Which Bottom Pour Pot

[B R Shooter]

Didn't see a sticky on this so......

If you were looking to buy a bottom pour pot, say a 20 pound pot, thermostatically controlled, which would you get?

[Conditor22]

I've cast 100's of thousand boolits with my lee 4-20 I wasn't looking for another/different pot until I found a killer deal on a 35-year old pro melt (RCBS) full of linotype, a few molds, reloading dies, and 2 lube-sizers, lube, GC Lubes sizer dies. I would have bought the package just for the molds

Sooooooo I switched my PID over to the pro melt and haven't used my 4-20's since. I prefer the handle/valve design and the thicker spout which freezes up less frequently.

Both get the job done but the RCBS is much more money.

[Winger Ed.]

I've had a Lee, which did fine until I screwed it up.
Then I got an old school pro-melt.

They both work fine.
It might be my imagination, but I think the RCBS has a bigger element and heats up faster.

[gpidaho]

For my first few years casting I used a Lyman Mag 20 and can't complain, it gave good service and still works just fine. A couple years ago I bought one of the last of the old style RCBS Pro Melt furnaces. The Pro Melt is by far my favorite. Gp

[Targa]

My thermostatically controlled pot consists of a Lee 4-20 pot and a Rotometals lead thermometer. Works like a charm.

[oldhenry]

I started casting in 1960 with a Lyman cast iron pot & a Lyman dipper.
Later in the '60's I was gifted a Lyman bottom pour 10 lb. furnace. I thought I'd died & gone to heaven.
After a few years the Lyman heating element died. Replaced it & continued using it (happy).
In the late 70';s or early '80s the Lyman died again & I bought a Lee 10 lb. bottom pour (I think they called it a Production Pot).
In the mid '80's I introduced a friend to casting & he had plenty of $ and gave me a new RCBS Pro Melt. I could not believe life could be so good.
I gave the Lee to my son to make fishing sinkers.
That Pro Melt is still going & I wouldn't even think about replacing it. The on/off switch died about 2 years ago & RCBS sent me a new one @ no charge.

I bought a Lee 4-20 earlier this year for insurance: it's still in the box

Henry

[ioon44]

For me RCBS is the only choice.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Hard to go wrong with the Lee. You will have to have a lead thermometer to use it well. They may be hard to find now.

[B R Shooter]

I have a lead thermometer, I've been using a pot and ladle. It's hard to turn your back on a LEE when it's 90 bucks as apposed to 300!

[redhawk0]

I just purchased a new LEE 4-20 from Midway two weeks ago....I think it was $74 on sale. I've been using a 20+ year old (and rebuilt) Lee 10# bottom pour pot and decided the additional volume was worth the price. I did use some valve lap compound to the plunger rod end and spun it with my drill before filling it. It does still drip like my old pot...but I'm used to it....and it isn't excessive. For the $75 it was worth it to me.

BTW...I have a PID setup on mine...and the nut on the top of the pot is the perfect place to hold the bracket for the thermocouple rod. Not sure what else that nut would be used for....its not listed out in the instructions as being a functional part of the pot.

redhawk

[B R Shooter]

OK, so what's the deal with a PID?

[StuBach]

I started on a old Saeco 10# which was nice but emptied quickly so I got a Lee 4-20 which was nice and only $50 on sale at Amazon one day. Than came across a great deal on an original used RCBS Pro Melt 1 and haven’t looked back. They are awesome but the Pro Melt 2s have built in PIDs which have to cool down slowly before you cut the power so you can’t just unplug and walk away. Inconvenient in my opinion but many say they work well. My recommendation is an old PM1 if you can find one or the Lee if you can’t.

PIDs are thermostat controllers that you plug your pot into and they will manage the power feed to keep the lead ad a set temperature range. They have a probe that will get left in the pot as you cast so it knows the temp and adjusts automatically. You can build your own or buy one from some of the guys on here. I’ve heard good things about the one Hatch builds. Mine was built by a member no longer on the forum and cost around $110 shipped with two probes I believe, but that was a few years ago.

