Lee 10lb lead pot vs Lyman Big Dipper

[BJung]

I recently bought a Lyman Big Dipper to cast my range scrap. It's much better than the Lee 10lb pot because the small pot requires me to use the Lee spoon. With the Lyman Big Dipper, I can reach in with a large spoon and remove the slag and jackets twice as fast as the Lee. I then pour the molten lead into ingot molds and then use that lead in my lee furnace.

[GregLaROCHE]

A lot of people recycling range scrap and other scrap lead, generally melt a larger quantity down in a Dutch oven or something similar, heated with propane or another heat source. This removes all the unwanted trash and droth. Then the clean fluxed lead is poured into small size ingot molds. The ingots are then used in the casting pot. It’s an added step in the process, but is worth doing.

[gwpercle]

One of the best values on the melting pot market is the Lee Magnum Melter . It will melt 20 pounds of metal and be ready to go in 30 mins . Sweet melter and not expensive .
$72.00 at midway usa and probably can be found for less if you shop around .
I wish I had this bad boy when I started casting . Small pots waste your time ...
Bigger is Better !
Gary

[BJung]

A dutch oven looks promising. Would that work better than a cast iron frying pan with a lid? I tried a used bread pan and it failed miserably.

[Mk42gunner]

I'm not a fan of using cast iron for molten lead. I have done it with a Dutch oven from the Cummins tool truck (think a few grades below Harbor Freight) and I have also broken a cast iron corn bread mold dumping ingots from it.

My caution comes from the fact that I am a habitual spoon tapper, meaning I almost always rap the spoon/spatula/ladle on the edge of the pan after stirring whatever is in the pot. I do not want to crack a dutch oven full of molten lead.

My smelting pot is an eight inch long section of 8" iron pipe with a ¼" plate welded on for a bottom. Holds about a gallon, plenty for me at one time.

Others use a cutoff propane or Freon bottle; seems to work well, and I might have gone that way if I didn't have the short piece of iron pipe when I made mine.

Robert

[GregLaROCHE]

A dutch oven looks promising. Would that work better than a cast iron frying pan with a lid? I tried a used bread pan and it failed miserably.

I started with a cast iron frying pan and later moved to a Dutch oven. The larger size seems to work a bit better, but if you already have a frying pan, there’s no reason not to start with it. Once you use something for lead you can’t use it for food again.

[lightman]

I still have the Dutch oven that Grandpa used and I still use it for small batches. But I'm careful to bring the temp up slowly and to not bang or tap on it. I'll bang the ladle pretty good on the side of my bigger steel pot without worries.

But yeah, I think a Dutch Oven beats a skillet. I agree with Gary, bigger is better!

[gwpercle]

A dutch oven looks promising. Would that work better than a cast iron frying pan with a lid? I tried a used bread pan and it failed miserably.

Look at the Lee Magnum Melter ... it is a dipping pot , no bottom pour ... I use a Lyman Dipper with the side spout . Plug it into a wall outlet ... no worries about where to get heat source . How much... how big a pot do you need ? The Magnum Melter is 20 lbs . and works very well . I've melted many a pot of COWW , easy to flux and skim and the pot is easy to clean (no bottom pour apparatus in there )

The only problem with a large dutch oven is quality of new stuff (poor) old stuff is good but hard to find and $$$ and you have to provide heat and support a dutch oven full of melted lead .
You don't want to have a spill !
Gary

[engineer401]

Look at the Lee Magnum Melter ... it is a dipping pot , no bottom pour ... I use a Lyman Dipper with the side spout . Plug it into a wall outlet ... no worries about where to get heat source . How much... how big a pot do you need ? The Magnum Melter is 20 lbs . and works very well . I've melted many a pot of COWW , easy to flux and skim and the pot is easy to clean (no bottom pour apparatus in there )

The only problem with a large dutch oven is quality of new stuff (poor) old stuff is good but hard to find and $$$ and you have to provide heat and support a dutch oven full of melted lead .
You don't want to have a spill !
Gary

I rendered close to 1,000 pounds of lead using the Lee Magnum Melter with no problem. I’ve been casting bullets with that same pot since. I paid $50 for it however long ago it was. It’s been reliable.