Has anyone got to try out a Lyman mag 25 furnace yet?

[Yodogsandman]

My 25 year old Lee production pot isn't heating up good anymore, I need a new bottom pour pot. I saw that Lyman has a new pot, a Mag 25 with a PID, warming rack and 25 lb capacity. I've got by with the 10 pound pot for a long while. I hate to stop casting so soon because of lack of lead, when the perfect boolits are just raining out of my mold! I only have two cavity molds, too. I might not NEED it but, I WANT it. Has anyone got to try out a Lyman Mag 25 furnace yet? I can't find where they've been delivered to dealers yet, all sources say they're back ordered, taking pre-orders or that they're overdue.

[dikman]

I think they've been taking backorders for a year or so? :violin:

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Last week I saw a Sasquatch and he was carrying a NEW Lyman Mag 25

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/Lyman25Sasquatch_zps482cb849.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/Lyman25Sasquatch_zps482cb849.jpg.html)

[SSGOldfart]

I've trid ordering it a couple times before it looks and sounds great kinda pricy:violin:

[mold maker]

I'm interested also, but I want to see one first. Some of he new imports are better made, but the cheap junk exists also.

[OuchHot!]

Conflicting all of this is that, at least here, there has been lots of Lyman bashing. I have had some experience with companies trying to outsource to People's Republic and it is not unusual to get repeatedly sidelined by vendors who cannot do what they say. Until an outfit like Lyman has a good rep in country all sorts of delays can happen. They (Lyman) could just possibly be trying to do it right the first time. Or it could be a disaster....we shall see. I like the 25# capacity and the other features.

[Yodogsandman]

JonB in Glencoe, Think I could backtrack him?

Is Lyman just teasin' us?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

JonB in Glencoe, Think I could backtrack him?

Is Lyman just teasin' us?
when I seen squatchy in MN...He was headin' east, I bet he'll make the east coast in a week or two ;)

[Yodogsandman]

Must be something wrong with that Mag 25, he's headin' to Lyman in CT. They finally messed with the wrong hairy feller!

[Daddyfixit]

I've trid ordering it a couple times before it looks and sounds great kinda pricy:violin:

Looks interesting! And at about $250 it's way less then the RCBS unit. Still 5 or 6 months out.

[dragon813gt]

LOL, it's a Unicorn. I've posted my theory many times. Having a sensitive PID that close to a hot lead pot is a recipe for disaster. Heat is the enemy of electronics. I'm betting they can't get one to survive long.

[Walter Laich]

LOL, it's a Unicorn. I've posted my theory many times. Having a sensitive PID that close to a hot lead pot is a recipe for disaster. Heat is the enemy of electronics. I'm betting they can't get one to survive long.
Unicorns are REAL!
.
your thinking of a jackalope, that's what this new pot is.

[Lead Rain]

I've been asking Lyman about this thing every three months for well over a year and I always get the same response ..... soon. I gave up and bought a Lee pot and am adding the PID control to it.

[el34]

I've been asking Lyman about this thing every three months for well over a year and I always get the same response ..... soon. I gave up and bought a Lee pot and am adding the PID control to it.

Vaporware is fun to wish for but it won't melt lead!

[Beagle333]

Heat is the enemy of electronics.

No, I'm the enemy of electronics! They should let me test one! :twisted:

[dragon813gt]

I've been asking Lyman about this thing every three months for well over a year and I always get the same response ..... soon. I gave up and bought a Lee pot and am adding the PID control to it.

Besides the potential drips that the Lee pot may have. This setup is better anyway. A Lee pot is cheap to replace. An external PID is out of the danger zone and has easily replaceable parts that you can source all over. I paid maybe $150 for this setup so I'm way ahead of the game already.

[AbitNutz]

At $250 with a PID that's cheap. However, they can charge as little as they like when they don't have any. I wouldn't be surprised that if they ever do become available that they cost more than $250...

[Smoke4320]

never , never sniff the vaporware :)

[dikman]

But it sure looks purty! Funnily enough, I notice that the one in the photo isn't actually turned on.

[Yodogsandman]

update:
Optics Planet- 7-9 weeks
Midway- Coming Soon
Sinclair- Taking Preorders
Midsouth- Out of Stock

[AbitNutz]

How long has this been going on? I think they could have designed an entirely new pot by now. How can the RCBS Promelt cost $350, be a 20lb pot and no PID and the Mag25 be a 25lb pot have a PID for $250? It doesn't make any sense. RCBS has never been considered over priced....

[dikman]

Well, for one thing the RCBS is made in the US, so the price will be higher than if it were made off-shore. The RCBS is definitely over-priced here in Oz (I was quoted $800 for one!), whereas the Lee 20 lb. is $150. The RCBS is a better machine, but not $650 better!

