LimpNoodle Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 My new Lee Production Pot IV is driving me nuts. I'm using clean pure lead and the amount of dross that is being generated by the pot is amazing. The pour spout clogs continually. The pot is just a couple of months old and the problem is getting worse. I've tried storing the pot full of lead and empty. Doesn't seem to make a difference. When stored with lead in the pot the next time I use it the pour spout leaks lead and I end up having to force the unmelted lead at the top down into the pot. Is this the new normal with Lee pots or did I get a bad one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 I use a Lee Ingot mold and I set it under the spout as my pot is heating up. Once it is completely melted I will take a screw driver and turn the plunger left and right a couple times and it is fine for a bit. As far as the slag, if you are using any kind of scrap lead, it may be pure but it isn't clean, you normally see large amounts of slag or dross from wheel weights, plumbers lead, or any lead that was used for something. I buy my lead from Rotometals in both pure and antimonial 5lb ingots. I use my 4lb pot to melt them down and then use a ladle to pour ingots for myself, this way I can make my own custom alloys mixing hard lead with pure. Anyway, I cut the ingots in half and I put 1 half in the melter and flux it and then pour a 1 lb ingot and a 1/2 lb ingot and then add the other half of the 5lb ingot, my pot is only 4lb capacity which is why I do it this way. When I add the second half of the ingot I again flux it and skim off the slag and pour my ingots. By doing this it assures that my 10lb production pot doesn't get crud in it, and I simply unplug and let the lead in there, and when I fire it back up I add more flux and so far I haven't had but a table spoon of slag each pouring session. I'm sorry for the long play by play of how I do things but dripping pots are normal, huge amounts of slag or dross is not, and you have it because the lead has impurities in it so it needs to be cleaned and fluxed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 I bought a new Lee pot about 6 months ago that is for ladle only, not a bottom pour, and I use it to melt lead off of rejected jigs to save the hooks and I have a terrible amount of dross. the lead on these jigs is recycled lead from a recycling plant, contains 6% antimony. Everyday this lead is fluxed with candle wax in different pot. I have never seen anything like this in 27 years. If you let it set still for 20 minuets, the dross gets crusty. It looks like rust. I think if it is something to do with the new pot, maybe the steel is cheap. Over the years I have went through several bottom pour pots and never had anything like this. but the other variable is, I very seldom used antimonal lead in those bottom pour pots. I bought this type of pot to stop the drip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimpNoodle Posted October 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 It's pure lead that I've had for years. I purchased it from a commercial sinker maker that was going out of business. I'm getting the same problem as dlaery. If I melt the lead and let it sit the dross just keeps building up. I can flux it and clean it and a few minutes later there's a crust of dross sitting on top of the lead. Went to a commercial caster near by and picked up 10 lbs of his pure lead and the same thing happens. I've filled a 24 ounce container will slag and dross in just a couple of casting sessions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 Maybe it is time to call the mfg and let them know about your problem and see what they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slammingjack Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 I see I'm not the only one with Lee pot trouble. I got mine on 8-15-14 Poured about 200 jig heads, worked great. Then it started dipping and then leaking. I pulled it apart and cleaned. It was better for a while and then it started leaking again. How it is totally unusable. I asked on here about fluxing and started fluxing and make sure to keep the dross out of it. Didn't help. Now it leaks nonstop and can't stop it. Same thing way too much dross and rust build up. Tried calling them and the line is always busy. Did finally got a hold of them and was told by Peter to put lead in it and use a screwdriver turn the slot in the rod aggressively 20 to 30 times to reseat the rod. Did that up to about 50 times. It finally slowed to a slow drip. Lifted the handle one time and it started leaking all over again. Was told by Peter if it didn't work to call him back. Tried calling like 5 times and the line is always busy. I hope they didn't go to that crap china metal in their pots. Would explain a lot. Will try again tomorrow to get a hold of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Slammingjack, like Smalljaw I have been getting my lead from Roto-Metals and have not had this problem. Prior to me getting my lead from there, I still have not had a problem and have been using all kind of free lead I could get. I will tell you one thing and that is the new Lee pots don't seem to get as hot as the old ones. Reason I say this is that I also get the bottom of the lead (on startup) melted first before the top part finally melts. In the mean time if I don't watch it, the bottom will empty while the top is still solid (never had this problem with my old pot). So unfortunately, I have to check occasionally so that doesn't happen. When I see the lead drip out like that on start-up, I take a screwdriver and stick it in the plunger slot and forcefully turn it while pushing down. This solves that problem. Also I found that the old magic #7 to #7-1/2 on the dial is not magic number anymore. I turn it up to #8, which seems to work better. This tells me that their elements are not running as hot as they used do. Which in turn doesn't make the lead hot enough to pour fluidly. The hotter you make that pot (you will see) the better it performs, However I don't suggest you run it at max. I also believe that each pot has its own set of problems, and also they are not all built like they used to be. I have (5 ) Lee IV pots, as 3 of them are spares. They are workhorses, and they all have their idiosyncrasies but I think you may have a bad pot. I too expressed my issues to the Lee people about their pots. Although helpful, they don't resolve my issues. On a final note, I have also been using an RCBS pot. Although expensive, they do run close to perfect. Let us know your final outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Does you RCBS drip? I've had 2 and they both drip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 I found that my new pot runs hotter, yes, the bottom seems to melt before the top but if I run this one of 6 or 7 I begin to get the copper color lead that lets me know it is too hot and a simply check with my temp probe confirms it. I'm running 5 most of the time except for