Bottom Pour Level

[onesonek]

Another post elsewhere on the board, had me wondering. I decided to ask what other's are doing, so if this has covered before, I apologize.
When do you add alloy, or in ortherwords, what level do you replenish ?

[bobthenailer]

Usually 1/4 to 1/3 less than the full level . but never less than 1/2

[pastor]

the ingots i use are about 1lb each and i add them as soon as the pot will let me, i find if i keep the level as high as i can there is less temp swings and less waiting

[runfiverun]

i keep mine topped off.
i store the ingots right on top of the pot,on a steel plate.
i can keep 10-12 lbs stacked right there easily and i just slide one in as needed.
and the temp doesn't change.

the 10 lb pot is the only one i let go down as i only use it for single cavity molds,that one i run down to maybe 60% then top off while i take a break.
i like to keep the alloy stream pressure pretty consistent.

[geargnasher]

Usually I run mine from full down to about 1/3, with one valve adjustment at about 2/3. By then I'm ready for a break so I pile it full of pre-warmed ingots and wait for it all to come up to temp so I can flux and do a little mould maintenance, plus make more room on the drop pile.

I've run "marathon" sessions with high-capacity moulds where I ran the pot pretty much full-blast and added warm ingots as I went, but it makes for a tired caster after a while keeping up the pace and works best with a PID controller while working just under the max recovery capacity of the furnace.

Gear

[40Super]

I usually add one lb ingots as soon as I can, sometimes I'll let it go down a couple lbs but as long as my ingots are preheated on the pot or on the hotplate the temp doesn't drop.
Recently I got a second pot above my 20# so it melts the lead and when my bottom pot needs more I can just open the valve and fill it up. Then I drop some ingots in the top pot. I haven't cast much with it since I got it setup, but it sure is going to be nice when I need to replentish my bullet supplies and get into some 1000-1500 bullet sesions.

[Down South]

Usually I run mine from full down to about 1/3, with one valve adjustment at about 2/3. By then I'm ready for a break so I pile it full of pre-warmed ingots and wait for it all to come up to temp so I can flux and do a little mould maintenance, plus make more room on the drop pile.

That's pretty close to exactly what I do.

[btroj]

I run men way down. By then I am beat and need a break. I set those bullets aside to cool, add more lead, and take a break.
I rarely cast more than 2 20 pounds pots in one day. I can get over 1000 handgun bullets from 2 pots, I don't need more than that at once.

[runfiverun]

i forgot to mention i use a 40 lb pot.
i don't think it has an empty on the guage.
i run out of rom for boolits before i get close to empty.
so i just keep the ingots warm and the pot full.
i can adjust flow rate with a flick of the wrist and a screwdriver but never have needed to.

[williamwaco]

Another post elsewhere on the board, had me wondering. I decided to ask what other's are doing, so if this has covered before, I apologize.
When do you add alloy, or in ortherwords, what level do you replenish ?

The lower it goes, the longer it will take to recover temperature when you add ingots.

In a 20 pound pot, I like to keep it nearly full, maybe 2" or less below full. At this level, I can add a couple of ingots and keep on casting.

If I let it get down to half full and replenish it with 4 or 5 ingots, It will cool off so much that I have to wait for it to recover.


If I am using a 10 pound pot, I return sprues and culls to the pot immediately to keep it as full and hot as possible.


.
.

[dragonrider]

Never less than half.

[popper]

Like btroj, I need the break - to dry out the safety clothes and rehydrate myself!

[Old Caster]

I have a Waage 20 pound pot next to my Pro Melt and since I pressure pour any mold that will handle it, I want my column height to be pretty consistant and when the pot goes down about an inch and a half I dip some molten lead from the Waage to the RCBS so my pressure never varies much. Which mold I am using makes a difference in what height (pressure) I want in the pouring pot. If I have a mold that won't take pressure pouring, the column height is rather unimportant unless that changes the temperature as it goes down. I don't seem to have that problem but the pot is never playing temperature catch up and other brands of pots might change with column height. If I do pour from near full and go way down, it is important to constantly adjust how fast the pour is coming out so it can remain fairly consistant. I usually only do this when I am out of lead from the same mix and am going to start on a new batch. The important thing to realize is that while you can learn a lot about different techniques on this site, which mold technique you need to use, even within the same manufacture, can vary somewhat with how much your bullet weighs or whether it is short and fat or long and skinny. -- Bill --

[shadowcaster]

I let mine run down to within an inch of the bottom, but then I have 2 Lee 20# pots side by side. You are always going to have the initial heat up time, but by having 2 pots, 1 will always be full of hot alloy ready to go while the other is melting new ingots and reheating. It works for me!

