Lyman vs Lee

[srk]

Probably a topic that has been beaten to death.
But being relitively new, which one do you guys prefer.
I have the small 5lb pot that I have used for awhile
but would like to get the 10lb with the thermostat.
Let me know your thoughts/opinions!
Thanks

[bangerjim]

For the money, I feel the Lee 4-20 bottom pour is an excellent choice. I have 2 of them and they do not drip, they function perfectly, and hold sufficient lead (20#) for a normal casting session of smaller cal boolits. When I do my big 45's I feed it 1# ingots a couple times. I preheat them almost to melting on my mold hotplate to save heat-up time in the pot.

Some will trash the Lee thermo-control but it has worked for many many years for many many people. You have to arrive at the setting that works best for your casting situation. It is NOT a calibrated device. It is a bi-metallic thermostat that senses the temp of the element inside the control housing, not the pot it self and, as such, is an inferred measurement.....but is very repeatable! Mine usually set somewhere between 5.5 and 6.5.

That is my opinion from much personal usage. I am SURE others will have theirs!

I also have a 10# Lee standard pot I use for small batches of alloy mixing.

good luck. And come back more often!

bangerjim

[emrah]

Can't speak for the Lee, but my Lyman 10# unit works great for me. I think I paid $40 or something like that, so it's still a good deal.

Emrah

[Mk42gunner]

All three of my electric melting pots are bottom pour, but I have used an RCBS dipper to cast most of my boolits. The order I bought them was:

1. Lee 4-20, brand new. I lapped the valve rod and seat with some 800 grit compound before I even plugged it in the first time. It drips a little bit, but I have never had the valve stick open.

It is easy to use a dipper with, the valve mechanism is to one side and doesn't get in the way.

2. Lee Production pot IV (10 pound). I bought it for ~$10.00 from a pawnshop, to have a spare. It was missing a few parts of the valve assembly, but after buying the parts from Lee, I think I still have less than twenty dollars in it. The only time I heated it up was to get the last inch and a half of lead out when I was fixing it.

It looks to me as if it would be difficult to dip from since the pot is tall and narrow.

3. RCBS Promelt. $80.00 at an estate auction. Since I bought it, The only thing I have used the 4-20 for is to cast snagging sinkers. It is a lot better pot than the Lee 4-20, but I don't think it is worth 4-5 times the cost new.

Not too bad to dip from, but it is a bit taller than the 4-20 that I built my casting bench for. One of these years I will cut a few inches from the legs, or build a new one for casting while sitting down.

In my opinion, any electric pot is more comfortable to use than a cast iron pot on a Coleman stove, like I started out.

If you are only going to use a dipper, Lee makes a good pot for a bit less than the 4-20. If you want to walk on the wild side and try both ways, the Lee 4-20 is probably the best bet to buy brand new.

If you want a high quality electric pot for ladling only, Waage makes a very good one. You have to call them about it, it isn't on their website, at least the last time I looked it wasn't.

Good Luck,

Robert

[woodsxdragon]

I've got the 4lb precision melt from lee along with most of my dies. I don't shoot high volumes but it's working good for me. I do want to get something bigger down the road and the 4 20 is the one i've been looking at. Everything i've read sounds like it would look good for me.

[Lead]

I got the lee 4-20 an it works great.