Recommend me a lead melting pot.

[TomH]

I am about to embark on the journey that is casting. 44 magnum at first, but more may follow later. I like the the idea of an electrically powered pot for convenience. But whose and what size? Seems to be a lot of negative feedback on the Lee Drippers and they don't do the 20LB pot in 240V. I'm thinking a converter to handle the wattage of a pot isn't going to be cheap. So, are 10LB pots adequate or is biggest best considering I may succumb to such as an Enfield rifled musket, Snider Enfield or Martini Henry in future?

[FredB]

i have a 120V Lee pot. The converter cost £4 from Tandy. It has worked fine for about 10 years, but I only use it for large (300grn plus) bullets as I find that I cast quicker and more consistently with my steel paint cans on an electric ring. I have a can for pure lead, a van for 24:1 lead / tin and a can for range scrap and rubbish. The Lee pot is only ised for 24:1. lee pots have a reputation for dripping, but mine never has.
Fred

[Dahonis]

I've had two Lee 10lb in 4 years. The first one after 4 or 5 refills decided to stick open and emptied the lot!

Second one after a year the thermostat went, easyto fix but a pain...both dripped.

I now use a small cast iron pan ( small retains the heat well) and a cheap two ring stove that cost £15 New. One ring heats the molds, other one does the lead melting.

......I have used a metal can and this works equally well.

I will not go back to Lee pots based on my own personal experience.

[dodgyrog]

RCBS Pro melt - very expensive but well worth it

[Dahonis]

This is what you need
https://www.full-bore.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=33610

[sclg]

lee pots have a reputation for dripping, but mine never has.
Fred

When mine drips, I find a quick poke up the spout with a 1mm drill held in a pair of pliers quickly fixes it.

[Furiouspilgrim]

lee pots have a reputation for dripping, but mine never has.
Fred

When mine drips, I find a quick poke up the spout with a 1mm drill held in a pair of pliers quickly fixes it.

Sounds painful

[Dahonis]

lee pots have a reputation for dripping, but mine never has.
Fred

When mine drips, I find a quick poke up the spout with a 1mm drill held in a pair of pliers quickly fixes it.

That's exactly what I did the first time. A piece of debris that a poked back pushed the rod up just enough and then got stuck and wedged open.

I had a very lucky escape.

[dromia]

I am about to embark on the journey that is casting. 44 magnum at first, but more may follow later. I like the the idea of an electrically powered pot for convenience. But whose and what size? Seems to be a lot of negative feedback on the Lee Drippers and they don't do the 20LB pot in 240V. I'm thinking a converter to handle the wattage of a pot isn't going to be cheap. So, are 10LB pots adequate or is biggest best considering I may succumb to such as an Enfield rifled musket, Snider Enfield or Martini Henry in future?

It really depends on what you want to do, dip or pour?

If you are shooting a lot of ammunition in your 44 then pouring might be for you but when you get onto the larger bullets then dipping is by far the best method.

I only pour for bulk runs of plinking ammunition most of my bullets are dipped, with a four gang mould I can comfortably produce 300+ quality 220 gn .44 pistol bullets in an hour (2% rejection rate) from a 20lb pot by dipping.

You will be best off with a 20lb pot as a minimum capacity as you never want to empty a pot casting due to temperature fluctuation and if you are pouring then you will have pressure variations as well, the larger 400gn+ plus bullets just eat lead and you 10lber will empty just as you are getting into a cadence. I do use the Lyman 10lb dipping pot for casting .22" bullets fitted with an external PID, you can get a lot of 30-50 gn bullets (around 700) from 5lbs of alloy.

I currently use four electric pots and a gas ring pot, three are for dipping and two are bottom pour.

If you are dipping then a cast pot on a camping ring is excellent, far better than the Lee drip o matics, however the Lees can be blocked up and have their pouring gubbins removed and make a dipping pot, however be aware that their 20lb pot only holds a scant 17lbs and maybe less if you need to leave room for a dipper.

There are new pots on the market from Lyman and RCBS that have PID controllers which can be a great aid to consistent casting.

The Lyman Mag 25 holds 25lbs of alloy is a pouring pot but has room for ladle casting too.

RCBS have introduced the EasyMelt a PID controlled 22lb dipping pot that is getting good feedback too, neither of these are bank breakers but they are above the Lee price range but the quality should be far better and they have PIDs built in.

Depending on what you want to spend then the 40 lb PID controlled dipping and pouring pots that I use from Stephan in Germany are the way to go (see my previous reviews on here) coming in at the £400 mark, depending on the exchange rate, they are far superior to any pot out there, except perhaps the magma which is more than twice the price with the PID, and are cheaper than the one time benchmark pot the RCBS Pro Melt.

At the end of the day there is still a lot to be said for a cast iron pot and a camping gas ring, I still cast that way on occasion. Also you will need the gas ring and pot for preparing and cleaning your alloy, you never want to do that in your casting pot.

My recommendation would be to get a gas ring and a couple of cast iron pots initially, those along with your moulds, a dipping ladle, a dry stick and a spoon will get you going. Learning how to cast is best done slowly and by dipping. Once you have made and shot a few thousand bullets this way you will be far better informed in deciding what type of electric pot would suit you and your circumstances best.

[TomH]

Thanks all for your responses, especially Dromia for taking the time to type such a comprehensive post. I can see the merit now in a gas ring and a couple of pots. It certainly is the lowest cost alternative I would think and I've never been a fan of running out and buying a load of equipment before I have some experience.

One question that does spring to mind, is how do you judge temperature?