lee bottom pour drip solution (final?)

[dogmower]

148309
sorry this is upside down, can't figure out how to fix that. I took a bolt, cut a piece of roll pin for the handle bar to slide over, and secured to bolt to the rim of the pot (you have to take the pot apart). No more leaks and now more crappy screw coming loose.
John

[VHoward]

148322
Hope this helps.

[runfiverun]

lapping the pin to the spout hole helps a ton.
and running only clean lead really helps too.

[Stilly]

Lee told me to press down on the valve screw and rotate back and forth about 15 times.

I have been doing that now and it seems to work pretty good. I wonder if they had a spring on the bottom of the valve handle that kept downward force on the valve if that would help any too... :\

I am glad that I can make it stop leaking though.

[LongRangeAir]

Being basically lazy, I simply drilled a 3/16" ( If I remember right), hole thru a diving weight, and slipped it over the screw the handle threads on. Then put the handle back on. worked very well.

Bought a Pro-Melt a few weeks later. Would never go back. LOL

[dogmower]

I did lap the plunger, secured it to the adjustment screw with a paper clip, thing still leaked. the issue was that when the screw in the top of the pot (the one the handle bar slides on) came loose, it would move a bit, changing the angle the plunger entered the spout at the bottom of the pot at. no amount of lapping would fix that. since I've made this modification (about 5 casting sessions), I've not had a single drip. it's really a cheap fix, maybe lee will start making something similar. the trick is to get the handle to fit as closely as possible (have to drill it out) to the roll pin around the bolt. the less slop, the better.

[NavyVet1959]

I just wait for it to clog up and then switch to a bottom pour ladle that I created out of a stainless steel condiment ladle. :)

[FISH4BUGS]

I was never bothered by the drip-o-matic spout. I kept a screw driver handy and twisted the screw back and forth every time it dripped. I just made it part of the sequence of movements while the mould was cooling.
I still think the lee Pro 20 is the best dollar-for-dollar pot out there.

[edctexas]

OK I am dense I guess. You have a roll pin around the bolt to have a smooth area for the bracket to slide up and down on. What does the new screw go into on the inside?? Is there something to tap for a real screw??
Several of us think this is clever as all get out. I'd like a little more on what it takes before I disassemble the whole thing!

Ed C

[dogmower]

I just cut the edge of the top metal rim of the pot with a dremel tool (had to trim a little of the aluminum side walls as well) just big enough to slide the bolt through with the nut under it. then I made a space the same size as the nut for the bolt to keep it from turning in the top of the aluminum wall. this was the real pain because of course the bolt goes in at a joint where two aluminum plates intersect.
disassembling the pot is no big deal. someone on my last post chirped in to "watch out for the wires in the walls of the pot". they apparently never disassembled their pot. you take out the three sheet metal screws and the one nut holding the metal rim on, and just pull out the steel pot. the aluminum sides just interlock, and the screw holes for the three screws that secure the top of the pot are a joke at best. when you take it apart, you can see how lee sells it for $50, but it's still the best deal out there.