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Opening Pour Hole on Lee Pro 4-20
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Has anyone bothered to enlarge the pour hole in their pot and if so to what size?

I'm just getting started and either the lead supply I got is really dirty or the factory hole is just to small. Seems I can get about one pot full of pour and then have to clear the hole because the flow is to light. I already have the rod backed out as far as it will go and not drip. I thought about opening it up to slightly smaller than the rod but figured I would ask first before I screw something up.

Thanks,

[ 11-16-2003, 03:53: Message edited by: Byron ]
 
Posts: 78 | Location: CA | Registered: 02 March 2002Reply With Quote
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Sounds like dirty alloy or alloy with a little copper in it. You'll get that sometimes useing some babbet for tin source. When that happens to me once in a while I use a small finish nail and a pair of pliers to keep it open during casting. I would'nt try to make the hole bigger, no telling what problems that could cause.
Pb head
 
Posts: 31 | Location: western Pa | Registered: 14 February 2003Reply With Quote
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Casting goes much smoother and life gets easier if you never put any thing but clean aloy in your bullet pot and you smelt in another melter. try a turkey cooker with a dutch oven, look for a used pot, or go the coleman stove and cast iron pot. My hard earned 2 cents. Gianni.
 
Posts: 65 | Location: Western MT | Registered: 27 October 2002Reply With Quote
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Byron, I agree with the others. Before you do something you can't un-do, check everything else first. I'd suggest emptying the pot and cleaning it thouroughly. Then remelt the lead in another pot (an old cast iron pot on a coleman-type stove works great) and flux it well. From that cast iron pot, try to ladle pour a few boolits -- that will let you know if you have impurities (like zinc or copper) that are causing your problem. Once you're sure your alloy is good, try it again in your Lee pot.

To keep alloy clean and fluxed, a lot of us use a 1/2" layer of kitty litter on top of the melt -- it really does help.

Bottom line: open that spout only as a last resort.
 
Posts: 300 | Location: W. New Mexico | Registered: 28 December 2002Reply With Quote
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Byron, are you by any chance, emptying your pot? You are much less likely to get clogs if you never let the pot get quite empty. The light stuff that accumulates on the top of your alloy can clog the spout when you drain the pot completely. If you absolutely must empty the pot for some reason, flux and skim when there is an inch or so of alloy left and then drain rapidly.

PB Head, if you happen to have some around, a small ring nail works even better than the finishing nail. The ridges give you a scraping action. I have also used a small junk Allen wrench which saves looking around for the pliers.

[ 11-16-2003, 18:22: Message edited by: Leftoverdj ]
 
Posts: 1570 | Location: Base of the Blue Ridge | Registered: 04 November 2002Reply With Quote
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Byron,
I tried drilling out the pour hole on a 10 lb. Lee. It had the desired effect -- more flow, better fill, no more freeze-ups. But it didn't shut off worth a hoot, so I ended up welding the hole shut and using a ladle instead.

IMHO, the Lee bottom pour doesn't have enough flow even when it is working perfectly (if there is such a thing as a Lee bottom pour that works perfectly). The pour hole freezes up easily because it is fairly long. Not to mention the famous Lee leak. If I buy another Lee pot, it will be the ladle-pour variety.
 
Posts: 97 | Location: Pocatello, ID | Registered: 24 August 2003Reply With Quote
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"To keep alloy clean and fluxed, a lot of us use a 1/2" layer of kitty litter on top of the melt -- it really does help."

Grumble;
I remember this being discussed over on "Shooters" What kind of kitty litter? I now have one of the "Vermin" living in my house, might as well get some good out of the little begger. If I remember right, sprues could be added back on top of the litter, and would melt back thru into the pot. Since I add sprues back as I cast, this might help to keep the "splash" factor down <GGG>
krag35
 
Posts: 18 | Registered: 07 July 2001Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by krag35:
"To keep alloy clean and fluxed, a lot of us use a 1/2" layer of kitty litter on top of the melt -- it really does help."

Grumble;
I remember this being discussed over on "Shooters" What kind of kitty litter? I now have one of the "Vermin" living in my house, might as well get some good out of the little begger. If I remember right, sprues could be added back on top of the litter, and would melt back thru into the pot. Since I add sprues back as I cast, this might help to keep the "splash" factor down <GGG>
krag35

Where's the Cman when ya need him??

Ray didn't you advocate using said Vermin IN the litter, albeit well dried?
 
