Building a PID melting furnace for under $40

[Frozone]

How do you spell PID again???

I spelled it right. I wasn't talking about a PID.

thanks...

Wow... I have absolutely no idea what you just said!

I think I need to buy a book!

A PIC is Not a PID , however, you can make one from it.
The thing you can't do is make a PIC from a PID.

Now MY head hurts!

PIC = Peripheral Interface Controller

PID = proportional–integral–derivative <Controller>

If you're really hungry I have lots of alphabet soup.

[AR-15 Cowboy]

I'm building a PID for my use but I'm following a different logic. To me the PID should be the primary machine and the Lee 4 considered the throwaway. This is why I wont make my TC permanently attached. Or wire my PID permanently to the Lee. That way when the pot starts to leak too much, or burns out, I can just slip out the thermacouple, unplug it from the PID and throw it away. Buy a new one slip the TC in and plug into the PID and I'm in business again. Pot $60 PID $130. Do the math. Also I can keep the PID 3 or 4 feet away from the pot and avoid accidents.

[Mal Paso]

I somewhat agree but half the advantage for me is an installed probe so I can just turn it on. I leave it full now, ready to go. I brazed a couple $7 probes into each of my 4-20s and spent a couple bucks on plugs so there's no wiring to switch pots. So I guess I got 2 $70 pots and a PID.

[Frozone]

I'm building a PID for my use but I'm following a different logic. To me the PID should be the primary machine and the Lee 4 considered the throwaway.

I have yet to see the pot on a lee wear out.
The heater is replaceable as is the spout and both are dirt cheap.
Your logic is flawed.
The heating elements do burn out - usually in 20+ years.
If the pot wasn't dripping when new, if it starts dripping it has crud in the spout.
Do you buy a new car when yours gets dirty or do you clean it?

I prefer my sensor as a bottom mount but I have multiple pots. It's easier to just plug a different pot in then move the probe.
Immersion probes are easy to knock out of the pot and, if installed, get in the way during storage ect.

[AR-15 Cowboy]

"Your logic is flawed.
The heating elements do burn out - usually in 20+ years.
If the pot wasn't dripping when new, if it starts dripping it has crud in the spout.
Do you buy a new car when yours gets dirty or do you clean it?"

I wasn't talking about cleaning the furnace, I was talking about a major failure. How many people do you know got rid of their car when the engine blows up and their was no warranty. It depends how much you use the furnace that determines how long it will last, and also how good you take of it. My logic was about the money. One costs twice as much as the others. I only know one guy who's furnace quit and it was after three years. He sent for a new element but before it came he wound up buying a new one locally. He decided to keep and repair the old one just for smelting which is what trashed his in first one.

[Frozone]

The more you write the farther up the scale my BSometer goes.

The Pot itself will not fail unless you let it sit in the rain and rust it out.
Service from LEE is about a week maybe 2 for parts.

If your buddy had to spend $70 for a new pot instead of waiting a week for a $10 part - well we'll just let that go.

Again: if it leaks it's dirty. if it doesn't heat change the element the pot is good for 50+ years, unless you run over it with a truck. It'll likely still work then.

LEE hating is in vogue apparently, so you consider the pot as a disposable item - I consider your opinion the same .

[Roger Ronas]

Next pot that you want to throw away, I'd like to be on the receiving end please.
Just saying,
Roger

I'm building a PID for my use but I'm following a different logic. To me the PID should be the primary machine and the Lee 4 considered the throwaway. This is why I wont make my TC permanently attached. Or wire my PID permanently to the Lee. That way when the pot starts to leak too much, or burns out, I can just slip out the thermacouple, unplug it from the PID and throw it away. Buy a new one slip the TC in and plug into the PID and I'm in business again. Pot $60 PID $130. Do the math. Also I can keep the PID 3 or 4 feet away from the pot and avoid accidents.

[AR-15 Cowboy]

The more you write the farther up the scale my BSometer goes.

The Pot itself will not fail unless you let it sit in the rain and rust it out.
Service from LEE is about a week maybe 2 for parts.

If your buddy had to spend $70 for a new pot instead of waiting a week for a $10 part - well we'll just let that go.

Again: if it leaks it's dirty. if it doesn't heat change the element the pot is good for 50+ years, unless you run over it with a truck. It'll likely still work then.

LEE hating is in vogue apparently, so you consider the pot as a disposable item - I consider your opinion the same .

The more you write the more I think you are lurking around looking for someone to argue with. I'm not a Lee hater. I think they are a fine company. I buy most of my reloading stuff through them. And either I'm communicating it poorly or you are not grasping the point I was trying to make. The point is not that the Lee furnace is bad, but that the PID controller is the more expensive item of the two. The PID will actually improve the operation of the furnace and extend its life even further. A bit of advice, if you disagree with someones opinion, you don't have to try and run them down or belittle their opinion, just state your facts.

[Mooseman]

I am watching this thread...

Rich

[Rockchucker]

Thread Highjack

Hey Rich, Days getting longer up north, Wish I was there FISHING! Have a good one.

[yobohadi]

Hey Big Brass Ones,

How well does your budget set up work? You mentioned cost and the "get what you pay for", but once you do the F to C calculations to your desired temp is it doing well to keep the alloy at that temp or have you seen some big fluctuations in temp with the cheaper components?

Oh, and are you happy with the setup now or would you pay the extra to get the PID and components from Auberins if you had to do over again?

[Big brass ones]

The PID does what it's suppose to so in that sense it works fine. I just convert to metric units which is what most of the world uses anyway!

this pot it amazing now. I really like lee products when there work as advertised.

Update! silver soldering does not work out too well in this pot. Lead collects around it so it can be hard to completely clean the pot. Next time I'll brass braze it in there.

[Mal Paso]

I worried the brass melt point would cook the probe. I built up a button of brass on the bottom of the pot to add thickness, drilled an angled hole, and silver soldered from the inside. The silver solder wicked into the joint just like copper pipe. Next time I'll silver solder from the bottom and just wet the joint. No puddle on the inside.

[Big brass ones]

A fellow on this site said the k thermocouple that i used could take up to 1800 f which is well above the melting point for brass. Mileage may vary!

[Mal Paso]

Depending on Alloy Brass melts at 1652-1724 degrees F. It was a little too close for me.

[Big brass ones]

Good point. that's too hard to control with a torch. For some reason I thought it was lower (1400's). I used something for brazing aluminum (couldn't tell you the exact alloy) and it worked fine.

[Dave Bob]

A fellow on this site said the k thermocouple that i used could take up to 1800 f which is well above the melting point for brass. Mileage may vary!

What thermocouple did you use? Link?

Thanks,
Dave