Ladel pour casting

[Maximumbob54]

Is there a better Lee furnace for using a ladel for casting? I've looked at what Lyman and a couple of other brands offer and they don't seem much bigger or better and I've enjoyed my Production Pot IV for years now. The Lee dipper seems ill suited for this task so I bought a Lyman rowel type instead. But that's a big dipper and it seems like it would require a much bigger melting pot. Any tips?

[62chevy]

I went with a 2 qt dutch oven from Walmart and the Lyman dipper. But depending on what's getting cast I'll switch between the RCBS 10 pound pot and the 2 QT which holds about 40 pounds of lead. Oh and a Coleman stove.

[Maximumbob54]

Anyone know if the Pro 4-20 is the same pot as the Magnum Melter?

[Ranch Dog]

Anyone know if the Pro 4-20 is the same pot as the Magnum Melter?

On Lee's website you could compare the spare parts for each unit. That should give you an idea. Or, just call them.

[Maximumbob54]

HA HA!!!

Good call. For the most part it looks like the same parts. The obvious stuff like one pot is listed with a hole and one says no hole so there are of course differences. But they share the same heater coil which is the most important part to me. I'm thinking I will purchase another Pro 4 20 and if it leaks then plug it with a screw in the spout. That way I may potentially have another good bottom pour or have an opening big enough to ladle it out.

[Ranch Dog]

I have two of the Pro 4-20's and the "drip" is not an issue. I lapped the end point of the valve rod where it meets and seats in the valve spout. My first pot, in it's second year of heavy casting started to drip so I took it all apart to see what the valve looked like. I immediately could see that the rod end did not match well with the flare/funnel of the valve rod so cured it. Took just a few minutes and it was corrected.

That first pot has really served me well. I purchased a bunch of new parts as I felt I was needing to run it hotter and hotter. I don't keep an exact count but I believe the original Pro 4-20 to have dropped 950,000 bullets!

[62chevy]

I don't keep an exact count but I believe the original Pro 4-20 to have dropped 950,000 bullets!

That is a whole bunch of bullets and just think of all the targets you destroyed.

[Ranch Dog]

Yeah, it is. My target berms have more lead than dirt in them!