Posts: 1529 | Location: Central Wisconsin | Registered: 01 March 2001Reply With Quote
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Suggestions for using kitty litter on top of your melt:

-First, dress up and put on a mask.
-Go to a section of town you never go to (or, even better, another town)
-Disguse your voice or pretend you're unable to talk
-Buy the cheapest kitty litter the store has on the shelf, without perfumes or other things that kitty litter people put into the stuff so cat owners can pretend cats don't stink
-When you get home, put it in a different container so visitors won't think you buy kitty litter
-You can avoid this hassle by buying some feminine products at the same time, and people will think you're just shopping for an, ahem, "indisposed" girlfriend.

Seriously though, you want the clay stuff, not the more expensive formulations with all the added junk. A small 99c bag will last a LOOONG time. (Unless you try it out on your cats, that is. In that case, it won't last very long at all, unless you can't smell.)

I drop my sprues and new ingots right on top of the kitty litter. There's enough insulation between the melt and the cold lead that the temperature of the melt doesn't drop much at all, and in a few minutes the newly added alloy will seep into the melt, already "preheated." It also seems to filter and flux as it slowly melts through the kitty litter.

The stuff keeps your pot clean, and prevents all those annoying problems caused by bits of dirt in the melt.
 
Posts: 300 | Location: W. New Mexico | Registered: 28 December 2002Reply With Quote
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Uh...you're supposed to use clean kitty litter? I should read more carefully before I try these things. I suppose the pot doesn't smoke so much that way, huh?
Stan
 
Posts: 18 | Location: Southern California | Registered: 25 August 2003Reply With Quote
<Marc>
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My Lee 4-20 flows fine and doesn't drip. I musta got lucky on that one. The largest boolits I cast are 300 grains and I don't have the spout wide open for those.

I did have trouble with the spout freezing. I was going to wrap it in foil to insulate it. It was rusty and then I realized if I polished the rust off it would be shiny just like tin foil. Polishing it worked. No more freezes!
 
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�Byron Has anyone bothered to enlarge the pour hole in their pot and if so to what size?�

I would not enlarge the hole just use a small finish nail with a pair of pliers to clean it out. I use a RCBS Promelt and have the same problem if I run the pot to low. I use a putty knife and keep the sides and bottom scraped; the slag will float to the top and is easy to remove. Mine has a screw adjustment so when you raise the handle the flow can be adjusted. When I melt wheel-weights or any other scrap lead I use a large cast iron pot and propane heater outside. Like the kind used to cook fish or turkey. This way I can clean the clips from the wheel-weights and most of the impurities out before it goes into my Pro Melt. Hope this helps.

�krag35� I will have to give the kitty litter idea a try. Is that before or after the cat has used it? He He He [Big Grin]

Swede44mag
 
Posts: 1608 | Location: Central, Kansas | Registered: 15 January 2003Reply With Quote
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O.K., looks like I'm back in the shopping mode to locate a dedicated smelting pot. I have a cat, left behind by my ex, so kitty litter is no problem. But that raises other questions. So far I have been emptying the pot when done using it for the day. I have been scraping and steel wooling the inside to remove crud left behind. So if I put a half inch of litter on the top of the melt do I leave at least an inch of lead in the pot when done or should I fill it up and then let cool? Also, I have noticed that the lead does not seem to stick to my ingot mold or hand dipper which appear to be cast iron but it does stick to the sides and bottom of the steel pot of the Lee. Why? Will the lead left behind prevent rust from forming on the inside the pot?
 
Posts: 78 | Location: CA | Registered: 02 March 2002Reply With Quote
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Harbor Freight is selling dutch ovens that are perfect for a smelting pot for something under $15. All you need is a heat source. Turkey fryer is perfect if you happen to have one.

I've never done the kitty litter thing, but my practice between sessions is to stop when the level gets low enough for me not to get good pours and to dump my accumulates sprues in to melt. That leaves the post 1/3 to 1/2 full when I unplug it. Never had a rust problem,

[ 11-17-2003, 20:43: Message edited by: Leftoverdj ]
 
Posts: 1570 | Location: Base of the Blue Ridge | Registered: 04 November 2002Reply With Quote
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Dirt and slag stick to the steel inside the pot. That's what your lead is sticking to. For me, this was much more pronounced when I used Marvelux to flux. When I switched to kittly litter, all that went away after just a few potsfull. Inside of my Lee pot is clean as a whistle, and stays that way.

