Ok, what is the trick to Lee temp control?

[cajun shooter]

That rheostat is just one of the huge problems with the Lee equipment. First I want to say "WELCOME HOME AND THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE". It is priced low for a reason and will keep you in a pi---d off state as long as you use it. We used a acronym when I was in service during the sixties. It was SNAFU and that is what your days will be. Use a case iron pot and propane burner for your smelting and try to find a used RCBS,Lyman or Saeco from which to do your mold pouring. The RCBS and the others all have real thermostats. The old Lyman 61 was a good pot. When I put my RCBS on 750, I never have to touch it again. It makes casting fun and not the PITA that LEE does. Lee is like some of the issue we would receive, it will work but not always as expected.

[old turtle]

After 40+ years of casting I broke down and bought a thermometer and am now glad I did. I try to keep my 10 pound Lee pot at about 700 degrees.

[Jailer]

I run mine at about 1/4 past the three mark. Keeps the pot right about 750 to 780.

Don't add sprues back into the melt while you are casting either or it will drop the temp drastically. Wait until you are taking a break or are done casting.

[sargenv]

Odd, I drop the sprues back in after every cast.. at 725 ish, the melt never has an issue.. and the sprue is from a Lee 6 banger..

[mooman76]

I dump the sprues in too while they are still hot. It keeps the pot level up longer before I have to add a big chunk.

[*Paladin*]

That rheostat is just one of the huge problems with the Lee equipment. First I want to say "WELCOME HOME AND THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE". It is priced low for a reason and will keep you in a pi---d off state as long as you use it. We used a acronym when I was in service during the sixties. It was SNAFU and that is what your days will be. Use a case iron pot and propane burner for your smelting and try to find a used RCBS,Lyman or Saeco from which to do your mold pouring. The RCBS and the others all have real thermostats. The old Lyman 61 was a good pot. When I put my RCBS on 750, I never have to touch it again. It makes casting fun and not the PITA that LEE does. Lee is like some of the issue we would receive, it will work but not always as expected.

Thanks for the thanks cajun! And thanks all for the advice! I'm gonna save up and eventually get one of the RCBS pots, but that'll be down the road a ways, unfortunately. I am a firm believer in buying quality, but when I first started this I wans't sure if I was going to like it or not. Well, I like it...

[Jailer]

Odd, I drop the sprues back in after every cast.. at 725 ish, the melt never has an issue.. and the sprue is from a Lee 6 banger..

I should have added that I am casting with a Lee 2 cavity and I have to keep the pace "brisk" to keep the mold up to temp. Stopping to add sprues lowers the melt and mold temp too much for me.

This is what works for me and the OP will just have to experiment a bit to find out what works for him.