Recommended Bottom Pour Lead Furnace

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Art Green's RCBS pots were there long before 1998 They were there in the early 80's when I would drive to Beverly hills for WW alloy. Old Art was a great guy but nearly drudgery to go there because he would talk your ear off for hours on end if you let him. There was absolutely no quick in & out. He had to show you everything he was doing and know about everything you were doing. He was particularly proud of what he was shipping to well known gun writers of the time. He also had another location where he blended large quantities, several hundred pounds at a time. He told me one time when he was doing that he would need to work well into the night and his wife didn't like that, said he would never leave until the pots were cool enough to present no fire danger once he left.

A commercial caster named Penny in the hills above the SF Valley used RCBS pots exclusively, ran 5 or 6 of them at a time. Penny made good bullets until his death of cancer I think in the 90's sometime.
 

dannyd

Well-Known Member
Art Green's RCBS pots were there long before 1998 They were there in the early 80's when I would drive to Beverly hills for WW alloy. Old Art was a great guy but nearly drudgery to go there because he would talk your ear off for hours on end if you let him. There was absolutely no quick in & out. He had to show you everything he was doing and know about everything you were doing. He was particularly proud of what he was shipping to well known gun writers of the time. He also had another location where he blended large quantities, several hundred pounds at a time. He told me one time when he was doing that he would need to work well into the night and his wife didn't like that, said he would never leave until the pots were cool enough to present no fire danger once he left.

A commercial caster named Penny in the hills above the SF Valley used RCBS pots exclusively, ran 5 or 6 of them at a time. Penny made good bullets until his death of cancer I think in the 90's sometime.
I wish I could have meet him in person, talked to him on the phone alot back when I started. Never think of a lead guy in Beverly Hills. :)
 

Ian

Notorious member
No. Why it is hooked directly to the heating element is beyond my ability to comprehend, but there it is. I just use an analog thermometer and ignore the digital temperature readout. The PID holds the set point pretty well.
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
No. Why it is hooked directly to the heating element is beyond my ability to comprehend, but there it is. I just use an analog thermometer and ignore the digital temperature readout. The PID holds the set point pretty well.
Yup its like HP at the crank... Usless information. What is ut AT THE PAVEMENT!
 

dannyd

Well-Known Member
No. Why it is hooked directly to the heating element is beyond my ability to comprehend, but there it is. I just use an analog thermometer and ignore the digital temperature readout. The PID holds the set point pretty well.
When I talked to Rcbs couple years ago: they were going by where another manufacturer placed the probe in their pot. I may try to move it to see what happens.
 

Rally

NC Minnesota
I cast with two Lee 20 pound pots. Started with tens, ladled sinkers for years and a died in the wool bottom pour guy now. I rebuilt all the Lee handles and made removeable platforms for the bottoms, so I can use them with either flat bottomed or RG4 moulds. When I got the two 20 lbers, I really wanted RCBS, but that's when reports out in internet world were surfacing about the problems with the thermostats etc. I really wanted a Master Caster, and may still get one as a retirement present to myself, but the Lee's work for me now, with my modifications. Had I been able to get two of the original RCBS pots, I probably would have, but I really wanted the Master Caster.
When Rick posted those video clips of his on here, I slobbered all over my keyboard! LOL
 

popper

Well-Known Member
My Lee bottom dripper has worked fine for 10+ yrs. I don't plan on getting another. Per Ian's pics, promelt/easy melt has the temp probe connected to the cross bar of the heater coil at the bottom of the pot. Flat part should contact bottom of pot and be fairly accurate. Most PID controllers have a temp offset mode so actual temp readout would be correct - but relative temp would work, compare with alloy measurement and mentally offset setting. Cool-down mode is needed to keep the controller electronics temp down so it survives, fan keeps running.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Cooldown mode is also a safety feature, keeps unattended pot accidents from happening. However, like most safety features, fully-developed human beings find them annoying.

Bump the temperature set point 50⁰ over what you want and deal with the cooldown. Or gut the thing, extend the wires, put all the electronicals in a remote box with fan (the SSR still needs direct cooling), and have a proper unit.

