Bought a Pro Melt, now what do I do with my old Lee Drip-O-Matic?

After reading great reviews here I finally pulled the trigger on a RCBS Pro Melt for a good price. While waiting for it to arrive, I'm wondering what I should do with my old Lee Production Pot? The Lee is a little beat up but still works, though it drips like a sob half the time and occasionally springs a leak that nearly empties the pot if I'm not looking. I could probably sell it on eBay for a few bucks with full disclosure but am not sure it is worth the hassle. Would this be useful as a mini smelter? I rarely smelt large quantities of lead anymore and think it would be handy on occasion when melting down a pot of wheel weights to make a few ingots. Thoughts?

If you Ebay it, someone will want it. There are some mods and lapping you can do to prevent that dripping. I'll bet you could sell it right here on the Swapping and Selling section

If you check the old threads there are a couple of people who have turned the base plate around and made a high mount to pre melt lead and dump into their main pot.

I wouldn't use it as a smelter - too much gunk in too small a space.

Like Sasquatch says - double-decker pre-melter and sprue-remelter. A couple years ago, someone managed to set up one that auto-filled the bottom pot. That would be REALLY nice because it would keep the flow rate constant in the bottom pot without having to re-adjust the flow screw so much. Also good for those finicky molds with small temperature "butter zones".

Also, if you live in a land of condor-huggers that are talking about forcing you to quit hunting with lead, you could clean out the second pot and use if for alternative alloys like bismuth/tin or zinc.

Do what Sasquatch mentions. That way you won't have any down time waiting for a refill to melt back down.

Give it to someone just starting out with limited funds -- what I did when I upgraded to the RCBS.

Scrap pile ?

Mine (which is 42 years old) serves for dipper casting. I brazed a piece of a nail in the spout and removed the valve linkage. I have two of them....the other is still used for small batches/.22 caliber boolits, and a Pro-4-20.

I believe any Lee pot can be made to work without leakage any worse than an occasional drip.

I kept mine as a back-up and when pouring pure lead. Did sell one to a fellow caster a couple of towns over

I have torn apart and cleaned and polished the parts of my LEE 10 lb. bottom pour pot probably 3 times in the last 10 years hoping to fix the dripping. I had also been using my RCBS pot for a good 10 years longer than that without a drip problem. My last attempt at fixing the LEE entailed my buying new parts from the plunger down and including a new melting pot. It looks pretty now, even though it has been done 5 years and I haven`t tried using it. It sits on a shelf watching me use the RCBS pot that doesn`t drip. For smelting I have a large home made electric pot that holds 75 lbs. of molten lead that I dipper out and make ingots from.Robert

Clean it up and post it for sale on here. Help a new caster out.

They make a great pre heat pot sitting above your casting pot, I have done this before reverseing the pot on the base and bolting it down to a stand. It could be plugged and used for a dipper pot for big bullets, small runs or soft point bullets. Or cleaned up fixed and used for a diffrent alloy. Or as stated above sell it or give it to a new caster.

I put a stainless bolt and washer in mine to stop up the hole and use it as a small smelter. It works fine for small batches of WW or just making up a pot of new alloy for the Pro Melt. I rarely pour more than 20# or so at a time, so one or two batches of ingots from the Lee "smelter" does me just fine.

I kept my 4-20 to use with shall we say questionable lead to make sinkers out of.

Another use is to have a second alloy ready, but it is a PITA to go from a non leaking pot to one that you just know is going to start at any moment.

Robert

The Lee heats up quite a bit quicker than the RCBS. Plug the spout, remove the needle bits and use it to melt extra ingots while casting with the RCBS. Use a ladle to transfer the molten lead to the RCBS. Should reduce your down time quite a bit.

I sold mine on swapping & selling after I bought my RCBS Pro-melt. Nary a drip since.

How much pm me with details.

I keep pure lead in mine for cores or whatever soft lead need you might have.

WTB- This guy needs one.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...lting-furnance

I keep mine as a back up. My Dad said you should always have a spare.
Of course you could sell it , or plug up the spout hole and have a ladle pot, or give it to someone you don't like....now it's his problem and he can't ask for his money back.
Once I have have something bought and paid for I keep it, too many times I find a later use for something.
Besides just how much you going to get for it....they aren't that expensive brand new .

Gary

Good recommendations from all, I think I'll hang on to it and use it for pure lead for my muzzleloaders. As infrequently as I cast for those I can deal with the drips I guess.