A very sad potty

[GOPHER SLAYER]

This is what can happen when you are distracted by a foxy chick while casting. I was casting today with two molds, a RCBS 22 caliber and a Hoch 32 caliber. My wife came out to ask me what I wanted for dinner just as I was hitting the sprue plate and I took my eye off the prize for a second and whammo. I struck the potentiometer a mighty blow with bad results. I don't know if the potentiometer is available or not. I may just wire around it and cast with heat to the max. Suggestions anybody? Once again I am unable to attach pictures so I will do that separately.

[texassako]

My first thought when I read the title and thread was I use TP and not a sprue plate. Second one was what brand of pot needs the potentiometer?

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I am still trying to attach pictures. The pot is an old Lyman bottom pour.

[Snow ninja]

Dang, you must've smacked it good. Hate when stuff like that happens.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

The odd part of this sad tale is, I didn't know what I had done until I turned around to start casting again and saw the knob hanging out in the breeze. As I said, she is a foxy chick and she mentioned food.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

You are right Tex, I should have called it a thermostat and not a potentiometer.

[cbrick]

I may just wire around it and cast with heat to the max. Suggestions anybody?

I wouldn't.

If your casting pure lead it wouldn't hurt the lead but oxidation would run wild, the mold will get plenty hot enough to slow casting significantly as you wait for it to cool after each pour, if there is tin in your alloy forget the tin past about 750.

Lyman should be able to fix you up with needed parts, shouldn't be very expensive, give them a call Monday morning. Just the PITA of waiting for them.

From the pics it seems you just knocked off the mounting screws. Does the pot work? Can it simply be re-assembled?

Rick

[JWFilips]

This is what can happen when you are distracted by a foxy chick while casting.

Hey If there is no pictures of the foxy chick it didn't happen! You know the rules here!!!:-P

[NavyVet1959]

If you're going to keep doing that, you might want to build yourself a heavy shield to go above it. :)

It's probably not a potentiometer or variable resistor. For simple burners like that, they often use a bi-metal device that kind of acts like a thermostat. Turning the knob just gets the two strips of metal closer together or further apart. As the temperature decreases, the metals contract to the point where they are touching each other and cause the burner to go back on. As the temperature increases, the metals then expand until they are no longer touching and thus the burner goes back off. I noticed this when I took apart a tabletop electric range single burner at one time. I was wondering why I could not get it to melt lead, so I decided to take it apart and see what made it work. I discovered that if I removed that actual burner element from the housing where the control switch was located, I could get a higher temperature from the burner element.

Now, having said that, if I had a casting pot like that and I could not fix the control and the replacement control was either not available or too expensive, I would seriously consider that it might be time to build a PID controller or bypass the control completely or, if I just wanted a quick CHEAP fix, take a standard 15A wall light switch and wire it up as a table mounted switch for turning the unit on and off while monitoring the temperature manually.

Current prices:
25A SSR -- $3.62
800C K type thermocouple -- $4.49
PID controller -- $26

TOTAL -- $34.11

Those prices were including shipping and were from a quick search on eBay.

Add a couple dollars more for possible miscellaneous wires or outlet / housing boxes.

[prs]

Wire around it and add a PID. You will LOVE it and its easy and not expensive.


prs

[GOPHER SLAYER]

cbrick. I broke off the thermostat control shaft where it enters the housing. I took the mounting screws off in order to see if the damage was too much, it was. As for the foxy chick. I have been married to her for 56 years and I don't even share pictures of her. Just to show that I in no way held her responsible I took her out to dinner.

[RED333]

As I said, she is a foxy chick and she mentioned food.
I am gona call you out, my bet was you looked away long before she said anything about food! LOL

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Red, I admit it. I am guilty. While I was supposed to be swinging my oak club at the sprue plate I wasn't even looking in the direction of the mold. She has that effect on me.

[Patricklaw]

I cant believe that no one said, "its trashed! Pack it up and send it to me for desposal". I see that so often there must be a rule.

Seriously, its just parts! Somebody makes a suitable replacement or perhaps its time to consider a pid controller.

[NavyVet1959]

Red, I admit it. I am guilty. While I was supposed to be swinging my oak club at the sprue plate I wasn't even looking in the direction of the mold. She has that effect on me.

