Anyone using of these? I bought one (new) and sure don't like it. The thing wouldn't get up to temp and leaks incessantly. I'm sending it back to Lee, after their remedy suggestions failed. It this one just defective or are they not worth messing with?
I've used one of their little melters for 25 years and it's worked perfectly.

The drip problem is common enough to be normal with Lee pots. I have to twist mine into the seat, using a screw driver, several times each time I cast. And I never start melting lead in it without having an ingot mold under the spout to catch the drips, while it warms up. The thermostat is not normal on yours. I had one that began to do that, removed the thermostat, spread the contacts a bit and put it back together, now it heats well. Your problem may be as simple.

For all that, I keep my eyes open for a used Lyman or RCBS 20# pot. I will find one for the right price one of these days. Or just buy a new one if the Lee dies.

My Lee is also less than satisfactory. It, too leaks regularly, both before and after pouring a mold pour. I think I'll be buying a Lyman sometime this summer.

You can fix the dripping easily enough by lapping the valve seat: Use an electric screwdriver to turn the grinding compound-coated bottom end of the rod in its seat. Clean everything and then clamp a small Vise-Grip to its top. I did this months ago and get only an occasional small drip.

I have a production pot too, and I'm just used to keeping a screwdriver handy whenever I pour with it. And I also heep an ingot mould under the spout when I turn it on, as I've plugged it in before, walked away and came back a half hour later with a shiny metal volcano reaching all the way to the spigot.

The trick is to twist the rod, not tap or bang on it IMHO.

spend the money and buy a Waage 40lb model. Or the Magma Engineering one. I have an RCBS and a Lyman sitting out in the shop that I ladle out of for my Sharps/HiWall loads. The bottom pour feature just does not work for me casting 370-540gr bullets. For 190-220gr 30 cal it is very nice and neither one leaks. The RCBS sticker says Aug 1989.

Rich
DRSS

Idaho, not trying to out do you, but my RCBS furnace is a little older then yours. Got mine the first part of 1980 and it's still chugging along just fine.

The lee production pot leaks. They all leak. The problem is the valve rod is at an angle to the spout, causing gravity to act less than if it were perfectly verticle.

They adressed that problem when designeing the lee pro 4-20. The valve rod is vertical, mine don't leak! Not a drop!

I like bottom pour pots. The Lee is not worth trying to fix or replace in kind. My Lyman lasted 10 years and was OK. I bought two used RCBS pots on eBay and they have proven themselves.

I have no difficulty casting bullets as heavy as 500+ grains with them. I have milled all of my sprue cutter plates to be somewhat like those provided by H&G. I do use a Fluke thermocouple meter to check temperatures as the correspondence of the dials to actual temperature is poor.