melting furnaces

[bigcountry]

I have a lee production pot 10lb, with bottom pour. I have learned to hate this furnace. As soon as i turn it on, it pours lead out the bottom for about 4lbs worth. I learned to keep a ingot mold to catch under. After that I can start casting. Spout seems to get clogged every once in a while, and I have to take a pick, and get it unclogged. Hard to flux my mix with the pouring valve in the way.

So, what is better for under 100 dollars? Thinking of big dipper. Thinking of dipping instead of bottom pour.

[bangerjim]

I have 2 Lee 4-20's and not a drop......ever.

You must have a dinged valve and or seat. Some on here that have drips empty the pot and lap the valve and seat with lapping compound. That should fix the problem. You might want to give it a try.

With almost 19# of lead in my pots they do not leak at all......every.

Good luck with the drips!

banger

[dragon813gt]

You either have to pay up for a better bottom pour or deal w/ the Lee quirks. I choose to deal w/ the quirks. There is no way I'm going to ladle cast. Any of the pots meant for ladle casting work just fine.

[Silverboolit]

Just got a 4-20 new the other day. Lapped the rod/ spout with valve grinding compound. No drips. I never knew how fun it is to cast with a bottom pour as I have been ladlling for 30 years.

[willvabch]

My Lee pot. ... I watch my pot. I paperclip the spout when it starts to clog. I use a 2x4 to lean on. I found a ball once on the stem. I scrub the bore and rod every once in a while with a brush.

[Beesdad]

I run 2 Lee 20 lb. bottom pour pots and I have no problem with them leaking if I use clean lead...
Just finished pouring 100 lbs. this week running bot pots at full speed. Wish I had 2 or 3 more.

[Vinne]

Right on...clean lead is the key. Try lapping as others have said here. If all else fails, Lee will replace it for half the cost of a new one. They will even let you upgrade to a larger one for the difference. Just give them a call.

[bigcountry]

Do you guys leave the alloy in when you are done casting? Or do you empty out everytime? I always leave it 1/2 full or more.

[country gent]

Depends on what my plans are for the future casting. If Im going to be casting the same alloy I leave it full or where Im finished at for the day. If Im going to go to a diffrent alloy next time I empty it out. I ladle cast so no bottom pour to drip when its heating up.

[dbarnhart]

If you are looking for a bottom pour pot under $100 then go with the Lee 20# pot (Lee Pro 4). The spout is a different design and is not so prone to dripping.


(If you look at my avatar on the left you will see the mess my Lee 10# pot made just before I threw it across the road and ordered an RCBS Pro-Melt.)

[Beesdad]

Do you guys leave the alloy in when you are done casting? Or do you empty out everytime? I always leave it 1/2 full or more.

I leave mine 1/2 to 3/4 full... Each pot is set-up on a different alloy.

[Beesdad]

I wish Lee would offer a 40 lb. pot... That would make my casting sessions moe efficient.

[Gunslinger1911]

Some people have never had a drip, some can never get the drips to stop - ever. I think cleanliness of lead is huge.

I would get occasional drips - a twirl of the rod worked for me - hence the wood handle on the rod - got tired of picking up screwdriver. Drilled the top of wood handle for a .50 boolet also.

Lapping the rod / seat, rotate rod with screwdriver,a little weight on the rod - see pic (small vice grips work also), clean lead.

Used a Lee 20 bottom pour for 30 yrs, just got used to the quirks. lol
Got a RCBS last year for giggles, not a drip one. No idea why no drips - same basic design, rod and seat.
I ought to empty it sometime and take a good look at the rod / seat interface, maybe the Lee could be changed ?

102626

[Mk42gunner]

I have a lee production pot 10lb, with bottom pour. I have learned to hate this furnace. As soon as i turn it on, it pours lead out the bottom for about 4lbs worth. I learned to keep a ingot mold to catch under. After that I can start casting. Spout seems to get clogged every once in a while, and I have to take a pick, and get it unclogged. Hard to flux my mix with the pouring valve in the way.

So, what is better for under 100 dollars? Thinking of big dipper. Thinking of dipping instead of bottom pour.

For under one hundred dollars, I would go with the Lee 4-20 bottom pour pot and an RCBS dipper. This will allow you to use either method fairly easily. The spout can be a bit difficult to see since it is back about an inch from the edge of the pot, but it is easy to ladle from.

I think I used my RCBS dipper to make more boolits than I bottom poured when I was still using the 4-20 as my primary casting pot.

I always leave at least an inch or two of alloy in the pot when I am finished casting, and more often refill it with the preheated ingots so all is ready to go the next time I plug it in.