Shad

[ShooterAZ]

I have a Lee 20 pound pot. I like to replenish around 3/4 to 2/3 full. I add the sprue back after a dozen casts or so. If you get below 1/2 and add a bunch of sprue or cold alloy, you may freeze your pot spigot and have to wait until it comes back up to temperature again. This is a pain when you have your mold at the perfect temperature for casting. If this does happen, put the mold back on the hot plate until you can pour again. FYI, 625 degrees is the shizzle for me and my alloy.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Usually I run mine from full down to about 1/3, with one valve adjustment at about 2/3. By then I'm ready for a break so I pile it full of pre-warmed ingots and wait for it all to come up to temp so I can flux and do a little mould maintenance, plus make more room on the drop pile.Gear

I use to add an ingot to top off a near full pot.
Seems I would have issues with the valve/pour spout.
either gunked up, freezing, or dripping.
Also I had a hard time maintaining a constant Temp.
and obviously a constant temp means a consistant batch of boolits.

Now I follow Gear's regiment.
I use a stock Lee pro 4-20.
Since I have switched to NOT adding ingots,
I rarely have the problems I use too.

Only other thing I would mention, is I leave
about 1/2" of dross/CFF to insulate the alloy.
The alloy temp now stays much more consistant.

and I will add sprues, ONLY IF the dross/CFF will support
the sprues, so they don't sink...and create the problems mentioned above.
Jon

[Walter Laich]

add as soon as there is room for an ingot. With PID the temp stays constant (20# pot)

[Mal Paso]

I don't add anything until I start to loose pressure, then I fill it back up and take a break. I've been running the PID Controller at 650F, 3 1/2-4 casts a minute. Too cold and no time to add alloy anyway. I get a drip every few pot fulls with my Lee 4-20. I get about 10# of Boolits in 20 minutes. I got a second pot but I don't want to work that hard.

[GP100man]

Never while casting , but add sprues & ingots on a break.

[1Shirt]

I usually go to about 1/2" from the bottom, then take a break to fill the pot, and take a break until I am ready to start casting. Depends on the size of blt I am casting. Big difference between casting 22's and 457's. Big difference between a single/double cav mold and a 6 cav. lee as well.
1Shirt!:coffeecom

[mold maker]

I usually add one lb ingots as soon as I can, sometimes I'll let it go down a couple lbs but as long as my ingots are preheated on the pot or on the hotplate the temp doesn't drop.
Recently I got a second pot above my 20# so it melts the lead and when my bottom pot needs more I can just open the valve and fill it up. Then I drop some ingots in the top pot. I haven't cast much with it since I got it setup, but it sure is going to be nice when I need to replentish my bullet supplies and get into some 1000-1500 bullet sesions.

Same here. The second pot makes it lots simpler. A tube hanging below the melt top insures no splash from the bottom pot while refilling.

[Echo]

the ingots i use are about 1lb each and i add them as soon as the pot will let me, i find if i keep the level as high as i can there is less temp swings and less waiting

+1 - And I replenish from an ingot placed on top of the furnace to warm. Drop it in, and replace, and press on...

[captaint]

When I get down to half full, I'm dropping heated ingots back in. This is way more important for the Pro Melt than the dippin pot. Mike

[LabGuy]

I mix my alloy in the pot (Lyman Mag 20). Then I usually cast until it’s empty. Take a break and start over, if I feel like it. I don’t add ingots, sprues or stalagmites. I keep a few old metal coffee cans around with different alloys of sprues, when there is enough and I want to cast with that alloy, I pour it in the pot for the next batch.