Quote Originally Posted by Soundguy View Post
A few sessions of casting? That's hilarious... If a pot dies after a few sessions.. It's not the heat..its a defect. The pot is capable of running that heat. The 10# pots are cheaper. It's a tool.. Im not afraid of using tools. It's like buying a hammer but afraid to hit big nails with it ... This isn't advice and ymmv.
I mentioned in the first post I run it at 800F when I cast Zinc bullets and I dedicated 4-20 to it knowing that Zinc might eat through it. I am not afraid to use it. My Lee magnum melter I insulated with Kaowool, it was reaching over 900F on lowest setting (2). Added larger pot too, it would hold about 28lb of lead, melted lead, melted zinc, annealed 22LR jackets, eventually the pot sprung a leak, so I replaced it with one from Lee, just paid the shipping and rebuild it. I also replaced the heating element, the old one was scaled and chipping. Believe me, I used and abused my "tools" and what I learned is no need to run it super hot when its not required.