I got tired of my Lee pot dripping molten alloy that splattered everywhere, so I drilled a hole in the base, directly beneath the spout. I drilled another hole in my workbench. Then I put a cutoff pop can under the holes. The drips fall through and I don't have to mess with twisting the stopper rod and trying to get it to stop dripping.
I also tried using kitty litter for flux. It worked very well. Made cleaning out the pot at the end of my casting session very easy.
Last Labor Day I bought an old, used, one cavity Ideal 460452 (or is it 452460) mould at a gun show for $10. Used it for the first time today. It works very well: the blocks line up perfectly and the bullets don't stick. Only problem is it's a one cavity mould.
All in all, it was a good casting session.

Max503
That sounds like a good idea about drilling the hole, I usually have turn the rod on mine every 4 or 5 bullets to stop the leaking. It will give me a little more space on my bench when I don't have to keep a couple of screwdrivers on top.
Ed B

I have the Lee bottom pour pot and even though mine leaks all the time, I still like it better than a dipper. I just keep an ingot mold under the spout and periocically empty it back into the top. I don't have any problems with filling out 500gn molds either. The only time I mess with a screwdriver is when it starts getting more than just a small drip.

Have you guys tried lapping the steel rod into its seat with some fine lapping compound? All the effort you are putting into accomodating the endless leak, surely you did this relatively minor thing first?

You also mention "cleaning out the pot" at the end of a casting session. I leave my kitty litter pot slam full of lead all the time, I just dump off the old litter from the top of a cold full pot and put new on top when getting ready to start a casting session.

The idea is to keep crud and corruption away from the valve area at all times. A constantly full pot of clean metal will do this for you.

Oldfeller

Oldfeller, I always use a ladle and never have any leaks with the Lee unless I bump something. Some of my old Lyman pots were a headache so I plugged the holes.
You are correct in that leaving the pot full is the way to go. I never dump a pot unless I need to change alloys. Draining a pot from the bottom will sure get some crud in the hole so I use heavy gloves and pour it out of the top after fluxing and scraping the pot.
Good post, Jim

This was the first time I've used kitty litter, so let me get this right.
When using kitty litter, you never flux with anything else like wax? Even when you are starting up a cold pot?
If that is so, I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't have to clean out your pot. I've always believed that when you flux with wax, the flux actually surrounds the molten alloy in the pot, rather than just sitting on top of the melt. The reason I believe this is because on several occasions I've poured bullets (from my BP pot) while the flux was still burning away on top. When I did this, the bullets came out with dimples from flux inclusions. I think when you burn off the wax you're leaving a layer of ash on the sides of the pot below the surface of the melt. So it makes sense that you wouldn't get that ash if you weren't adding wax to your molten alloy. I got in the habit of emptying my pot after every session so I could brush off the walls and not get inclusions in my bullets. Any comments?

The kitty litter drill is so simple folks keep insisting on trying to "do something like they used to do it" and to complicate it in unnecessary ways.

At the very beginning, at the very first time you use kitty litter you do these things.

1) Clean/scrape/brush your pot out to get rid of all your old sins. Take the time to lap your valve in lightly with fine grit lapping compound, it doesn't take but a second and it makes the infamous dribbles stop.

2) Start with clean metal ingots. ONLY USE CLEAN METAL INGOTS FROM NOW ON -- NEVER EVER MELT WHEEL WEIGHTS (or other forms of scrap metal) IN YOUR CASTING POT. Get yourself a rough bulk method to do that. The vast majority of reported problems come from people using dirty trash metal in a finished final casting pot -- not a good idea as the trash goes everywhere and sticks to everything.

3) Melt the pot full up to the last quarter inch from the top with clean metal ingots. Scrap the skin from the top surface this ONE (1) time and then add the 1/4" layer of kitty litter to the top of the melt.

From now on do NOTHING. Flux NOTHING. Add NOTHING. Keep the pot full up to the top with fresh ingot that is simply put on the lip of the pot for a while until it preheats then gets gently pushed over on top of the kitty litter. Don't drop your sprues down into the water (if you are using water) catch them in your gloved hand while they are still smokey hot and put them back on top of the kitty litter. They will very quickly disappear as they have retained most of their melt heat.

Kitty litter works by fluxing everything you add to the pot as it trickles down through the kitty litter. Your metal started clean and it stays clean. Air doesn't touch the metal ever again to cause oxidation. Your pot stays full at all times for consistent casting and for maximum retained heat to melt an added ingot. You NEVER run it down on purpose, you KEEP it full by regularly tipping over one of the preheat ingots you always keep on the edge of the pot.

Preheating your ingot on the edge of the pot is a good use of the waste heat, it drys all moisture off your ingots and greatly speeds the melting process as the ingot is already half way there when you put it on the kitty litter layer.

You change your kitty litter from a cold full pot by pouring the old stuff off into a tash can then adding a fresh 1/4" layer of kitty litter and then plugging the pot in to melt. Do this every time you go to do a casting session from a cold pot.

You can skip a change or two, but after 3 sessions your kitty litter is about cooked to death and loses effectiveness, so just make the habit of changing it every time you have a cold pot to start from. The kitty litter for a changeover costs a sub-fracton of a penny, so it is certainly cheap enough.

This is the only thing you are able to do to a melted pot (if you just must do something because you feel like you just have to DO SOMETHING). Take a long handled steel teaspoon and warm it up on the side of the pot to dry it off good, then reach down below the surface of the kitty litter and scrape the sides of the pot. Do this at least once a year .... whether it needs it or not.

You can also stir your molten metal occasionally if you really want to, down under the blanket of fresh kitty litter using your long teaspoon. It will not hurt anything and will stir up the metal, which once again does not hurt anything.

Valve maintenance is needed periodically. I keep a screwdriver to twist it occasionally near at hand and a straightened paper clip to reach up from the bottom of the nipple and rod it out to keep the flow nice and full.
That's it.

Now, the main advantage of kitty litter is it works better than all the old fluxing methods you used to use. It also frees your time to actually cast bullets, which is something you only did part-time before. Before you spent way too much of your time fiddling with your metal.

Oldfeller

Thank you Sir. I have printed your reply and it will hang on my garage wall just in case I get the urge to do something I don't need to.

Now to go seat that leaky valve........



Several hours later.......



@##$%#^%&$leaky valve. The kitty litter is working fine, no smoke, no fire, nice shiney bullets. I used Clover compound on the valve but it did not work. Good thing I drilled those holes in the base of the pot and the bench.

Using the kitty litter and 2 moulds has upped my output quite a bit.