Robert

[Boomer28]

Hey Guys, I am a new-be & am looking for a good bottom feed melter. I would like to buy a good one & am willing to pay as long as its not to crazy $$$$. Rather spend extra now & be happy then get a so so one & have to buy another one later on. Also please let me know where the best places to buy our kind of products.. Thanks, Jack (Boomer28)

[Old Scribe]

I have used a dipper/ladle pot for years, casting round balls mostly. Finally updated to a Lee bottom pour and into modrn times. It drips a little when it is heating up, but a paper clip to the spout and we're rockin'. Cleaner the lead less drips.

[craig61a]

I ladle for bigger boolits (>45), but I use a Lee 10# for short runs of smaller bullets. It does drip on occasion, but I went through it and got it squared away when I bought it. I don't have any issues with Lee equipment at all. Sometimes you just gotta tinker...

[dbarnhart]

Boomer: A while back I decided to create a write-up on all the melters on the market today and my experience or opinion of each and put it on my blog:

http://www.shootandreload.com/category/bullet-casting/casting-furnaces-lead-melters/

I've never heard anyone say a bad word about the RCBS Pro-Melt. I concur. I've had mine for about 2 years and it's one of those pieces of equipment that falls into the category of 'it just works'.

[bigcountry]

Good write up. Thanks

[BeeMan]

I've used a 10 lb Lee for 30 years and it is still working. Sure, it leaked on occasion and at least once drained a couple pounds. A thorough cleaning and lap job made it satisfactory except for size and poor temp control when the level dropped. My solution is a hand made 25 pound bottom pour. The PID arrived today and I hope to machine the valve parts tomorrow. After that comes winding the heating elements. It would probably be cheaper to buy a ProMelt but this is more fun than laying down a wad of cash.

[jmort]

"A while back I decided to create a write-up on all the melters on the market today and my experience or opinion of each and put it on my blog:"

Well well written, useful, and objective "write-up."

[dikman]

I guess it all depends on whether you want to continue with bottom-pouring. If so, the obvious choice is a Lee Pro 4 20 lb'er, they really are very good value, plus you can easily get spare parts for them. If you decide you don't want to bottom-pour, block of the spout, remove the valve rod etc and use it as a dipper. I bought a Pro-Melt, it really is an excellent machine but lots of $$$! I've just decided that I need a second pot, so it will be a Lee Pro 4. When I get it I'll lap the bottom valve (just in case), stick a PID on it and then make a decent support shelf and cover. I feel confidant that it will be more than adequate for my needs.

And I really like bottom-pours now, so very civilized to use :D.

[dverna]

Boomer: A while back I decided to create a write-up on all the melters on the market today and my experience or opinion of each and put it on my blog:

http://www.shootandreload.com/category/bullet-casting/casting-furnaces-lead-melters/

I've never heard anyone say a bad word about the RCBS Pro-Melt. I concur. I've had mine for about 2 years and it's one of those pieces of equipment that falls into the category of 'it just works'.

Excellent write up. I have a Lyman 20 lb but I can no longer handle ladle casting. I will be moving to a bottom pour. It ticks me off - but old age sucks. I am almost certain, that ladle casting gives a more consistent bullet - but I shall see.

Don Verna

[3584ELK]

Used a Lee bottom pour for years until I had a thermostat/ element failure and ended up scheduling an overhaul. I ordered a new pot with no bottom pour spout (never could locate a pot with a spout), new element, and a few other items. Overhauled the pot and it heats fine- I just could not adjust to the ladle method. So I began the search for a better pot. After looking through numerous threads here, I discovered life would improve with an RCBS Pro-Melt.

Found a used Pro-Melt and when it arrived, it had something stuck in the pour spout. Upon trying to remove it, I found some idiot had welded their own seat design
in the existing spout. By then, I needed a new pot and pin. I checked with RCBS and discovered they were out of stock on almost all Pro- Melt parts. Waited 4 weeks and finally received new parts. Upon reassembly, all worked as advertised. It drips once or twice during a session, but no problem.

In summary, I would say that for the money, the Lee is a better value. I cannot see what the RCBS delivers (except the guide rod) that the Lee does not.

[Smoke4320]

at one time I had 4 lee 4-20 pots .. they all worked and everyone dribbled at some point.. some much more than others.. but all poured lead just fine ..
sold all 4 and bought a RCBS.. All I can say is you can feel the quality difference and no dribbles and yes it is much easier for me to use the mold guide on the RCBS that I could on the lee..
if all you can afford is a lee go for it .. if you can afford the RCBS it is a big step up

[Alchexn]

If you are in the market for the RCBS Pro Melt it's available at MidwayUSA for 385 and then they have a $45 promo code top that off with the $50 rebate and you're looking at ~$300 for the rig. Not sure if that's a good deal but best I've seen since I've been watching it.