If you've been married to her for that long, it means that she must at least be in her mid-70s. Either your eyesight has gone or you just *have* to provide us with photos. :)

[RED333]

I will admit my wife has the very same effect on me, she enters a room or speaks and all thoughts are of her.
Yes it slows me up a bit when I am working, but she is my love.

[44man]

PID will fix it. Bridge the thermostat and it will go well over 1000*. I don't know where it would quit, shut mine off at 1000. Might even melt the heating coils.

[Hamish]

Red, I admit it. I am guilty. While I was supposed to be swinging my oak club at the sprue plate I wasn't even looking in the direction of the mold. She has that effect on me.

(ahem) maybe it might be time to investigate casting without a beater?

[cbrick]

(ahem) maybe it might be time to investigate casting without a beater?

Kinda what I was thinking. Just how hard does he hit his molds? :veryconfu

Rick

[Moonie]

Definitely time to start opening the sprue plate with a gloved hand lol

[cajun shooter]

I started my casting with a old Lyman, they were good pots. I had this as a very first thought, why are you not using some type of sprue plate lube. Bullplate comes to mind as I've never found a better product and after I drilled a hole into a 2X6 that the bottle fits into, my spills stopped. Take Care David

[bedbugbilly]

The photos of the pot are pretty good . . . but I really think we need pictures of all the "factors" that entered in to this tragedy . . . just so we can carefully evaluate the situation? :-)

Sorry about your pot - hope you can get it all fixed up without too much trouble . . . now, how was the dinner?

[GOPHER SLAYER]

cajon shooter, I have plenty of the lube you mentioned. I just forget to use it. bedbug, we went to a buffet restaurant and I pigged out. It was great. What I really enjoy is the desert bar. My Foxy Chick says I gulp down my dinner just to get to the sweets. I make myself a large sundae in a big soup bowl and I get to pour on all the chocolate or strawberries I want, with peanuts.

[smoked turkey]

Good on you Gopher Slayer. I think it is fantastic when a fella and his bride of 56 years feel that way about each other. It IS almost Valentine's Day. I am takin the love of my life for the past 47 years out of town for a few days, taking her out to eat at a nice restaurant or two and buying her a nice pair of "running shoes" for Valentine's day. Hey, what can I say..that is what she wants so that is what she gets.

[frkelly74]

I wired around the controlls of a coffee maker once and got a nice deep burned spot on the countertop.

[Old Caster]

I think you should wait until you are 91 and then buy yourself an RCBS.

[10x]

If you're going to keep doing that, you might want to build yourself a heavy shield to go above it. :)

It's probably not a potentiometer or variable resistor. For simple burners like that, they often use a bi-metal device that kind of acts like a thermostat. Turning the knob just gets the two strips of metal closer together or further apart. As the temperature decreases, the metals contract to the point where they are touching each other and cause the burner to go back on. As the temperature increases, the metals then expand until they are no longer touching and thus the burner goes back off. I noticed this when I took apart a tabletop electric range single burner at one time. I was wondering why I could not get it to melt lead, so I decided to take it apart and see what made it work. I discovered that if I removed that actual burner element from the housing where the control switch was located, I could get a higher temperature from the burner element.

Now, having said that, if I had a casting pot like that and I could not fix the control and the replacement control was either not available or too expensive, I would seriously consider that it might be time to build a PID controller or bypass the control completely or, if I just wanted a quick CHEAP fix, take a standard 15A wall light switch and wire it up as a table mounted switch for turning the unit on and off while monitoring the temperature manually.

Current prices:
25A SSR -- $3.62
800C K type thermocouple -- $4.49
PID controller -- $26

TOTAL -- $34.11

Those prices were including shipping and were from a quick search on eBay.

Add a couple dollars more for possible miscellaneous wires or outlet / housing boxes.

Take the time to build a PID ^^^^ and bypass the thermostat.
You will never regret it

[62chevy]

If you don't want to spend 40 bucks on a PID then you could send it to that guy that rebuilds them for $125. Check the S&S section.

[milrifle]

I vote for PID too. I made mine a stand alone unit with a receptacle on the side of its enclosure. I just plug my lead pot (with the control turned wide open) into the PID. You could do the same with your pot's thermostat by-passed. I get more consistent bullets since I started using the PID.