Looking for a better bottom pour furnace

[Maximumbob54]

I started with the Lee 20# furnace and didn’t think much of it from the start. The screw that the wooden knob holds came free from the bracket and it took vice grips and the correct curse words to get it tighten up enough to not be wobbly in use. It dripped from the start. I tried clamping vice grips to the top of the pin to add enough weight to help seal the pin and while that helped it made it a pain to lift for pouring the lead. Then the whole thing just stopped working. Instead of figuring out what was wrong I just bought the other offering from Lee in the 10# version. I actually found this to be a much better design with the weighted handle and it heated lead up faster than the larger version. But go figure it runs out of lead twice as fast. Now I have the problem where the lead in the top won’t melt and the lead in the bottom half will melt which I assume expands under temperature and then squirts out the nozzle making a mess. I then have lead splatter everywhere (thank you Lord for reminding me of eye protection that day) and the top half of the lead in the pot stays frozen. This is all done in the garage in Florida on a sunny day where even in the winter afternoons it’s a chilly day of a whole whopping low of in the sixties. Sorry for that Northern brothers…

Bottom line, I’m sick of the Lee offerings and want better. A LOT BETTER.

So I’m willing to start pinching my pennies and saving up for something good. I’ve read a lot of good reviews here about the RCBS furnace and since I’ve had issue with Lyman’s customer service I feel little desire to ever give them business unless it’s for an offering no one else has. Even then I may pass. I’ve also been trying to read up on the Magma Masterpot which seems like a heck of a machine.

What else should I be looking at as a possible upgrade option?

[Reload3006]

I am in the same boat you are. I am leaning very heavily on the Master pot myself. Its a little more coin well a hudred or so more but it also holds twice the volume of alloy. It is the way I intend to go. until then Ole drippy and I are on semi ok terms. I have heard nothing but good from anyone on RCBS and Magma Master pot owners. I have had great service from every RCBS product I have ever owned and anytime I have an issue with a RCBS product a phone call or Email and the problem is taken care of Free of charge. I give the edge to the Master pot only on the basis of volume.

[John Allen]

I upgraded to an rcbs. It is a really nice pot. I am very happy with it. The new lyman looks really nice too.

[Beesdad]

Purchased a new Lee 20 # bottom pour and it dripped from the start.... Pulled the rod and polished the rod and the seat (at the same time) with polishing compound and it eliminated 95 % of the problem... Just a little effort paid with big results.

[gefiltephish]

Purchased a new Lee 20 # bottom pour and it dripped from the start.... Pulled the rod and polished the rod and the seat (at the same time) with polishing compound and it eliminated 95 % of the problem... Just a little effort paid with big results.
Not to pee in your cheerios but....that "fix" works fine until it doesn't, which won't be too long. Maybe you'll get another session or two out of it before it needs to be done again. Ask me how I know. Then again, maybe you're the lucky guy who got the one that will continue working correctly. Good luck.

I think I'll just live with the drip till I can afford to replace it with something much better, even if I have to make my own.

[Beesdad]

Not to pee in your cheerios but....that "fix" works fine until it doesn't, which won't be too long. Maybe you'll get another session or two out of it before it needs to be done again. Ask me how I know. Then again, maybe you're the lucky guy who got the one that will continue working correctly. Good luck.

I think I'll just live with the drip till I can afford to replace it with something much better, even if I have to make my own.

Have dispensed 60 + lbs. and the repair has held. I make an effort to keep the pot very clean to prevent anything from clogging the rod and seat. Prior to the polishing I could see machine marks on the rod under a 7 x scope, after a few minutes of polishing they were all removed. I could not live with the constant drips.....

[MikeS]

I have a Lee 20lb pot, actually I'm on my second Lee 20lb pot! I really could have fixed my first one, but I'm lazy and it was just easier to buy a second pot. I'll probably make my old pot into a ladle only pot by sealing the hole in the bottom and getting rid of all the bottom pour hardware. The pot I would really like to get is the 40lb pot that Magma sells, but it's quite a bit of money! The other pot I'm considering is the new 25lb pot Lyman is coming out with. I don't know much about the Lyman pot, and I'm not sure if I want to buy the first generation of a new product, so I'll probably just stick with my new Lee pot for a while, hopefully it'll last me long enough that the Lyman pot can come out, and let them work out any problems it might have before I buy one. I think it's supposed to come with a PID built into it, that's a nice feature, even tho I already have a PID controller that I use with my Lee pot.

