Winelover
North Central Arkansas
Last week I ordered the RCBS Easy Melt from Midway. In stock at $109, with free shipping and a $25 rebate............couldn't pass it up. Will be used, strictly for the occasional ladle casting session.
Arrived mid week. Got a couple of casting sessions in, since then.
The #2 Rowell ladle fits with room to spare.
The PID, once set, fluctuates less then the Lyman Mag 25, I also own. The Lyman varies about ten degrees, while the RCBS by less than two. Neither furnace has a on/off switch. RCBS manual states not to operate the furnace with less than one inch of lead inside......and not to unplug it until the temperature is down to 160 degrees. Set the PID to 0000 to shut the heating element off, but allow the cooling fan to run. Lyman makes no mention of this in their owner's manual.
The Lyman pot is painted steel, while the RCBS is bright metal, like the older Pro-Melt.
Took a little over half hour to melt 20 pounds of alloy, I had in it from the previous casting session. My 220V Pro-melt will beat this by half. After the session was over, it took several hours for the pot to reach the unplugging temperature of 160 degrees. I ran it in my garage, with the door open, air temp was @ 60 degrees.
Overall, I like it.
Arrived mid week. Got a couple of casting sessions in, since then.
The #2 Rowell ladle fits with room to spare.
The PID, once set, fluctuates less then the Lyman Mag 25, I also own. The Lyman varies about ten degrees, while the RCBS by less than two. Neither furnace has a on/off switch. RCBS manual states not to operate the furnace with less than one inch of lead inside......and not to unplug it until the temperature is down to 160 degrees. Set the PID to 0000 to shut the heating element off, but allow the cooling fan to run. Lyman makes no mention of this in their owner's manual.
The Lyman pot is painted steel, while the RCBS is bright metal, like the older Pro-Melt.
Took a little over half hour to melt 20 pounds of alloy, I had in it from the previous casting session. My 220V Pro-melt will beat this by half. After the session was over, it took several hours for the pot to reach the unplugging temperature of 160 degrees. I ran it in my garage, with the door open, air temp was @ 60 degrees.
Overall, I like it.