NOE mold thermometer trying it

[AbitNutz]

I'm not sure how I missed it but I just placed an order for the NOE mold thermometer. Has anyone tried this? Is there a guide at what the mold temperature should be or is trial and error. I would expect my iron molds would be different from my aluminum and brass even more so...or not? I kinda sorta know what my lead temp should be but the actual mold temp is not something I've thought of...all I ever thought about pertaining to mold temp was "mold is up to temp". Not a very precise measurement...

I bet I could drill a hole for the probe in the heated bases of my lube machines and get an idea where they should be...

[Old Scribe]

I have the NOE thermometer and by trial and error found the best temp for the melt. I keep the molds on a hot plate during casting and place the mold over the t-meter to keep the temp near the melt temp. Just something that works for me.

[AbitNutz]

Were there any surprises for you? Like one mold likes it hotter or colder than another? Or are they pretty much all the same?

[GWM]

I'm sure there are many variables. Mold specifics like material, size, sprue plate etc. Alloy temp and composition. Boolit style, HP, HB etc. Temp readings from different thermometers may vary.

I tried out a few molds and found that about 400F with standard designs and 450-500F with Hollow Base worked for me.
I used 15:1 lead/tin at about 750F. Brass liked a bit hotter than aluminum.
Temp readings seem a bit high to me, but I don't have another thermometer to compare. Your readings may be different.

[stubert]

I have a 5 cav. 460 diam. brass mold that likes to be 470 deg. according to the probe.

[Mike W1]

Have been fooling around with temperatures and PID's mostly for something to do I guess. No great revelations so far but am enjoying myself which is the name of the game. Have a PID on the hotplate set for 380° F which after some trials seem to get the mold's in the 310° F range while the pots heat up which takes about 20 minutes.

Only have 2 molds tapped for a TC. Lee 452-252 and a Lyman 452374 both double cavities.

From a pre-warmed start (311° F) the Lee would climb to 400° real easily just casting. First bullets out were good but 400° was a bit hotter than needed and sprue cuts were smooth when that hot. I also use a cooling fan setup and it'd help keep the mold in the 350-360° range and things go fine with that mold.

The Lyman seems to prefer 310-330°.

I pretty much gauge things from the condition of the sprue cut and the "feel" when cutting it anyhow but there's a couple figures FWIW.

Depending on what lube and where you mount the TC of course, but I like 125° with LBT Blue on my RCBS luber/sizer.