LEE Pro 4 20 bottom feed lead pot ...pros n cons

[Brokenbear]

OK a couple of qualifiers ..I'm casting with pure lead making round balls only in .320 .375 and .454 and casting into 2 cav Lee RB molds

I know pure lead is more forgiving than some of the alloyed mixes but still needs a reasonable temperature to flow
Also uncomplicated sphere and no lube grooves or krazy angles might allow a budget pot to do the job

So I am hoping this thrifty rig can handle a simple mission like the above but I am seeking any tips n tricks you Lee Pro 4 20 users would care to share

Thanks
Bear

[StuBach]

It’s really not a bad pot for the money. When I upgraded to the ProMelt 1 I decided to keep it and eventually may end up using to create a Premelt reservoir above my PM1.

The drip is manageable, I kept a stainless steel pan under mine and just periodically dropped the drips back in.

I would just ask though, why need for a bottom pour? Seems like a ladle setup would be more cost effective and achieve the purpose you need?

[Carrier]

Can’t help with round balls but I cast a lot of bullets for trapdoor black powder and handgun with a Lee 10lb and 20lb bottom pours using a PID with no issues. At the very least get a lead thermometer. For what I cast 700 to 800 degrees works depending on the mix and mould.
The 20lb pot does drip but the 10lb doesn’t.

[dannyd]

It’s a good pot still have two; casted lots of bullets with them.

[big bore 99]

I'm on my second one with no complaints. A little twist of the plunger with a screwdriver help with any drips.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

In the last 11 years, I've cast tens of thousands of boolits and thousands of round balls, all with a Lee 4-20.
in fact, I just cast 1000+ 9mm boolits this morning.
IMHO, there is only Pros, no cons.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

a helpful hint, when casting with pure Lead, I add 1/2% tin, then the projectiles stay shiney and don't age tarnish or get corroded.

[Brokenbear]

Wow !! ..quick and positive comments ..Thanks folks ! ..keep'em coming

I looked at just a melting pot and a good ladle like a Lyman but that combination was with in a few $$ of the Pro 4 20

[sghart3578]

I love my Lee pot. To minimize drips I try to keep the lead clean. I recently bought a new Lee 4-20 because I damaged my original one. It was full of lead and cold. It was sitting on the floor and I knocked it over. It turns out the fall had broken the heating element. It was at least 10 years old and still going strong.

I ordered a new element and decided to replace the bottom pour pot with a solid one. The old one was very dirty and rusty. Now I have two pots.

I clean and flux my lead before I pour it into ingots. Now, when I bring the ingots in, I place them in the ladle pot and flux them a couple of more times before I pour it into my bottom pour pot. Keeping the lead clean seems to eliminate a lot of the dripping issues I use to have.

I love Lee pots.


Steve in N CA

[jim147]

Should work good. You say pure lead but are you buying it in ingots? Don't smelt in a bottom pour. That is when you have the drips.

[dannyd]

To help stop the drips just add a long screw and spring

[Brokenbear]

The 1/2% tin seems a good idea to keep shinny ..I guess the question becomes how much (if any to speak of) does it change the hardness ??

The reason I think it is an issue in my particular case is I am building these projectiles ..excuse me boolits for Colt open tops black powder revolvers whose frame configuration are not the strongest as well as the fact that the loading levers can definitely be quickly challenged not to mention potentially life shortening to the loading levers ..so I read

You will notice I bold printed "I think" in the previous paragraph ..that is because ..I'm old... 60 years of reloading ..some boolit casting in there as well as years of black powder shooting ...BUT BP revolvers are relatively new to me so I have yet to create my own experience history ..hence the "I think" and "so I read"

Hence I am carefully storing pertinent information for my learning curve

Thanks
Bear

[Brokenbear]

Actually years ago i bought a huge amount of lead strips intended for waterfowl decoys that are pure lead (still in the packages) ..if and when that runs out ..no dumpster diving for me when I can buy from Rotometals and cast boolits for less than $0.01 per

Bear

[Dusty Bannister]

If you are using pure lead, the 1/2% of tin is so small it will likely not have any measurable affect. If you are using soft lead scrap, you probably have more antimony in the scrap and that has three times the hardening affect of tin. Unless you are using clip on WW you should not have any issues of hardness. Cast at about 800 degrees and have a very clean mold or you will have wrinkles on the castings.

[Dieselhorses]

Actually years ago i bought a huge amount of lead strips intended for waterfowl decoys that are pure lead (still in the packages) ..if and when that runs out ..no dumpster diving for me when I can buy from Rotometals and cast boolits for less than $0.01 per

Bear

LOL That's the first lead I ever melted! I don't think it's pure lead but close enough! Only mod I did was weld a big hex nut on top to give a little extra help in sealing. I use a PID and it keeps temp right around 720-730 F.

[imashooter2]

Many, many folks cast with the Lee pots as their primary, or only furnace. You will be fine.

[echo154]

Yep I have that very one. It is powered by a PID and drips like heck if I use it to melt dirty lead. For the price it is great...as are most Lee products....especially for beginners. Some of my favorite mold are Lee. Since I switched to a propane powered burner for smelting the dripping almost stopped....if I did it over I would go with the dip and cast model.....better quality pours. I use Lee sizers for 10MM, 44Mag and 45-70......just got a >451 for PP but then again I am just starting out in that endeavor so we shall see......bore in my BPCR is .450. I started out with a Lee mold .429 SWC and a Lee 44 Mag load kit....hand dies and capping.....I loaded some mighty accurate loads for my DW 44!

[OS OK]

If you want to increase production, you can run two or more moulds at the same time.
While one cools and solidifies the sprue, you are filling the other...set it down and break sprue on the first & refill. Repeat...



A little extra weight on the valve assembly will help with the dripping & something attached to the valve to allow you to reach up and give it a quick twist helps also.
If it persists or increases too much flow...take it apart and use some valve seating compound to seat the valve properly and then after that...keep your melt clean and don't drop sprues back as you cast or they will pull oxidized lead and tin down into the melt and that will eventually go through the valve (cause problems there) and go into your casts and cause problems there too.



Parting thought...measure the bhn of that lead your using...know that it is soft enough to not damage that pistol loading system. You can measure bhn with an expensive test tool or with a pencil hardness...just know what your dealing with before you are fixing problems from not knowing.



ENJOY

[Soundguy]

I use their 10 bottom pour.. 20 could only be better. as others said.. drip is manageable.. I keep a spare ingot mold under. I hade ladle pouring...

[dannyd]

I use their 10 bottom pour.. 20 could only be better. as others said.. drip is manageable.. I keep a spare ingot mold under. I hade ladle pouring...

My 10 lbs’s never dripped had three at one time. Still may have one have to look.