certain jigs that I need to run at 5.5 and if I'm only doing a small amount I'll run at 6 but if I leave it at 6 too long it will get too hot. I also have to tell you this, it may be your pot but, are you 100% positive there is no zinc in your lead? I ask because the first time I encountered zinc, the same thing happened to me, constant skimming of slag, I'd pour and as I would pour I would have to occasionally skim the slag, I wasn't sure what was happening because I cleaned and fluxed my lead but I did use wheel weight lead at the time and made ingots out of it. It turned out I had some new wheel weights whit high zinc content in my mix and the next time I got a pot of hard lead ready to pour it was unusable as it was almost a gooey consistency, that was when I did some research and found that I had a bad case of zinc contamination and after that I began to just buy my lead from rotometals and my problems went away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ifish Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 I have been getting a lot of rust looking material in my new pot also. Bought 9-5-14. The new pot runs a lot hotter and it runs out when I first get it going. Good thing I run a little pot underneath . Saved my butt more than once. Been pouring for 30 years and using the same lead I used with my old pot that just burnt the element into. There is a big difference with the current model for some reason. I suspect it is temp related. It also acts like there is a reaction with the pot metal material. New problem for me also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimpNoodle Posted October 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Well at least we're not alone in the problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Does you RCBS drip? I've had 2 and they both drip Rarely, but it does on occasion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Rarely, but it does on occasion. Wow. Mine drips a lot. I have had it for 20 years and have never fluxed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 David, When mine starts to drip, I give it a couple of taps on the plunger with my diagonal cut pliers and it stops for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 (edited) I guess we all have problems here and I guess we all have unique ways to solve our own issues. I read Smalljaws last post, and I do not recommend running the pot on #8. I don't want everyone to turn it on #8 and tell me it isn't working. I too when the pot is running that hot, the top of the lead once it has been heated, starts to get a brown hazy coloring. Which tells me that the lead is too hot. Not to say that you can't pour it like that. So I do turn it down as low as I can to get good pours. I also believe that the pots themselves are not of the same steel alloy as they used to be. I can't confirm this as I am not Lee. However something has changed. Whether the pot mat'l or the heating element, or heating element location. Used to be that you plugged in a pot, put it on #6 or #7 max and the pot would melt evenly from bottom to top with out dripping or pouring out. It will be interesting to see how all this evolves. Maybe as a forum here, we should start looking into Lyman pots. Sometimes when the focus changes to a competitor, and the word gets out that the competition is putting out a better product, the original bread and butter company, gets a little worried and solves their lagging issues. However, I don't want this to turn into a bashing thread, more of a learning tool for all upcoming and us old time pourers. BTW has anyone ever used Lyman pots? Edited October 17, 2014 by cadman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 (edited) I see that Lyman does make several melting pots. Will look into it more to see what is available. I think I will find that the cost of these, is not geared to the average consumers like us. Edited October 17, 2014 by cadman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Has anyone contact the pot manuf. and asked them if they changed the alloy they use for the pots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 (edited) Well I called Lyman, and looked on their website. They do have a 10 lb pot, but it is for ladle pour only. The lady at Lyman said they are coming out with some new products. Don't know what that means at this time. Also for the cost of a Lee IV with the bottom pour feature, maybe this is as good as we can expect from now on. I don't know, we shall see. Edited October 17, 2014 by cadman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 David, When mine starts to drip, I give it a couple of taps on the plunger with my diagonal cut pliers and it stops for a while. I'm afraid to do that cause I will hit too hard cause usually I'm mad because I got burnt. I have done that and it works, but if you it it too hard it will ruin it. I think it knocks that tube the rod sets in, loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 I have a friend that had a bottom pour Lyman and he says it never leaks. He does not flux his lead. I don't know if I believe him or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 I have a friend that had a bottom pour Lyman and he says it never leaks. He does not flux his lead. I don't know if I believe him or not. Hey David, Can you find out what model it is? I've been looking around and don't see anything with a bottom pour feature by Lyman. Is it fairly new or an older discontinued model. Thanks is advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slammingjack Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 I just got off the phone with Lee. Told them what was happing. They said they started using a diff. nozzle. Told me to return it to them and they would repair or replace it with new one. Couldn't tell me when they started using the new nozzle, just it wasn't long ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Hey David, Can you find out what model it is? I've been looking around and don't see anything with a bottom pour feature by Lyman. Is it fairly new or an older discontinued model. Thanks is advance. Lyman Mag 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Maybe do a few breathing exercises before tapping it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odinohi Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 The Lyman mag 20 is in my opinion a piece of crap. They leak, spout freezes every time I add lead. I got a new promelt and it even leaked, but the more I used it the less it leaked. Doesn't leak at all now. The Lyman 61 is an older 10lb bottom pour that is 1,000 watts. It may leak, but there are things you can do to stop it. I have 4 of these that I plan on reconditioning. Also have a few Saeco 24's that will get reconditioned. Lyman does have a new bottom pour Mag 25, but it is not available yet. I'll just stick with my promelts for the customer service alone. If you have a problem they will send you the parts to fix it for free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
