10 or 20 lb Lee Pot?

[tomf52]

Other than the obvious difference in capacity is there any real advantage to one over the other? Is one valve system better than the other, etc? Thanks for any help with this.

[gofastman]

i have both and feel the 20lb pot is much better

[Frozone]

+1

I have both - get the 20#.
The 10# is a true dripomatic and you can't do a lot about it.
It also doesn't allow you to adjust flow.

[ReloaderFred]

I don't own any Lee pots, but I can tell you that you should get the biggest you can. I started with a Lyman 10 lb. pot in 1971, then went to a 20 lb. pot about 15 years later, and now use a 40 lb. pot (Master Caster). Sometimes even the 40 lb. pot seems too small, but that's as big as I'm going.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[500MAG]

Just like the rest, I have both. The reason we all have both, we either weren't smart enough to ask (like you), or we thought 10 lbs would be big enough. Yeah, right. Get the 20lb, at less than $10 difference. I do like having both because I don't have to change alloy mixes. Also, by keeping the spout cleaned out I don't have any drip problem with either.

[geargnasher]

Don't waste your time or money on the 10lb pot, get the Pro-4-20.

Gear

[GP100man]

Having owned both , opt for the 20#

I did use my 10#er for small runs of harder rifle alloys & it seemed nice not to have 20# of alloy or cast boolits that was`nt gonna work like I expected .

But hey I can always fill the 20#er half full rite ??? or half empty ???

Get the 20#

[leadtater]

Ditto on the 20 pounder. I bought a 10er but it wasnt big enough. I use it for softer stuff like round balls for the flinters.

[GT27]

My 10 lb'er makes those little "coin slugs" as fast,if not faster than I can cast boolits,20 lb. "hands down"!

[462]

Add me to the "have them both" camp, and suggest you buy the 20-pounder. Better yet, buy two because you'll end up casting with more than one type of alloy.

Judicious lapping of the rods and spouts, proper fluxing, and the ocassional cleaning will virtually eliminate the dripping.

[454PB]

I owned two of the 10 pound pots before they even made the 20 pound. I still use the smaller pots when I'm running small lots or light boolits, and I've brazed one spout shut and removed the valve for ladle casting.

It's a bit of overkill to fire up a 20 pound pot to cast 55 grain .224" boolits.

[runfiverun]

that's funny the alloy i use for my 55 gr 223's [and one or two other boolit molds] is in my 20 lb pot.
i use the 10 lb pots for swaging cores and single cav molds..
the 40 lb pots are the workhorses.

[Elkins45]

Add my vote to all the others saying get the 20# pot.

[WilliamDahl]

My last few casting runs were for 405 gr bullets for my .45-70. The 20 lb pot works, but I definitely wish that it was a bit larger. If you have a 2-cavity mold for fairly light bullets, the 20 might not be needed, but if you're running 2 molds, each with 6 cavities and in 200+ gr per cavity range, you'll start noticing that you have to wait on the mold to heat up the new ingots that you add to the pot.

Besides, you can always run the 20 lb pot at 10 lbs, but you can't run the 10 lb pot at 20...

[handyman25]

I purchased a 10 pound, a mistake. Buy the 20 pound.

[WilliamDahl]

The 10 lb pot is actually more expensive than the 20 lb pot since you spend more time waiting for it to heat up after adding new ingots and thus you drink more beer.

[PDshooter]

+1

I have both - get the 20#.
The 10# is a true dripomatic and you can't do a lot about it.
It also doesn't allow you to adjust flow.

I concur..."Drip-O-Matic"


Yep I had a 10# for many,many years...Wish I would have bought the 20# years sooner!:drinks:

[largom]

Like many others I bought the 10# pot before there was a 20#. I now have the 20# and only use the 10# for small boolits or alloy testing.

Larry

[Smokin7mm]

Like many others I bought the 10# pot before there was a 20#. I now have the 20# and only use the 10# for small boolits or alloy testing.

Larry

Ditto. I now use my 10# pot strictly for pure lead for muzzleloader stuff and for castig billets for my lead wire extruder

Bret

[RobsTV]

Just don't try to stuff 20 lbs in the Pro 4-20.
I could only barely fit 17 lbs, which make things difficult when mixing an alloy.

[gofastman]

I would advise you, whichever way you go, to lap the pintle to its seat and add a few washers under the valve handle/weight.

I did this on my 20lb pot when it was new and it never leaks.