One thing I thought was interesting is my new Lee pot came with a metal handle to dispense the lead rather than the wood one on my first one. I guess that's supposed to help weigh down the rod to stop any leaks, but while putting it on I managed to snap off the screw, so I ended up using the wood handle off my original pot. I never had a problem with my pot leaking like so many other people have, I also never put anything but clean lead ingots in the pot, I use a cast iron dutch oven over a turkey fryer to melt down any dirty lead, flux it till it's clean lead then make ingots.

[AnthonyB]

I can highly recommend the Magma 90 pound pot, but it is overkill for almost everything. It was great for producing large amounts of BD45 boolits when we first ran that design, and I'm still shooting from the same run.
Tony

[Maximumbob54]

Still looking for other options before I pick either the RCBS or Magma options.

I thought for sure I would learn of some company I've never heard of.


Edit: Even with my distrust of all things Lyman now I do have to admit that new offering from them is tempting.

[bobthenailer]

A+ on the RCBS pro melt ! been using one for over 20 years with O problems and many 100,000 of bullets made.

[wymanwinn]

been casting with a Master Caster for about 8 years now....had a "drip-o-matic" until mid 2012...bought a RCBS ProMelt for the BCPR and Big Lube bullets i use in Cowboy Action....

i firmly believe the combo of the MC and ProMelt cannot be beat.....

wyman

[Matt_G]

Been using the same RCBS Pro Melt for about 25 years now.
Love that thing.
I've been doing a lot of casting with different mixes and was tiring of having to change out alloy.
So now I have 2 RCBS pots in the house.
I also have a 20# drip-a-matic and I plugged it and turned it into a ladle only pot.
I have it full of whatever alloy I am casting and use a big ladle to transfer lead from it to my RCBS pot.
Then put ingots in the Lee and it comes up to temp while I cast out of the RCBS.
Work real well for me.
So it's kind of like having a 40# Magma pot...kind of, sort of...

[MattOrgan]

I tend to agree that the RCBS #20 pot is about the best option. Had one for abut 25 years with zero problems. If I do I know RCBS will take care of me. Still have my Lee bottom pour too and wouldn't be unhappy if its all I had. Lee enabled me to start casting for a song and Lee brought sanity to the entire reloading/casting business and I really appreciate that.

[Cane_man]

nube question: if you have a Lee "Drip O Matic", cant you just put a cast iron ingot mold (or something similar) underneath the spout and save these "drippings" for later to throw in the pot during your next smelting session?

[finishman2000]

I have the magma MC and bought the reg base so I can use it with my non mc molds. great tool. i have both a single and the double hole pour which can speed things up.

[dragon813gt]

nube question: if you have a Lee "Drip O Matic", cant you just put a cast iron ingot mold (or something similar) underneath the spout and save these "drippings" for later to throw in the pot during your next smelting session?

Yes, you can. But at times the drip can become a steady stream. It's more of an annoyance than a problem. And if it's dripping there is always a chance that it could suddenly let the entire contents of the pot go. That would be rare but still a possibility.

[joesig]

nube question: if you have a Lee "Drip O Matic", cant you just put a cast iron ingot mold (or something similar) underneath the spout and save these "drippings" for later to throw in the pot during your next smelting session?

I find after a short while, the hot lead splatters 600+degree glitter all over everything. Messy and painful depending on where it gets you. A twist or two per the instructions fixes it for a while. For the price of a cheap screwdriver, the pot is a good deal.

[Maximumbob54]

There are just too many good reviews of the RCBS Pro Melt so I'm pulling the trigger on a used model that comes shipping included with a nice price tag. The new Lyman with what looks to be a built in PID was tempting but I have zero desire to be a first gen tester with Lyman's usually poor customer service.

[Lloyd Smale]

the three most popular will be lyman rcbs and magma it order of there cost. All are a giant step about a lee in quality and for the most part are worth the money each cost.