[farmbif]

it all depends on budget, I would love to have a magma cast master but my little lee 10 lb bottom pour casts perfectly good as long as I keep my eye on pot temperature, the thermostat in it seems to be effected by outside air temp. makes a pid unit all the more attractive. the 10lb limit is not that much of a big deal with when it gets a bit low just add a few ingots
it works very well for mold fill out with the bottom pour spout at the front edge of pot. but then again I don't cast 1000's of bullets each casting session, maybe hundreds.

[Mal Paso]

Looks like the RCBS Pro Melt 2 is back off the market. Again.

[coderpitt]

I'm using a Lee 4-20 with a MyPID controller (with type K probe) to maintain a constant temperature as the volume goes down. Basically I wired the PID into the cart underneath the pot, and the pot plugs into it. When I turn on the system the pot is on high, and the PID controls the temperature by turning the pot on and off as needed to keep the temperature fairly constant regardless of volume in the pot. Set the temperature and give it time to reach, once there cast away. If you put a lot of cold lead in the pot give it a while to melt.... then cast again.

[kevin c]

I have a Lee 4-20 that I started with and an old style RCBS ProMelt I cleaned up. The Lee worked fine, but did leak and has a lower capacity than the RCBS (I cast in volume). Now the Lee is mounted over the RCBS to feed it preheated molten alloy, so I effectively have a 40# pot, and never have to wait on ingots melting and don't worry about the melt having big temp swings.

Unlimited funds and knowing from the start that casting would be big part of my shooting, I'd get a Magma Engineering Master Pot, or maybe even one of their automated casters for easy production of lots and lots of a particular boolit. But a Lee is an inexpensive way to dip your toes at the beginning, and certainly does the job for many even in the long run.

[Big Ben]

I came across a vintage Lyman (made by Saeco, I think) that did not have the power cord. I direct wired it and it is a gem! I am liking the speed and high production of a bottom pour.

[Springfield]

It all depends on how many bullets you cast at a time or per month, and your budget. The LEe melts lead and pours it into the mold perfectly well most of the time. Sometimes they drip, just twist the rod and it usually stops. 16 lb capacity and 600 watt heater
The RCBS 1 has a larger pot and a larger heating element, so you can do more casts without stopping. It also has better temperature control as the thermostat is closer to the pot, so less temperature swings. 20 lbs and 800 watt heater
The Magma 40 lber is much better than either of them, with the larger pot and the 1500 watt heater. It also has the option of a double pour spout, which speeds things up a bit doing 2 cavities at a time. With the larger pot and heater you pretty never have spout freeze, just keep tipping ingots into the pot and keep going. Great if you are like me and prefer to to a few thousand at a time instead of shorter casting sessions.
I have all 3, and use the Magma for all of my cowboy action shooting bullets for the 4 in my family that compete. I use the RCBS for all of my pure lead items, like balls for my C&B guns. Or if I need to run a batch of long range bullets using single cavity moulds I will drain it and refill with a bit harder alloy. The LEE I haven't touched in years. All are used with a PID, makes temp control more accurate. Might make a difference, might not, just makes me feel more in control.

[44magLeo]

B R Shooter, A PID is an electronic device the controls the temperature of the lead in the pot. It does this very accurately because the temp probe is in the lead. The temp varies by a few degrees.
Most pots have a knob you turn to control the temp, but they read temps outside the pot. This lets the lead temps vary a lot more than a PID controller. Usually getting much hotter as the amount of lead in the pot goes down.
One can be built by buying the parts and assembling one. Some on here buy there's already built.
Leo

[thxmrgarand]

Last spring my 30 year-old Lyman 20 pound, bottom-pour furnace quit heating. The power in this house I bought 10 years ago is kind of dodgy, and the power for this town (not on any grid or connected to any town, switches to 100 percent diesel frequently ,etc.) has challenges so I do not blame appliances that fail. I could have found an element for it at a plumbing store perhaps but the Covid had me avoiding a lot of in-store contact. So first I called Lyman and they had some alternatives. The alternative I selected was they offered me a good deal on a new 25 pound pot, and I like it very much. It has a so-called PID and a digital thermometer. It heats up very fast. It's a little better ergonomically and an entirely good design. Their service was as good as it gets. I tried to leave positive feedback on their website or FB page (cannot remember which, and barely know the difference) but had no luck with that.