Shoulder bolt for valve rod on 20 lb lee pot

[bajacoop]

Anyone have an idea on where to find a one size larger replacement? Both mine are stripped out and figured the easiest would be to replace with one size larger, but finding a replacement has been difficult.

[edctexas]

Its the post below this by Dogmower.


There was a thread just recently that describe how the guy modified his. Mine is loose and I'd like to do something to improve it. My first idea did not work well and blocked skimming any dross off so that went in the junk box.

Ed C

[Mal Paso]

Anyone have an idea on where to find a one size larger replacement? Both mine are stripped out and figured the easiest would be to replace with one size larger, but finding a replacement has been difficult.

If you are willing to take the pot apart, you can squeeze the aluminum extrusion where it holds the screw with a pair of pliers. If you are careful it can be a permanent fix and you will have a good idea how much you can tighten it in the future.

The screw is not in a hole but an open sided slot in the extrusion and not a tight fit from the factory. Not enough material to tap larger. Pinching the slot closed seems to be the best answer.

[bajacoop]

Guess that is the route I will go this weekend. Guessing you have to take the top and bottom bolts/screws loose on the liner/pot portion of it?

[Mal Paso]

Guess that is the route I will go this weekend. Guessing you have to take the top and bottom bolts/screws loose on the liner/pot portion of it?

After removing the lead alloy and valve assembly, loosen the nut on the left side of the rim. Turn the pot over and remove the 6 screws on the bottom. (4 under the temp control tower and 2 to the support rods.) One of the rods that supports the pot goes through the bottom of the pot with the nut on top, the other just pulls out. The rest of the screws are fairly obvious. If it's crooked when you're finished loosen the bottom screws, tweek and tighten.

When in there, gently squeeze the slot closed and try a screw before reassembly.

I've had a few exciting moments when the bottom shoulder screw came loose, valve assembly caught on the screw and would not shut off.

Edit: I forgot how many screws and corrected. Don't forget to lap the pour valve by spinning it with a dab of valve grinding compound. Fixed the drip and tightened the screw slots yesterday on one of the pots.

[bajacoop]

I got a bunch of casting to do tonight and tomorrow then ill see about taking them apart and fixing. Still a little ways out on building my own 80 lb pot so need something to get me by for now.

[bajacoop]

Got my 2 pots taken apart on Saturday and squeezed the slot back closed again and everything seems to have tightened up good.

I bought a set of replacement spouts and valve rods and changed those out also. Hopefully that will calm down the drips and give me a little less headache.

[edctexas]

Thank you for encouraging me to try. I am not convinced that I have stopped the drip. I did disassemble the pot and worked over the screw holes for the valve screws. I held the aluminum piece in a vise and used roll pin driver punches to tighten the screw sockets. I gently tapped the punch on the aluminum and just straightened and tightened the area that the screw fits into. Just the holes that were loose and the two for the pot valve. I lapped the valve rod and cleaned the hole out. It does stop dripping if you wiggle the valve rod using a screwdriver. I'll need to try it on an actual casting run.

Again thanks to those who commented on this thread. Ed C

[Mal Paso]

The valve rod has a smaller radius than spout it seals to. After cleaning the spout inside, I chuck the rod in a cordless drill, apply a dab of grinding compound to the tip and spin it both on axis and a couple degrees off axis in a circle to increase the polished area. You want a continuous shiny band around the tip where tooling marks are gone.

I had dreams of a custom 50 pound pot but I've got 2 Lee 4-20s with thermocouples installed in the bottom that work well enough with tweaks. I have a 3/4" Nut sitting around the adjusting screw on top of the valve assembly to add weight, washers behind the knob too. The Steel valve rod FLOATS in lead.