The 10lb pot leaks significantly less than it did before the rework, but is still a "drip-o-matic"

[John in WI]

I got a 10# Lee to save some money. And it's just small enough that the 100 or so ingots I have don't quite fit (they get caught on the valve rod) . It is a HUGE step ahead of my old method--a ladel and a pot on a Colman stove, but I still should have went the extra $10 for the 20#

[engineer401]

The 10 lb pot is actually more expensive than the 20 lb pot since you spend more time waiting for it to heat up after adding new ingots and thus you drink more beer.

A little beer never hurt anyone. I own a 10 pound drip-o-matic. It does not drip much.......Seriously. I keep a paper clip and a screw driver handy. I've considered purchasing a 20 pound furnace but keep thinking the larger pot means I spend less time doing something I've come to enjoy. I have no regrets using the 10 pounder.

[WilliamDahl]

A little beer never hurt anyone. I own a 10 pound drip-o-matic. It does not drip much.......Seriously. I keep a paper clip and a screw driver handy. I've considered purchasing a 20 pound furnace but keep thinking the larger pot means I spend less time doing something I've come to enjoy. I have no regrets using the 10 pounder.

So, you're saying that you prefer the 10 pounder because it gives you more time to drink? OK, I guess I can understand that logic... I've found that the 20 pounder fits my casting and drinking rhythm better... Maybe it's because my beer mug is 32 oz... :)

:drinks:

[Fishman]

I have the ten lb lee and just recently got a PID controller. Depending on how much an ingot is preheated and other factors, alloy temp drops between 60 and 120 degrees F when one is added. Enough so that casting when with a six cavity it is difficult to maintain alloy temp. Now for a two cavity caster, it works great. I don't have much trouble with dripping at all.

However, I will be getting a 20 lb very soon. I ended up with a ten lb because I was a broke married college student and it was used. Quantum leap forward at the time. I cast a lot of marginal quality boolits with it but sure had fun.

[Jeff82]

I can't add much to what's been said other than that 20 lbs sounds like a lot, but the internal dimensions of the pot are only about 4" wide by about 3.5" deep. Still pretty compact. Most people get the bottom pour version. I prefer the 20 lb pot without the bottom pour feature.

[MT Gianni]

Get the 17 lb pot that Lee calls a 20. No contest and the best value in casting pots.

[454PB]

You can actually get 20 pounds of pure lead into the pot, but if you put a dipper in, it will overflow.

[Del-Ray]

Indeed get the 20, I have the the "ten pounder". And the best thing I can say is "it isn't".

[WilliamDahl]

Indeed get the 20, I have the the "ten pounder". And the best thing I can say is "it isn't".

Another thing to consider is the size of the ingots that you are producing from your smelting pot. I produce fairly large ingots so that they store easier, but that means that the casting pot needs to be about half empty before I add a new ingot when I'm casting. That slows things down a bit even with a 20 lb pot, but it would be a lot worse with a 10 lb pot (if the ingot would even *fit* in the 10 lb pot).

[tomf52]

Gentlemen - Thank you all for your input. A 20 pounder it will be!

[WilliamDahl]

Gentlemen - Thank you all for your input. A 20 pounder it will be!

Then you better close the thread before someone says that you really need a 50 pounder... :)

[Bob Busetti]

I bought a 10 lb melter first. About a year later I bought a 20 lb melter used. Hardly ever use the 10 lb anymore. Mainly because I cast alot of 45 & 50 caliber bullets.
Bob

[tomf52]

As luck would have it, my new Midway flyer came today and the 20 pounder is on sale. Just put the order in.

[RobsTV]

As luck would have it, my new Midway flyer came today and the 20 pounder is on sale. Just put the order in.

I strongly suggest everyone that reloads get a simply $30 (for 3 years) C&R license.
It will pay for itself many times over during the first year.

No need to wait for sale flyers. Everyday low prices sometimes 30% off, depending on retailer.

The normal everyday price at Grafs for this pot is:

LEE PRO 4-20 LEAD MELTER 110 VOLT (20lb CAPACITY) (LEE90947)
1 in cart -- $52.99 each (midway sale price $58.50)

other related everyday prices:

LEE LEAD HARDNESS TESTER w/BALL INDENT/MICROSCOPE (LEE90924)
1 in cart -- $45.99 each (midway sale price $53)

FED PRIMER SMALL PISTOL MAGNUM MATCH 5000/CS (FDGM200M)
1 in cart -- $119.99 each (midway price $159)

LEE MOULD 365-95-1R DBL CAVITY (LEE90466)
1 in cart -- $15.89 each (midway price $19.50)

WIN POWDER 231 4LB 2/CS (WIN2314)
1 in cart -- $62.99 each (Midway price $72)

Total savings $64 with this example.