Lyman or RCBS bottom pour furnace?

[Jacksgrampa]

I'm looking to try one. I have a Lee but I'm looking for opinions on these two. Thanks, James

[dannyd]

I have both of the new RCBS and Lyman pot plus couple of Lee 4-20's. At the price their charging for the new pot's I would stick with the Lee and get a PID unit from Hatch.

[zarrinvz24]

I have a Lyman Mag 25 and I really like it. It replaced a leaky Lee 4-20 and I much prefer it. A separate PID is nice, but I can't stand the cobbled together contraptions. I like that the Mag-25 is clean and simple-plug it in and wait for it to warm up, it just plain works. Most of the complaints about the Mag-25 is that the mold guide isn't very compatible with the aluminum mold blocks that are the rage these days. Not an issue for me, I exclusively cast with Lyman steel molds.

While mine was assmbled in the USA, many of the electronic components are imported. I've noticed that the price on these things has gone up significantly from when I purchased mine. Even still, it was worth it.

[KenT7021]

I've had a Lyman Mag25 for several years.I like it.When finished casting it can be shut down immediately.No waiting to cool down.

[G W Wade]

Have an RCBS 20 lb that was made in 1989. Great furnace. The simple mold guide didn;t impress me, so made a flat plate that has been working good but thinking of making a larger aluminum plate with side stops. Only con is spout freezes if add too much cold lead at a time. Smaller ingots more often GW

[dannyd]

If you decided to go with one of New pots Pro Melt 2 or Lyman Mag25; I like my Lyman more the New RCBS Pro melt 2 (yes, I owned the Pro Melt also; sold it 20 years ago ). It's just their about a 100 plus dollars more than what I paid for mine couple years ago and with the price increase they don't outway the Lee now.

[Eddie Southgate]

I have owned both and still do . I also own Lee's and the older Lyman 10lb pot as well as a couple of the 10lb SAECO pots . I don't see enough difference in the two you mentioned to pay more for one over the other . Buy which ever you can get the best deal on . None of my pots are less than 10 years old .

I started out using a SAECO and still prefer it to any of the others though other than nostalgia there is no valid reason for the preference .

[Biggin]

I bought probably one of the last nos RCBS pots a couple of years ago to up grade from a 10# lee. Love it. I never had a problem with the Lee other than it being a dripomatic . I do have a brand new lee 20# in the box that I bought on sale from midway. Kinda been saving it for a backup. Don't know anything about the new stuff.

[Tar Heel]

Have both the Lyman and RCBS. Both are wonderful pots. You need a mortgage now to get one but they are nice pots. Mine are older ones.

[winelover]

Have a 20# Lee, an older 220 volt Pro Melt, RCBS Easy Melt (ladle pot) and the Lyman Mag 25.

The Easy Melt and the Lyman Mag 25 gets used the most. I converted the Mag 25 to a dedicated ladle pot by bottoming out the stem and removing the bottom pour lever. Also ground off the portion of the mold warmer that extend into the pot. However, after I used it as a bottom pour, the first year. Mold guide is a simple fix...........turn it over.

Last Spring the Mag 25 digital readout quit. When I gotaround to taking it apart, I found a blown fuse. Replaced that and the pot is back in use. However, I don't trust it enough, to leave it full of alloy, when finished casting for the day.

I like the Easy Melt for ladle casting. Especially, the fact that when I purchased it from Midway, there was a rebate. OTD, it cost me less than $80............what's not to like for a PID controlled furnace? Turning the pot down to cool off, before shutting down is not a big deal, IMO.

If I was younger, I would invest in a 40# Magma furnace. At 70, my casting days are about coming to an end.

Winelover

[georgerkahn]

Kind of subjective query here... my dad used to say that there are 147 different brands of beer in the shops solely because 147 different groups of people each maintained "their brand of choice" is indeed the best. That said, I have used -- and still have -- Lyman bottom pour furnaces (I still use two Lyman Mould Masters) -- and when Lyman came out with their "25" I was 'hot' to purchase one. However, I had read reviews that their electronics were tooo close to areas which were too warm for them -- many failures -- and instead went with a RCBS Pro-Melt. The RCBS has worked great for me, and, I understand Lyman "upgraded" theirs to better the longevity of the electronics...
If my present pot died... I'm pretty confident I'd be looking at another RCBS. If nothing else, RCBS customer service cannot be beaten!
My "beer choice re furnaces" :)
geo

[Rapier]

I used all of them, settled on the Pro Melt by RCBS, tossed the Lees, had 3, and sold he Lyman. RCBS has had a lifetime warranty on all of their stuff. Had enough experience with that to understand why the RCBS product costs a bit more. You buy cheap, you get cheap and today the mess may not work, at all, right out of the box. Many companies have dropped their QC staff and just replace defects.