I leave my pot about 1/2 full when I shut down. That melts faster when I crank things up the next time, and then I add ingots to the melt. It may not be any faster, but it seems like it to me -- maybe just because I feel like I'm doing something as the pot heats up. <G>
 
Posts: 300 | Location: W. New Mexico | Registered: 28 December 2002Reply With Quote
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Another option for a dedicated ladle pot or for smelting is to get a Presto Fry Daddy or Kitchen Kettle from Wal-mart for $20, bypass the thermostat and cook away. A thermometer is recommended, but temps should be about right without tinkering. The Kitchen Kettle will hold around 40 lbs of alloy.
 
Posts: 131 | Location: Arkansas | Registered: 09 August 2003Reply With Quote
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Re: enlarging pour hole.

I forgot the mention that the Lee's pour hole may not be straight, which perhaps explains why my attempt at enlarging the hole did not work. I am just going by memory here, since I don't have an empty pot to examine, but the stopper comes in at an angle whereas the outlet points straight down, so there must be a bend in there somewhere. When I drilled it, starting at the outlet and going straight up, the drill probably exited at an angle to the stopper, screwing up the seat and causing the leak. Otherwise a bigger pour spout would be a good thing.
 
Posts: 97 | Location: Pocatello, ID | Registered: 24 August 2003Reply With Quote
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Hey you guys using kitty litter, it's not used litter is it? Personally, cat fat and hair works as well. [Big Grin] [Big Grin]
Back to the question--I don't know how you fellas do it, but I have NEVER poured a good boolit from the bottom of any furnace even after drilling the hole and making a new pin. Tried everything from temperature, alloy changes to every way of getting the lead in the mold ever devised. I will stick to the ladle, thank you. [Wink]
 
Posts: 4068 | Location: Bakerton, WV | Registered: 01 September 2003Reply With Quote
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bfrshooter,

Casting with a bottom pour melter requires some skill I must be geneticly incapable of aquiring. I'm with you.

Come to think of it, its pretty silly melt lead in pot with a hole in the bottom ;-) !!!

BH
 
Posts: 48 | Location: NE Ohio | Registered: 22 December 2002Reply With Quote
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quote:
Otherwise a bigger pour spout would be a good thing.
I do not know how big is Lee pour spout diameter.
I made my pot by myself and tried two different pour hole diameters: one 5/32in dia (4mm) and otherone 5/16in dia(8mm), both with a 60� cone on top.
Rest of the hole length is cylindrical. Overall pour spout length is 1 1/2inches.

A 3/8 rod with a 60� cone in the lower point completes the valve system.

5/32 dia hole works ok,some lead drip happens when the pot is full, it is 5 inches of hydrostatic pressure of liquid lead.
It could be fixed with a higher spring load but the handle would hurt my finger when casting significant quantities of bullets.

5/16 inch dia hole is a waterfall of lead, good for making big ignots only.I do not use it.

At the end of casting session, I disassembly the rod, clean the rod point with emery cloth, clean the hole with the 5/32 drill bit (slowly, with a hand drill) and 60� seat cone with emery cloth or a bit with this angle,other times with lapping paste and the same rod.

Hope this helps .

BA Shooter
 
Posts: 126 | Location: Buenos Aires, Argentine | Registered: 21 August 2003Reply With Quote
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Some time ago I did enlarge the pour hole on my Lee Production Pot IV. I don't remember the exact size, but from my 115 pc. drill bit set, I took one that would just fit and went one size larger. The pot fills my large (400+ grain) molds great now. Whenever I cast pistol bullets however, it takes a few minutes to re-aclimatize myself to the larger hole. Just a very small increase to the outside diameter will signifigantly increase flow, so don't get carried away.
 
Posts: 4 | Location: TX | Registered: 17 November 2003Reply With Quote
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Well guys I took some of the suggestions and things seem to be working better but still learning. I bumped the hole diameter up slightly, more like cleaning it up. Tried the litter trick and the pot does stay clean, amazing! What I also discovered is that because the spout hangs below the pot it apparently gets cooler than the pot a little. At times there was a pour tail sticking out that I could simply pull out with needle nose pliers and back in business. Other times I could push a small wire through the soft lead and as the pour started it would melt what was in the spout and pour fine. Lastly, If I let the lead get to about 700 degrees it would appearly heat the spout enough to allow pouring without intervention. I haven't tried it yet but my next test is going to be raising the handle on a clogged spout and see how long it would take for contact with the hot lead in the pot to melt the clog and pour.

Later,

P.S. - Picked up a nice looking 3 cavity Lachmiller 311 169 PT at the gun show yesterday. Now to see if I have a set of handles that will fit it.
 
Posts: 78 | Location: CA | Registered: 02 March 2002Reply With Quote
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