done after the fact was to really get that spout cleaned up good. That's a good idea you have. I'll try it if it starts leaking bad again. Thanks!!

Al

[imr380]

It's been covered here several times, but fluxing with "sawdust" will keep the insides of the pot clear of all the "crud" that otherwise will accumulate in and around the pot. At least it did on mine. It also does the same on the RCBS pot. After I started using "wood particles" for flux the Lee pot I had (ALMOST)stopped leaking completely..give it a try..

I had the same experience. Went from terrible drip when fluxing with bullet lube, to almost no drip when fluxing with kitty litter.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

kitty litter? never heard that one? does it form a "cap" to protect the alloy from air or do you juststir and skim like normal?

[TNsailorman]

I have mine adjusted to be able to raise the handle barely enough to fill the mold quickly. I also used 0000 steel wool to polish the rod and the spout as Jon stated above. Someone on here posted this procedure and I tried it and it worked for me. It might have been Jon, I just don't remember where my info came from(bad, bad memory these days). Anyway, my Lee 20 lb. pot leaks a lot less these days. james

[carbine86]

Take an ingot mold and about 2/3 to one side drill a hole and take the handle knob off put the ingot on then the handle back on. This will hold extra pressure to help the issue.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[retread]

Next time you're at 'Home Depot" or "Lowe's" look for a bin full of 'cute' little vise grips.
They will be about 3" or 4" long. clamp em on the spout rod. you have the extra weight you need, plus a way to spin the rod to remove the crud.

Adjust your spout rod so it just barely opens. That's the screw right beside it on the top.
You can have it so far up the rod will pull all the way out and jamb open - that sound s like what happened to you. you need to adjust that screw for flow rate as the pot empties.

That rod/screw combo can pull away from each other too. a little bending with pliers can make a world of difference.

The newer Lee pots do not have a separate Adjusting screw. The mail rod is threaded and slotted. To clear all you can do is turn it back and forth briskly and hope it seals, which is what it will do if the alloy and pot are clean.

[Kraschenbirn]

kitty litter? never heard that one? does it form a "cap" to protect the alloy from air or do you juststir and skim like normal?

Just add enough to the pot to cover the surface...maybe, 1/8" thick...and have at it, stirring once in a while to bring any impurities to the top (where they'll be captured by the litter). I use a generic, vitrified clay litter and change it when the color reaches kind of a steel-wool gray from the crud it's absorbed. Seems to act as an insulation cap, too, holding in heat so element doesn't come on as often.

Bill

[Andy]

If it is leaking nonstop your valve screw (long vertical rod that stops the drain port inside the pot) may not be screwed in enough. If that's the case nothing is wrong with the pot, you just need to use a flathead screwdriver to screw that in more. If it is not in enough it can't seat against the valve body. This is also how you adjust the flow rate of lead coming out of the valve to get the speed you want for casting.

If you have that screwed in where you want it and it is still leaking you can either repair it yourself quite easily or send it back to lee as it shouldn't cost you anything being under warranty. Since this is a thing a lot of people say happens with their pots (and was the case with mine) you may want to just fix it yourself since the warranty item may be no different.

How I fixed mine:
- completely drain pot (I did this to mine before ever putting lead in)
- go to sink and pour some water in, see if it leaks out with valve closed
- if water leaks out I think lead would always leak out too, so this is your benchmark to know if you fixed the problem
- get some abrasive paste like valve lapping compound and put it on the tip of the valve screw
- lower valve screw into place seated on the valve body and rotate back and forth with downward pressure for a minute or two
- take valve screw out, clean thoroughly with q-tips and alcohol to make sure no grit is left in the body or on screw end
- do the water test again
- repeat until it doesn't leak water
- avoid getting any grit down in the valve area as this will cause the leak to restart

I flux with sawdust like a lot of other people have mentioned, I frequently drain the pot completely without seeing any impact on the dripping.

After doing this my lee pot didn't leak for about a year, it started up recently but it is only a drop every 30 seconds or so, and tends to happen only after filling the mold, so it doesn't annoy me very often.

I leave a ingot mold below the spout now to catch the drips so it doesn't make a mess.