Adios, Lee-dripper!

[Jtarm]

Optics Planet has them on sale for under $300.

[Winger Ed.]

Very good. I sure like mine.

Be advised: WHEN the nozzle gets a little crud on it, they drip too.

[Jtarm]

Very good. I sure like mine.

Be advised: WHEN the nozzle gets a little crud on it, they drip too.

I think that’s to be expected.

But NOT constantly dripping!

[Winger Ed.]

I think that’s to be expected.But NOT constantly dripping!

True. I just had to chuckle though.
No matter what brand, you'll often see, "My pot drips, I hate it. It's the worst one ever".
And the only problem was that the needle & seat clogged with a little speck of dirt and dripped.

[Jtarm]

True. I just had to chuckle though.
No matter what brand, you'll often see, "My pot drips, I hate it. It's the worst one ever".
And the only problem was that the needle & seat clogged with a little speck of dirt and dripped.

This isn’t my first rodeo. My Lyman Mould Master used to clog/drip on occasion . But it didn’t constantly form lead stalagmites that had to be cleared every few pours.

[Froogal]

I keep a small diameter wire (paper clip) next to my LEE 10 pound pot. When it starts dripping, I insert that wire up into the nozzle and wiggle it a bit. The drip will stop. At least for awhile.

[Green Frog]

I have had similar experiences with Lee 20 pounders, a Lyman 10 and a 20 pounder, and to the least degree with a very clean RCBS 20 ponder belonging to a friend. Currently, I use 2 Lee 20 pounders and as long as I keep them clean (especially the nozzle) the drips are minimal. I only get stalagmites in my catch basin when I let the nozzle get dirty.

[Petander]

Looking good,congrats!

I have constant nightmares about my old Pro Melt breaking. It will be some big yoga to get a new one up here in nowhere... I personally only know about one other finnish person who casts bullets.

[Sasquatch-1]

I bought one a couple years ago. It works great. Biggest problem I have with it is the cool down period because of the electronics. It takes about an hour or more to get down to the recommended 160 degrees F. before you can unplug it. I will not leave it unattended during the cool down period.

I also have an old Lee 10 pounder but will not get rid of it. I use it for the dead soft lead.

[jsizemore]

You might try adding an external fan to your whole setup at shutdown to cool it faster. To keep the PID operating correctly, RCBS most likely added a lot more insulation that keeps it from cooling faster too. More directed air movement is more better.

[Targa]

Very nice on the RCBS. I have thought about getting one for a while but am to far along in my casting to justify it.

[lightman]

It looks like a nice pot. Please post something about how you like it after you have used it some.

[Jtarm]

It looks like a nice pot. Please post something about how you like it after you have used it some.

I spent a few hours this morning casting with an Accurate 40-224H 5-cavity.

Works great at keeping a constant temp and getting back up to temp when adding a 2.5 lb ingot.

A couple issues: the lever stop screw needs to be a bit longer. Cranked all the way down (minimum flow) the alloy stream was still too heavy for my taste. It worked best with the pot half-full. So I’ll be shopping for a new screw later today.

I don’t trust the thermostat. Not the set temperature, but the actual pot temp. When I added an ingot it would show the temp dropping only a few degrees. I know from experience it should drop 30-50. Sure enough, that’s what my NOE thermometer said. But it came back up quickly and I didn’t have to pause casting like with my Lee.

The shelf is nice, but I wish the guide collars were smoother and chromed for a slicker surface. I didn’t like the feel of my aluminum mould blocks rubbing them. I’ll probably give them a good going-over with some wet-or-dry.

My alloy is COWW+2. Setting the PID at 725 gave me a nice pile of shiny bullets.

Oh, yeah, only two-drips the whole time. We’ll see if that keeps up once it’s seen more use.

A minor annoyance is having to keep 3 or 4 metric hex keys on hand to make adjustments. I’ll be on the lookout for metric thumb screws while shopping hardware.

[Rapier]

You can rebuild the RCBS, yourself, and the rack adjusts for height of molds. If the paint falls off, apply some heat resistive grill paint, mine is now 30 years old, it does not need to be green. They are really good production pots.

[bowfin]

When my Lee pot starts to drip, I clean it.

Problem solved.

[dimaprok]

I bought one a couple years ago. It works great. Biggest problem I have with it is the cool down period because of the electronics. It takes about an hour or more to get down to the recommended 160 degrees F. before you can unplug it. I will not leave it unattended during the cool down period.

I also have an old Lee 10 pounder but will not get rid of it. I use it for the dead soft lead.

Why do you need to watch it while its cooling down?

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[Sasquatch-1]

Why do you need to watch it while its cooling down?

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I just don't feel comfortable leaving something that gets that hot plugged in unattended. I also do not leave my washer and dryer running when I leave the house.

I should probably get a count down timer to plug into.

I usually spend the time sorting through the bullets and reshaping in a swaging die.

[dimaprok]

When I got my Lee 4-20 it dripped some so I took valve rod chucked it in drill and ground some and drips were minimized. When I got a chance to snag RCBS Pro melt I was shocked how much it dripped, worse than my Lee! I gave it a thorough cleaning including nozzle and still. I took the rod oit and ground it at angle and it only made things worse. It was unbearable, i finally ground it flat 2nd time, tied an ingot to the arm and it pretty much doesn't drip anymore.

What's worse though is that nozzle constantly gets clogged! That happened rarely with Lee. Its frasturating at times.

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[kevin c]

I just mounted my drippy 4-20 over my ProMelt as a feeder; now it doesn't matter that it drools alloy. AAMOF, it's a plus that it doesn't drip when the alloy is cold (ingots, sprues and rejects just added) but does when the alloy is up to casting temp and ready to add to the ProMelt.

And, yes, if dirty the ProMelt drools too.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Dripping pots are distant memory. I bought a good ladle and never looked back.