Thanks to all for all the info,, got mine up and running, all good.
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Thanks to all for all the info,, got mine up and running, all good.
The LEE pots I've seen don't have a rheostat.
A rheostat to handle that current would be as big as the lead pot itself.
These pots have thermostats that, from the ones I've seen, measure the temperature outside the pot inside a vertical aluminum extrusion, right outside the pot.
A lead thermometer is an absolute must with these machines.
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I've recently bought a Magma Engineering Cast Master with a PID temp controller.
A 90# pot. These are mostly used to reduce scrap to ingots, but I got a one hole sprue on it to just cast bullets w/o having to wait an hour to continue my casting when I run out of lead.
It cost me $600 to have the 240v line run to my bench; it was worth ever penny.
You can put your thermometer into off site storage with this machine.
Lee does not use thermostats. They use an infinity control like an electric range. A heater built into a bimetal switch causes the contacts to open turning off the electricity a percentage of the time. A bias screw changes the amount of off time. The heat from the pot will slow the cooling of the bimetal switch increasing off time a little but not enough to call it a thermostat. That's why PID makes a huge difference on a Lee.
Well, sir, I just replaced the temp control in my Lee 10# pot - it looks just like every other bimetallic tstat I've ever seen, and I've seen dozens.
I've built one of Hatch's PID kits about ten years ago, it's been running my 20# Lee pot ever since. Works great! All you guys that aren't running a PID don't know what you're missing!
Well here is my attempt
https://youtu.be/VSfkRuCsTfc
Has anyone tried the XMT-7100 PID?
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/22518...hannel=twinner
You can get a cheap enclosure for it:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...d=KwUywatZkOGg