I winder if the PID has a user-programmable offset that could be calibrated with an analog thermometer to reflect actual casting metal temperature?
 

Joshua

Taco Aficionado/Salish Sea Pirate/Part-Time Dragon
I’m a bottom pour ladle guy at this point.

I started casting with a Coleman camping stove, and a kitchen ladle with a 3/32” hole drilled in it.

Bought a Lee Pro 20# bottom pour pot. Hated the leaky bottom pour, hurts my neck and back to hunch over to see anything.

I have tightened the spout lever so that it won’t move and it is sealed this way. I’ve moved onto a smaller kitchen ladle w/ 3/32” hole. My current ladle holds enough alloy to fill six 230gr cavities.

Next pot I buy will be a Lee Magnum Melter.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
My original casting rig was a 10# Lyman pot--the Lyman ladle--and a Coleman camp stove. The bottom-pour increased production rate significantly, but it took some time-in-grade with the bottom-pour to equal the reject rate (or, lack thereof) I got with ladle casting.
 

Rockydoc

Well-Known Member
I can recommend the RCBS Easy Melt with built in PID.
There is a cool down procedure to adhere to..............turn down the temperature and do not unplug until PID is reading less than 160 degrees. Takes a couple of hours, when pot half filled with molten alloy.
I have the RCBS Pro Melt original without internal PID. I bought it used and it came without a user manual so I don’t know anything about this cool down procedure. I assume it is for the internal PID and that my older design without PID does not need the cool down. Please correct me if I am wrong.
 

dannyd

Well-Known Member
I have the RCBS Pro Melt original without internal PID. I bought it used and it came without a user manual so I don’t know anything about this cool down procedure. I assume it is for the internal PID and that my older design without PID does not need the cool down. Please correct me if I am wrong.
The old pro melt doesn't have a cool down: new one does to protect the pid unit.
 

Rockydoc

Well-Known Member
Thanks, dannyd. I have my home made PID that I switch back and forth between melter and toaster oven that has its own heat sink, so no worries there.
 

Dimner

Named Man
I’m a bottom pour ladle guy at this point.

I started casting with a Coleman camping stove, and a kitchen ladle with a 3/32” hole drilled in it.

Bought a Lee Pro 20# bottom pour pot. Hated the leaky bottom pour, hurts my neck and back to hunch over to see anything.

I have tightened the spout lever so that it won’t move and it is sealed this way. I’ve moved onto a smaller kitchen ladle w/ 3/32” hole. My current ladle holds enough alloy to fill six 230gr cavities.

Next pot I buy will be a Lee Magnum Melter.
I bought one of those last fall. Love it. Can cast a very long time before having to fill it back up. It's easy to use and easy to keep the alloy clean. Wish I would have started with this pot
 

Dimner

Named Man
I winder if the PID has a user-programmable offset that could be calibrated with an analog thermometer to reflect actual casting metal temperature?
This is the brand/model of PID that is on my PM2. I'll start looking for manuals and perhaps someone here can help figure out how to reprogram.

20210204_023236.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Cool, please do and let us know what you find. There has to be some secret squirrel code like push and hold "set" and "up" simultaneously for 10 seconds to enter an offset mode for the particular thermocouple that's been attached.
 

dannyd

Well-Known Member
Thanks, dannyd. I have my home made PID that I switch back and forth between melter and toaster oven that has its own heat sink, so no worries there.
The best thing I did with a PID was hook it to the lube heater on my star. Keeps great temperature.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
I have the RCBS Pro Melt original without internal PID. I bought it used and it came without a user manual so I don’t know anything about this cool down procedure. I assume it is for the internal PID and that my older design without PID does not need the cool down. Please correct me if I am wrong.
From RCBS's site:



These are the newer PID controlled furnaces. Not to be confused with the original, non PID controlled, Pro Melt. Easy Melt is a dedicated ladle casting furnace. The Pro Melt 2 is a bottom pour. Both PID controlled units require furnaces, not to be turned off, till they reach 160* F or less.