[swamp]

I have 3 of the Pro Melts. All the original older ones. Managed to get one of them with a PID with it. Really like the PID. Nice extra.
swamp

[rcslotcar]

I use an old "Ohio pro melt". It is the same as the exact same the RCBS pro melt. RCBS bought the patent to it and changed the paint from black to green. I have no idea how old mine is,however it has been worth every penny I paid for it. If the RCBS works as good as my old pot you will be very happy with it. I did replace the off/on switch a few years ago.

[Lloyd Smale]

had two lymans. Lost them in a fire. Bought two rcbs pots to replace them because of lymans typical poor customer service. There both good pots with the rcbs maybe being a tad bit better but i wouldnt give lyman another dime of my money.

[gambler2200]

I have the pro melt 2 love this pot Optic Planet has the best price I’ve seen!
OP price is $295.99 free shipping
Get one and never look back!


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[Jacksgrampa]

I'll be trying my new Lyman Mag25 after the hunt this morning.

[zarrinvz24]

I see that people are referencing the RCBS lifetime warranty. . . One should know that does not cover the Pro-Melt or any of their electronics like the Chargemaster are not covered under their lifetime warranty.

[Rickf1985]

I was going to say the very same thing as zarrinvz24 but he beat me to it. RCBS has a warrantee that can't be beat for most stuff but if it has electronics on it you are SOL! They will tell you where you can send it for repair and that is it. I have a Chargemaster that they did that to me with.

[barkerwc4362]

I have three of the older RCBS ProMelts. All have been modified to use the Lyman mould guide. I would not trade them for anything. The oldest is from about 1989 and still the one I use the most.

Bill

[Green Frog]

Let the spout mechanism get dirty from contaminated lead any any pot will leak. I have 2 of the dreaded 20# “Drip-o-matics “ and one of the little old 10# pots from Lyman. In the past, my dad and I also had another Lyman 10# pot and one of the first of their big orange 20 pounders that Dad bought and after using to smelt a half ton of dirty stuff got choked up. You’d have to have known my father to appreciate how he destroyed this big Lyman pot trying to “fix” it.

Last week I was visiting my friend Dale53 and used his meticulously maintained big green pot from RCBS. As usual it worked well, but he sets it up and starts the casting process, so as expected it worked well except for the occasional drip that comes from every bottom pour pot I’ve ever used.

The point of this rant is found in the very first sentence and the very last. They all will leak without proper care. With proper care, they will only leak a little. ALL OF THEM!

Froggie

[dannyd]

Let the spout mechanism get dirty from contaminated lead any any pot will leak. I have 2 of the dreaded 20# “Drip-o-matics “ and one of the little old 10# pots from Lyman. In the past, my dad and I also had another Lyman 10# pot and one of the first of their big orange 20 pounders that Dad bought and after using to smelt a half ton of dirty stuff got choked up. You’d have to have known my father to appreciate how he destroyed this big Lyman pot trying to “fix” it.

Last week I was visiting my friend Dale53 and used his meticulously maintained big green pot from RCBS. As usual it worked well, but he sets it up and starts the casting process, so as expected it worked well except for the occasional drip that comes from every bottom pour pot I’ve ever used.

The point of this rant is found in the very first sentence and the very last. They all will leak without proper care. With proper care, they will only leak a little. ALL OF THEM!

Froggie

Try a spring like in the photo; there good pots have two.

293431

[Walks]

Even though Lifetime Warranty doesn't cover electronics, I would buy the RCBS. Just because of Customer service.

[hermans]

I use an old "Ohio pro melt". It is the same as the exact same the RCBS pro melt. RCBS bought the patent to it and changed the paint from black to green. I have no idea how old mine is,however it has been worth every penny I paid for it. If the RCBS works as good as my old pot you will be very happy with it. I did replace the off/on switch a few years ago.

I have the same one!
Got it from an old gentleman who taught me about boolit casting......been using it since then....maybe mid 80's, and it is still perfect!
So know nothing about the Lyman furnace, but RCBS stick by their products and give very good after sales service....my vote goes to them!

[HWooldridge]

My 40 year old SAECO doesn’t drip when it’s clean. Unfortunately, the seat eventually catches some trash but even then, the drips are measured in minutes, not seconds. SAECO made the stop pin engagement pretty long so there is a lot of bearing surface.