RCBS Pro-melt First Impressions

[Jeff82]

About four months ago I decided to bite the bullet and pick up an RCBS Pro-melt. Since then I've run about 2,000 rounds threw it, and have formed the following impressions:

1-I usually melt and blend lead in my Lee 20-lb pot. It's faster, and I'd like to flux in the Lee pot to keep the crud out of the Pro-melt. The Pro-melt seems pretty finicky about melting ingots. Seems like it needs to have about two-inches of lead lining the pot before it melts well. Once there is enough molten lead in the pot, then it's got plenty of power. My Lee pot is better in this regard.

2-It doesn't leak, and bottom pouring speeds up the production process.

3-The temperature control really doesn't maintain a constant temperature, or anything close. I need to adjust it almost as often as I have to adjust my Lee pots; well, maybe not quite that much. This is my major disappointment with the Pro-Melt. For the money I was hoping for better.

4-It's easy to maintain and clean, and seems well built.


Conclusion: I like it. I'm not sure the huge premium I paid over the Lee pots is worth it, but it's definitely an improvement. I'm hoping that I just haven't quite figured out all of its quirks yet, and that I'll come to appreciate it more as I do.

[ph4570]

Put a PID on it.

[Beagle333]

Frozone will fix you up!:D

I been sittin' on the fence on a new pot. I know I would love a Pro Melt, but I keep hoping the new Lyman 25 will be even better..... only time will tell.
So... it's still the Lee 20#'er with a PID for me.

[btroj]

Outside the fact they both melt and pour lead I'm not sure that a Lee and RCBS pot can be compared

[dragon813gt]

Sure they can. They are both designed to perform the same task. A direct comparison is easy to perform. There will never be a "winner" because it's up to each individual to decide what's best for them.

[Vinne]

Dragon is right. It is the same reason some people drive a Kia and others drive a BMW!! They both get you around but at what price and features.

[btroj]

This is more of a Yugo vs Tpypta comparison.

One works, the other works and doesn't need fiddling. My RCBS needed 20 plus years to start dripping. My Lee needed 20 minutes.

[dikman]

My RCBS needed 20 plus years to start dripping. My Lee needed 20 minutes.

:lol::lol:

[w5pv]

I have an old Lyman that will drip sometime and the next time will be dry.I find when it starts to drip most of the time I can jack the handle a few times pretty hard and fast and it will stop for a while.

[cbrick]

One works, the other works and doesn't need fiddling. My RCBS needed 20 plus years to start dripping. My Lee needed 20 minutes.

I think it would be more accurate to say . . .

One can be made to work and the other works.

I don't buy any tools for the purpose of seeing how much fiddling they need to get them to do what I bought them to do.

Rick

[farmerjim]

My Lee does not drip. (yet)

[Jeff82]

Actually, my Lee pot is not a bottom pour. I bought the RCBS to switch to bottom pour casting.

[.30/30 Guy]

I used a Lyman bottom pour for many years. I decided that I wanted more capacity so I got a Lee 20 pounder. After using a Lyman the Lee drove me up the wall. I could not get a consistent flow from the Lee. Each pour had a different flow from the Lee nozzle.

I bought a RCBS and have never looked back. The RCBS gives a more consistent flow than the old Lyman.

It is not about the drips but rather the consistent flow you get when you operate the handle!

[bobthenailer]

I beleve you are not to let the RCBS pots level of alloy go as low as 2" ,I personaly never let mine go lower than 1/2 full. I personaly have no problem with the rcbs pot keeping up with my 8 cavity Saeco moulds , i only use 1 mould at a time and can make 1,200 to 1,400 bullets per hour and never let the pot get much lower than 2 inches from full and add preheated ingots from a hot plate @approx 400 degrees .

[Hardcast416taylor]

Come to think about it? I`ve had my RCBS pot waaaaay over 20 years and it just started to get a runny nose problem this year. It is a minor nuisance, but doesn`t stop the casting run. My LEE pots still sit on the shelf and watch in envy since I don`t use either of them any more.Robert

[captaint]

My ProMelt holds a very consistent temp. If I add ingots, it changes then, certainly. I don't let mine get more than half empty either. By always keeping a thermometer in the melt, I see any changes in temp. After 20+ years, if the ProMelt stopped working, I'd buy another one. Mike

[Doc_Stihl]

My 3 pro melts hold temperature very reliably. If you add ingots you're going to get a drop, nothing is going to change that. I usually pour my pot down about half way, toss my sprues back in, and then add ingots then. While that's coming back to temp I sort bullets, cull, and move. Then it's ready again.

When I'm done, I leave the pot about half full. I've tried quarter full and it feels like it brings a full pot to temp quicker when the pot was left half full from the previous pour. I have one pot that drips from time to time. I open the spout and pull down hard a couple times and it usually clears it up.

[trixter]

I find that my (loaner) RCBS pot only fluctuates 50 to 75 degrees. I keep a thermometer in it all the time. I cast at 750 degrees and when it gets about 1/3 full I add sprues and ingots , take a pee break and when I come back it is usually up to temp and ready to go again. I love it. If the owner ever reclaims it I will get on of my own.

[375RUGER]

Don't mess with the thermostat. Just set it slightly on the high side of where you want to be. If you have a mould that doesn't like the lead on the cool end, drop a thermometer in it and when the temp is down don't cast, wait till it comes back up.
The themostat does have a wide differential and I think it should be narrower.

[dikman]

One of the mods I did to mine was to remove the nut on the flow rate adjustment screw and replace it with a suitable spring, as I found I was tweaking the flow rate a bit (particularly if it froze - once I cleared it I let a decent flow through it to make sure). This way I can adjust it easily without any tools.

[leadman]

My RCBS pot is from 1986 and the first thermostat keep about a 10 degree range, then it starting swing 30 degrees or more so called RCBS and they sent me a new thermostat. It had a 50 degree swing so called RCBS again and they sent another thermostat. Same thing, called and spoke with a tech and 50 degrees is their new standard. I made a pid and brazed a mount for the thermocouple to the bottom of the pot. Now I have a 3 degree swing.
In the instructions it says to leave 2" of lead in the bottom. This is where the heating coils are located, not at the very bottom. If the pot is empty and you turn it on it will turn this area red. I usually put the sprues in the bottom after cleaning the pot as they melt faster.