Least Drippy Pot

[405grain]

(Highly sarcastic & grossly exaggerated) My pot has gotten to the point where it's splattering everything, including me, with lead sparkles as it builds a stalagmite in the drip pan. I could basically just keep filling the mold blocks from the never ending stream of lead pouring from the pot without actually operating the valve handle. To clean out the pour spout I just dump a handful of nuts and bolts into the pot and let them pass through the spout. OK, so it's not that bad: but it's annoying, and I've already rebuilt the pot several times. I did learn something extra from this thread. I'll remove the rod assembly and cap off the spout on this old pot. Then I'll use it as a mule for melting and cleaning up scrap lead to make into ingots.

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve seen that people sometimes put extra weight on the handles of Lee pots. Seems logical that it could help.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have two Lee bottom pour pots and don't have any dripping problems, unless I use some dirty alloy or incorrect fluxing/stirring techniques. With that said, I do kinda wish I would have bought a Magma 40 lb pot, instead of a Lee pot, when I first started casting.

[Rapier]

The best fix for a Lee is an RCBS. I tossed my four lee pots and got an RCBS Pro Melt decades ago.
All bottom pour pots drip, because any sand goes to the bottom when you melt lead, the sand blocks the valve stem seal. You need to empty the pot and clean the inside of the pot and the valve parts with a bronze or brass brush. The Pro Melt does the same, it just seems to take a bit longer

[BamaNapper]

All bottom pour pots drip, because any sand goes to the bottom when you melt lead, the sand blocks the valve stem seal.

Maybe you speak from your experience. But physics class, and my experience, says differently. I skim off the dirt and sand when I melt berm scrap. It seems to float quite well.

Density of molten lead: more than 10 g/cm3
Density of heaviest sand/rock: almost 3 g/cm3
Ratio is about 4:1
Density of beer: 1.05 g/cm3
Density of a wooden golf tee: 0.25 g/cm3
Ratio is also about 4:1

Physics says a grain of sand will sink in molten lead just about as often as a wooden golf tee tossed in a pint of lager.

But it's all a moot argument. Bottom pour pots drip, some less than others, and we all look for ways to combat it.

[toallmy]

Lee will send you what ever you need to rebuild your pot quite reasonably priced .
But it won't become a Magma or a RCBS