new Lyman furnace/ Big Dipper

[DeadWood]

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/bullet-casting/Big-Dipper.php

my quest in looking at options for furnaces i noticed cabelas had a Lyman that wasn't in my new Midway catalog. Why do you think Lyman needs 2 10lb furnaces or did i miss something? Oh yea this one is $20 cheaper and $10 less than a LEE. Man they know how to confuse a guy..... i mean its nice to have options, but not so many i have to scratch my head to think.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

The first Lyman 10 pounder has been around for a while. It is known as the "mini-mag". It has the heating coils that run down into the interior of the pot and that in my opinion is a pain in the tush. When you dip deeply into the melt or try to clean the bottom of the pot the dipper runs into the coils and eventually may/will damage them...in addition to not really being able to scrape/clean the bottom of the pot. The new furnace does not seem to have that arrangement plus has a thermostat which will control the temp melt and that is important. It in fact looks like a Lee design and may well be manufactured by Lee for Lyman or via some $$$,manufacturing rights. At $39.95 it does not seem to be a bad deal and it is definitely an advancement/improvement over the "mini-mag". If I were choosing between the two I would definitely opt for the newer version. LLS

[jdgabbard]

Looks like if I were just getting into casting I would opt for this over the Lee version... But now days everyone just buys a bottom pour for the most part...