Cleaning out a Lee 20 lb Bottom pour pot

[JWFilips]

Well It has been some time since last I had my Lee 20lb pot empty... That 's because of all the help I got here (from Gear, RunFive & Duke of Maine and a few others) about super scrubbing my smelts and then compounding my casting alloys with super clean metal before they even get near my casting pot. This has enabled me to be "speck free" in my boolit casting for most of the year.
However over the past two casting sessions I'm starting to see some ash deposits getting into the castings and nozzle of the bottom pour pot. Not grit, mind you, just some small various size flakes of what appear to be black ash ( they actually will rub off the outer parts of the cast boolit but do leave a slight impression.
Now this is bugging the heck out of me so I decided to drain & clean my pot.

Since my alloys are as clean as I can get them before going into my casting pot I only reduce with beeswax & only scrape with metal tools. I don't use sawdust or wood sticks in my casting pot just in my smelting & cleaning pots.

How best to clean out the drained pot? I have wire brushed it in the past but I guess that is not the safest thing to do

[Moonman]

Try putting some BOILING WATER into a COLD AND EMPTY POT.

Don't use the pot to Boil the water though.

Scrub/Scrape from there to see what JUNK comes loose.

[Sasquatch-1]

I have used an old bore brush attached to a drill for the sides and one of the cup brushes for a dremel on the bottom. While casting I use a small amount of plumbers flux when I start and it seems to help keep the pot clean. No scientific proof of that just my observation.

[bhn22]

You can wire brush it, just use your shop vacuum at the same time to pick up the dust. Then wash it out with water as described above. Water removes a lot of deposits.

[Airman Basic]

Try putting some BOILING WATER into a COLD AND EMPTY POT.

Don't use the pot to Boil the water though.

Scrub/Scrape from there to see what JUNK comes loose.
Curious, why not use the pot to boil the water?

[imashooter2]

Curious, why not use the pot to boil the water?

Just on the face of it, it would be less convenient to have to handle a pot with a hot element when doing your cleaning.

[JWFilips]

Well after it coold I pulled the bottom wafer of lead alloy from the pot....The bottom was littered with black ash! Every melt I carefully fluxed ( Or should I say reduced) using my very clean boolit alloy every session....... With much scraping the bottom of the pot with steel utinsels No extra Sawdust or wooden stick **** allowed..... Even when the sprues were added back they were floated until they stayed on top... How does this junk get under the melt next to the spout!

[Moonman]

Airman Basic,

Using exterior boiled water does not put extra strain on your pot.