[historicfirearms]

I bet my rcbs has melted (literally) tons of lead. It's still going strong, I love it.

[ffries61]

My RCBS is getting close to 25 years old and still works fine.

[Springfield]

If you only cast a potfull of lead at a time the RCBS is great. If you are going to be making larger batches then the Magma 40 lb pot is the way to go as it is 1500 watts instead of 800 and it can take you just shoving in ingots as long as you want. It also has the option of using a 2 hole pouring spout, helps speed thing up, especially with 6 cavity moulds. Someone said their LEE pot is still drip proof after 60 lbs. Wow. For me that would be 2 hours of casting with my Magma. Different tools for different jobs. I have rarely been disappointed by buying better than I need, but I sure can't say the opposite. I have had 3 LEE's, and still have my RCBS and my Magma. The RCBS I now just use for casting pure lead balls, keeps me from having to empty out the Magma.

[dromia]

I have two RCBS Promelts and couldn't be happier with them, came close to buying a Magma once but I don't really need that capacity. 20lbers with different alloya suit me better, I'm going to give the new Lyman 25lb pot a go when it comes out. Used a Mag 20 in the past and found it to be a good pot too.

[Jack Stanley]

The idea of buying better than you think you need is a good one . I've used the concept for years and have had less equipment headaches over the years for it . I still use the Pro-melt that I bought in the late seventies , if you need more capacity then Magma might be the way to go .

Untill you get your cash saved up , why not build a solid frame to hold your drippy Lee over the not-so-drippy LEE . At least that way you won't be running out of lead so soon The down side is you won't be able to walk away from it or you will have silver puddles on the bench . I saw a picture of a couple Pro-melts set up this way , the idea was to maintain a steady pressure from the bottom pot . The valves were linked so they opened and closed at the same time .

Jack

[murf205]

Listen, brother, I "feel your pain" I have used a drippy Lee for 30 yrs before I got off the $ and bought an RCBS Pro Melt. In short, it is the best casting experience I've ever had. The mold guide is infinately adjustable and the thermostat actually workd like the graduations indicate. I tried a Lyman years ago but the heating element kept going out just when you need to cast,so, I bought the "green" one and never looked back. Yeah, I know they are $400, and imo they're worth every penny!!
Murf

[Maximumbob54]

I have now had a short time to test and enjoy the used but new to me RCBS Pro Melt and I have decided that it's not going to get much better than this without a whole lot of money.

This is better than sliced bread turned into buttered toast. Not a single drip from a very well thought out design in the needle that stops the flow, what felt like a ton of lead heated and ready to go, I love the super easy to adjust flow rate built into the arm for how high you raise it, and in what I thought would just be a quick test a few nights ago I actually cast up more than I ever have in the same amount of time with either of my Lee 10# or 20# units.

To anyone that is still sitting on the fence trying to justify the cost increase of the RCBS over the Lee, honestly here... just bite the bullet on the cost and you won't know how much better off you will be until you fire the thing up for the first time. It's really rare that I'm beyond impressed enough to gush this mush about a product or device but this furnace is just that good. If I were ten years younger I might even say it's the shnizzle. Or whatever. I'm finally beyond that age group.

[novalty]

Glad to hear your happy with the Pro-Melt. I am still waiting for Grafs to ship mine out, and think I will be happy to have it as my first furnace.

[Don Purcell]

I whole heartedly agree with Jack Stanley. Buy more than you think you can afford and get quality. As you use it you will forget about the price and be well satisfied. If you go cheap you will be reminded of the **** every time you use it!

[Chilmonty]

I currently have this on order from OpticsPlanet although it is not available yet, expected in about 2 weeks.
I can't wait to try it! Lymans newest, it holds 25#s of alloy, has a built in PID, a mold warmer, and fully adjustable mold bracket.
Basically everthing everyone is looking for here, and only $259 shipped!
65645

[jmort]

^ That looks real nice and well thought out. Price seems fair based on features/pictures. Would like to see your review. Thanks

[Chilmonty]

Yeah I think this pot has been mentioned in another thread. Wonder if Lyman has been lurking here?? ;)

[dromia]

It has also been mentioned earlier on this thread see post No. 23.