Lee Bottom Pour Melter

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  • Last Post 21 June 2009
strgskp posted this 13 July 2008

Greetings:

I'm just about ready to give up on bottom pour lead melters. My Lee has a slow drip when I'm casting. Any suggestions on how to stop the leak?

I seem to do better casting using the dip method with a lyman ladle.

thanks.

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RicinYakima posted this 13 July 2008

It's just the nature of the beasts!

Best you can do is clean the crucible with hot soapy water, wire brush the rod, and reassemble with the rod as far down as possible. A clean pot is a happy, and cheaper to run, pot.

I converted mine 20 years ago to a dip pot and haven't look back.

Ric

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gunarea posted this 14 July 2008

Hey Strgskp

    If you are using the twenty pound pot, get rid of it and switch to the ten pound model. The ten pounder has a slot in the drop rod. Using a good flat blade screwdriver, you can rotate the rod back and forth to eliminate dripping. Keep the alloy as clean as possible going into your actual casting pot. During smelting it is important to remove all debris. While you are casting, skim off dross several times through the ten pound cycle. There will always be some slop somewhere, clean, clean, clean. Once you master the beast, it is faster to use a bottom pour. Keep me posted, I'll be glad to help.

                                                                      Roy 

Shoot often, Shoot well

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NITROTRIP posted this 14 July 2008

I am useing the LEE bottom pour pot also. What Roy said is spot on with my use of them also. I just did a few other things to add to his list. My pot got very dirty doing wheelweights into ingots. I learned very quickly to use another pot for that. I cleaned mine with a small spot sandblaster after I dissasembled it. Without hitting the seat area. I cleaned that with a dremmel mini tipped wire brush. Then blued the inside the pot after it warmed a little with cold blue. Put it all back togather. The blueing helps with stuff sticking to the sides. I still get drips now and then, but just have a screwdriver there at all times to rotate the rod while pressing down and it  compleatly stops. If it keeps up I use a long peace of wire the size of the hole, stick the wire in and quickly open the valve and shut it again. It has never failed to stop the drip. You MUST!!!!! be very careful doing this as the lead will shoot out some if you have the weight of a full pot acting on the hole. I use a tin cup under the hole with a slot for the wire. The cup just fits under the pot. After the blueing I have cast 19,000 bullets and not done anything but those 2 things. In my opinion the only way you can improve the LEE pot is to way over engineer it. And we all know what that acomplishes. You patch 1 small problem and create 7 big ones.

Happy Casting,

Rick

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JeffinNZ posted this 14 July 2008

I took another approach.  A big ass self tapper in the outlet hole and bought me a ladle.  Life has never been so good.

As you can see we are a bit 'agricultural' down here in NZ but it sure works.

Cheers from New Zealand

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jhalcott posted this 14 July 2008

I bougfht a 10 pound Lee pot for $5. Tje guy was SOOO disappointed with the dripping. I washed it out and boiled some water in it. I wire brushed the thing AND the rod and pour hole.. It still drips once in a while, but a quick twist of the rod generally clears the seat. That is where the drip comes from. A dirty seat! I have 2 ,10 pound pots and use one for hard alloys like Linotype, the other for soft alloys. I have ALWAYS got better results with a bottom pour than a dipper. Just ME I guess.

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CB posted this 15 July 2008

I love my bottom pour pot. If it starts to leak, I use a paper clip and clear the debris out of the pour hole which is what holds it open.

Recently I let it drain out completely and got all of the crude cleaned out. Mine has been working well for me since the mid 80s.

This is the natural of the critter, but if you understand what to do, it will serve you well. If it this problem was so bad, Lee would have either discontinued the pot or completely redesign it.

Jerry

 

 

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whofan posted this 18 July 2008

They will drip some. However, I have found that if you just drop the handle quickly when the mold is full, the leakage almost never occurs.  It is when you are gentle with it that it leaks.

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Win52D posted this 19 July 2008

Whofan is right,,,drop the handle a few times hard usually stops the drip.  I use a wire brad held with visegrips to unclog the spout.  I do miss the slotted rod of the 10 lb pot (currently using the 20 lb version) though to be honest I have had far fewer issues with the 20 lb version.

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bpd303 posted this 14 February 2009

I have been casting with a Lyman 20 lb master bottom pour for about 30 years now. I have found that about every 5 years the rod seat will get copper from the alloy coated on it (sort of like copper fouling in a barrel. The best fix I've found is to drain and clean the pot then pull the rod and lap it with valve grinding compound like you would the valves in an engine. An old hand eggbeater drill works good by rocking the handle back and forth.

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Minnesota AL posted this 14 February 2009

I love the Lee 20# bottom pour for high production use with their 6 cavity molds. I couldn't imagine using those molds with a ladle. Yeah it drips some. I place an ingot molt under it and catch the drips. When the drips get very frequent I'll twist the rod with ascrew driver to stop the drips for a while.

For high quality BPCR bullets a single cavity mold, huge capacity pot, ladle, and a turkey fryer burner is what I use.

Al

 

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vmwilson posted this 15 February 2009

Somebody else put me onto this. Weld a small bolt on the plunger rod top and affix a small handle on it. Much easier to turn a knob than to grab a screwdriver. I have also noticed as mentioned that dropping the handle abrubtly seems to help. And of course the full cleaning of the pot on occasion.

Mike

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dromia posted this 18 February 2009

I picked up somewhere that a pair of cheap vice grips clamped to the top of the rod to give extra weight cures the drip.

I tried that along with every other fix know to man other than burying the damn thing in damp peat for 10 years and it still dripped. Bunged up the hole took the pouring gubbins out and made me a halfways decent dipping pot.

For bottom pouring I got an RCBS Pro Melt and haven't looked back.

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JetMech posted this 18 February 2009

NITROTRIP, I like that blueing tip. Have to try it.

strgskp, I welded a piece of 1/4 X 28 allthread onto the end of the rod and screwed on a old handle from a lathe on it. That's been working well for me for some years. Some Lee pots are like that. Done everything I could think of to stop the leak. Eventually just learned how to live with it.

I seem to get better results on smaller bullets using a botom pour pot. By smaller, I mean under .30. Larger bullets, the ladle gets the nod.

 

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beagle posted this 18 February 2009

I filed a small flat on a large washer,then brazad it in the screw slot.A quick twist when it starts to drip usually stops it.Beagle

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JetMech posted this 18 February 2009

Well.... that's just too easy. Wish I had thought of it.:^:

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big boar posted this 18 February 2009

I wouldn't waste my time. Ever since I've gone to a ladle pour my rejects have gone to almost zip. Good fill and I've just about stopped weighing them as the deviation is quite small. The faster output from the bottom also meant significantly more rejects. Just my 7 1/2 cents.

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jhalcott posted this 20 February 2009

I certainly get more rejects from a 6 holer, BUT the percentage is not close. IF I get 20 or 30 rejects from a pot(10#), thats a small number compared to 350 or 400+ per hour. I get well over 450 150 grain 30 cal bullets per pot. I do not use a gang mold for 457 rifle bullets. The biggest I use is a 4 hole H&G #78(205gr) I DO occassionally ladle cast for the big boys, but use a 20/1 alloy and don't feel like emptying the electric pot.or I'd BD them also!

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WILDCATT posted this 21 June 2009

this is late post but.some people seem to always break their toys others save them for their children.I must be a saver as I have the first tool I got and also the first electric pot.a gilbert toy soldier caster.put a weight on the rod or attach a light spring to the handle.I have the Lee 20# and a Saeco 10#.I just got a controler for the Saeco.

     :coffee.>   :fire

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