As has been pointed out, sticking a PID in such close proximity to the heat source (and inside the same case!) is asking for trouble. There are two things that kill electronics - power surges and heat.

Looking at the specs for a few different PIDs, picked at random on ebay, the operating temps are generally 0-50*C (30-120*F). Not much when we're looking at a pot containing molten lead at 700*F being located within a few inches of the PID.

[dragon813gt]

I consider the RCBS over priced by a large margin. There is very little to a lead pot. IMO the price is not justified. You can buy multiple Lee pots for the same price. Yes, the Lee pot is not as nice as the RCBS. Everyone has their own opinions but I know I'm not alone w/ this one.

[OuchHot!]

I have had a pro-melt for decades. It dribbles (not as much as my lee 4-20) and the thermostat had a 50 degree dead band (still better than my 4-20). I consider it seriously over priced. The lyman $250 price is a pre-production price. I expect the lyman and the rcbs to be in the $300 range a year after the lyman actually (if ever) hits the market. I recall when the automated powder dispensers hit the market. The price for the rcbs unit soon went down 25%.

[dikman]

As I've shown elsewhere, if you're prepared to invest some time and effort on a Lee pot it can be turned into a very nice "RCBS clone". If I knew then what I know now (famous last words!) I doubt if I would have bought the RCBS. But then, I guess I needed the RCBS to show me what could be done to the Lee, and I must admit that the RCBS is a very well made bit of gear, I suspect it will outlast my shooting needs.

[Jtarm]

Last week I saw a Sasquatch and he was carrying a NEW Lyman Mag 25

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/Lyman25Sasquatch_zps482cb849.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/Lyman25Sasquatch_zps482cb849.jpg.html)

LOL! We need Elvis in that picture:-)

As to off-shoring production and quality: the quality of Chinese-manufactured products is pretty much a result of the company's (Lyman, in this case) specifications. You can find virtually the same machinery at Harbor Freight as is sold by higher-end retailers or brands (like JET) for a fraction of the price, possibly built in the same factory. The difference is the higher-end brands have higher standards for tolerances, fit, finish, and component quality (e.g. motors.). Price point is pretty much directly related to quality specifications and features.

The PID issue may be holding things up as suggested in another reply, but my guess is they cannot hit their desired price point and deliver reasonable quality.

How long since they discontinued the Mag 20? They'd better get an entry back in the market soon, or this could be the Windows Vista of the casting world.

[odinohi]

I have had a pro-melt for decades. It dribbles (not as much as my lee 4-20) and the thermostat had a 50 degree dead band (still better than my 4-20). I consider it seriously over priced. The lyman $250 price is a pre-production price. I expect the lyman and the rcbs to be in the $300 range a year after the lyman actually (if ever) hits the market. I recall when the automated powder dispensers hit the market. The price for the rcbs unit soon went down 25%.

RCBS will send you a free pot and valve. It won't drip anymore. On the promelt I believe the customer service is priced in. I don't know if any other manufacturer would do that. I kind of doubt it.

[AbitNutz]

I have to tell you all that I pretty much destroyed my Promelt. The spout got clogged and I attempted to drill it out. Then the drill bit broke off in the spout. In trying to remove it I knocked the spout out of the bottom of the pot.

I called RCBS...I confessed that it was entirely my fault. They said "send it". The pot was twenty-five years old...25! I sent it back and they refurbed the whole pot. I paid postage there...they paid the return. They replaced everything but the exterior sheet metal. That was 3 or 4 years ago...

There aren't many manufactures that do that kind of thing. Dillon does, although I've never had to abuse them like I did RCBS.

[OuchHot!]

Well, that explains why rcbs is so over priced.

[castalott]

Hard to beat RCBS. I bought a new one in the 1980's for ,I think, $180. I used it hard for 5 years then mounted it on my first automated homemade caster. At about 30,000 cycles (each cycle is a Lyman 4 cavity mold full of lead), I got a little rough with it & knocked the pour spout out the bottom. RCBS fixed it for shipping. Rebuilt the whole thing. A few years later, the thermostat was acting goofy. I told them how many tons of lead it had melted but they rebuilt the whole thing again for shipping.

I just bought another pot to have an extra and ,yep, it's an RCBS. My goodness it was high! But I hope it turns out to be cheap in the long run like the other one did.

To be fair, the box says, "Limited two year warranty" on it. I don't know what that means exactly. RCBS is good stuff and their warranty is too.

Dale

[AbitNutz]

So gee...that makes at least two lifetime customers...I guess that explains their marketing strategy.

[OuchHot!]

yep over price your product to cover the abusive few.