Cold Weather Casting

[Jon]

I did a little bit of casting this weekend outside. It was in the 20's and breezy. FWIW, the LEE 10lb pot doesn't work very well when it's this cold. I was able to cast, but adding any fresh lead to the mix cooled it down too much. I had to run the pot low, add some ingots, and let it sit for 15-20 min or so to recover.

On the plus side, you don't have to wait long for the lead to harden in the mold.

I probably cast 300-400 158gr 38's, and 250 or so 230gr 45 bullets.

That should get me by for a bit.

[mcdonl]

Hey Jon, where you from? I am in Limington. I have a Lee 10lb pot too. I am on the hunt for a Turkey Fryer right now. Not the best time of year to buy one!

Leroy

[RobS]

The 10 lbs pot must be different as the 20 lbs Lee pot in cold weather wont stay under 800 degrees unless I add a cold ingot every once in a while. The thermostate is in the housing unit of the Lee pots and at the lowest setting my pot was under load darn near all the time. I am interested to hear of others experiences with the Lee 10lbs pot and if they have the same issue you are having. If they are not then I would replace the thermostate on your pot as this could be your issue.

[44man]

Why are you casting outside? Don't you have a garage, a barn or building you can put a heater in?

[Wireman134]

I find it takes quite a long time to melt in sub 40 temperatures,with the 10lb Lee. Very hard to justify casting in that low temp IMO

[Whistler]

I've got the 20lb Lee and I cast about 1000 240gr .429 and 500 158gr .358 yesterday in 23 degrees Fahrenheit. I used the two molds at the same time; fill one, fill the other, empty the first, refill it, empty the second, refill it and so on, so that they always stayed in an even warm temperature. When I had to fill the pot up I put the molds on a hot plate.

[DLCTEX]

The one advantage to having a small reloading building is that it doesn't take long to heat it up.

[Jon]

Hey Jon, where you from? I am in Limington. I have a Lee 10lb pot too. I am on the hunt for a Turkey Fryer right now. Not the best time of year to buy one!

Leroy

I'm in Sanford.
Cabelas has a fish fryer that has a decent propane burner. That's what I'm using right now. Harbor Freight has a decent dutch oven that I put on top. I put all my range scrap in there, and let it cook for 30 min with the cover on. Sifting out all the jackets takes awhile, but wheel weights seem to be hard to come by around here.

Are you having any luck finding sources of lead?

[Jon]

I've got the 20lb Lee and I cast about 1000 240gr .429 and 500 158gr .358 yesterday in 23 degrees Fahrenheit. I used the two molds at the same time; fill one, fill the other, empty the first, refill it, empty the second, refill it and so on, so that they always stayed in an even warm temperature. When I had to fill the pot up I put the molds on a hot plate.

What's the wattage of the 20lb pot? I suspect that it has a bigger heater than the 10lb version.

[Jon]

Why are you casting outside? Don't you have a garage, a barn or building you can put a heater in?

I don't have a garage. I do have a small shed, but my generator, and lawn equipment currently live in there. Time to build a new one I guess

[mcdonl]

Jon, I have 3 five gallon buckets full of wheel weights. Although, the guy who has been providing me only let me take a small bucket the last time as I am taking them faster then he replenishes his stock. He not only takes old ones off cars, but he does take from the bucket to put back on cars too.

I originally got the ww's to cast into throwing weights. I am the athletics director for the Maine Highland Games and wanted to make my own 28 and 56 pound weights but never figured out how to build a proper mold. Now that I know how, I am not gonna give up my WW's for anything!!

Leroy

[dakotashooter2]

I've cast in my garage at about that temp or just a little higher and have not had such a problem. It might help if you could shield your pot a bit to help hold the heat.

[RobS]

What's the wattage of the 20lb pot? I suspect that it has a bigger heater than the 10lb version.

I believe you are correct...............the 10 lbs pot has a 500 watt coil and from what I can find from different sites on the internet (Lee Precision's website doesn't specify on the larger pot) the 20 lbs pot has a 700 watt coil.

[Dale53]

Several years ago, I had a small utility barn built to house my tools and yard stuff. I had the builder build me a permanent dedicated casting station in one end (the building is 12x20). I had the building insulated, had 220 electric run to it and have two separated circuits at the casting station (so I can run two pots at the same time, if necessary, without popping a breaker). I also installed an electric wall heater in the end I cast. Further, I installed a window air conditioner in the side of the building.

Yesterday, it was 3 degrees here. I DID wait until about noon to start casting. Surprisingly, it was 32 degrees inside when I turned the pot on (and the wall heater). In thirty minutes it was up to 42 degrees. Shortly, I was casting in my shirt sleeves (also had long underwear on, if you need the details).

All in all, it was no problem at all. My little outbuilding is a modest effort but it sure works well:



FWIW
Dale53

[mcdonl]

Dale, great setup!

[SCHUETZENBOOMER]

If I see a bright light some evening in the S-Eastern sky, I will guess it was that 8# keg of 748!

[fredj338]

I've cast in my garage at about that temp or just a little higher and have not had such a problem. It might help if you could shield your pot a bit to help hold the heat.

Just putting a piece of heavy tin foil on top of the pot will hold a lot of the heat in. In the 10# Lee, I will put foil on top whenever I add ingots. On the 20#, just add ingots before the pot is at half & it should stay running set around 6.5-7.

[Jon]

I'll try a tinfoil hat for it next time. I wasn't too bad once it was up to temp, but I couldn't add anything.

It beats working on vehicles in the cold

[Dale53]

That keg of 748 is EMPTY! In fact, it has now been moved to the landfill.

Dale53

[ghh3rd]

If I see a bright light some evening in the S-Eastern sky, I will guess it was that 8# keg of 748!

I was thinking the same thing -- funny how something that you know is OK, sets off alarms in others