Guys,

I was given a nice RCBS lead furnace that hasn't been used in about 10 years. No sign of any significant problems from the outside.

Plugged it in and it heated for a while and then popped the ground fault interrupter on the shop cuircuit. Pot got to about 230F before it went. (Had a thermocouple in the pot at the time.)

This is the first time I've tried to run a pot in this shop. All of the 110 circuits have Ground Fault Interrupts in them.

Did I just plain boo-boo in doing this to all the circuits? Or do I need to test the pot on a circuit without one before I know if I goofed?

Getting back into making slugs after a long hiatus ... happens ... when you retire sometimes you have time to do things again.

thanks,

Popping a GFI means there was too much leakage current between one of the lines and ground. This could be due to something as simple as a little mositure in the wiring of the pot or it could indicate a more serious problem with your pot. Try emailing RCBS and asking them for advice. Their reloading equipment carries a lifetime warranty but I think there is a time limit on electronic devices they make. To be safe you need to find out why the GFI popped and fix the problem with the pot.

I've run on a GFI circuit for years. Check your breaker, you may need to up the amp rating on that particular circuit.

2 wire cord or 3 wire. If 2 wire use a volt meter to check for voltage beteen the metal of the pot and ground. I used to have a pot that when it was heating up(2 wire cord) had 40 volts to ground until the alloy was molten and then the voltage would drop to less that 1 volt to ground. On 3 wire you could have a bad ground connection. Check ohms from the ground pin to the metal case of the pot. too much current on the neutral will also trip a GFCI.

I have the RCBS pot, with the three wire cord. I have used it for about 3 years on a circuit that was not on a GFCI. Than after moving my casting equipment to another area that only had a GFCI, it would not stay on longer than 2 minutes. Took it back to where I had it and it worked fine, so I put in a regular outlet at the new location and never had another problem.

Guys,

Put another RCBS pot on the same circuit ... both are 3 wire pots. It ran fine, but was started with half a load. First pot had been left with full load when last used.

Haven't figured out if first pot is bad.