Problem pouring lead out of Lee furnace

[Plaz]

I have a lee Pro 4 20 lb furnace and I have been having a heck of a problem adjusting the pouring rate. I keep adjusting the screw to decrease flow but I find very slight movement of the knob causes such high flow that it throws the lead out of the mold. I am having trouble moving the knob such a slight amount required to obtain normal flow of lead into the mold.

Is there some adjustment I can make to eliminate that tremendous sensitivity of flow rate when moving the knob up for pouring?

[hornady]

I will take a shot at your problem, I have used lee pots for years, there are two basic problems with them, but the low price off sets the inconvenience, one they do not like any trash in the mix, this will mess your flow up in a heart beat, your problem sounds like too much heat, your mix is running too hot, of the 3 Lee pots I have owned over the years, none have had the same heat range, some run hotter than others, I would experiment with turning the heat down a little, I would expect your Bullets are coming out frosted,

[Rifleman1776]

The Lee pour pot is the pits. At the urging of a friend, I bought one recently and regret it. I reverted back to hand pouring everything. If you plan to do much casting, save up yer pennies and go for a Lyman. Mine rusted apart after being left in storage.

[riverwalker76]

I'll agree with Hornady. Too hot of a mix and not 'cleaning' the trash from your mix will cause problems.

[hornady]

Rifleman I will agree the Lyman and RCBS are better pots, Are they worth 3 times the price of the top lee pot. To me no I have cast bullets for 40 years and used a lee pot, They do need some getting use to, as to the rusting out, I would bet you used Marvelux as a flux, that stuff is like soaking your pot in salt water, it will rust anything.

[GP100man]

If the mold likes hot lead try lowerin the level of the alloy in the pot .

10# at the time is enuff for me , I have to break a bit !

[Poodleshooter]

As above-decrease the amount of alloy in the pot.
A new pot full of alloy practically spews lead. A low pot ends up dribbling a lot. i keep a paperclip and pliers on hand to deal with that and the occasional clog in the spout.

[noylj]

1) get a Lyman or other melt thermometer
2) Flux your lead and scrape the sides and bottom
3) Check the Lee instructions for any hints or special rules
4) For the money, you can arrange one pot over the other so one pot has 20 lbs and the casting pot has about 10 lbs. You throw your sprues and bad bullets into the top pot and always have a supply of hot lead while casting
5) If you don't mind the mess, put a layer of vermiculite over the melt

[dahermit]

You could elevate the mold until it is in tight contact with the pouring spout. You will not have very big sprues left on the sprue plate this way, but it will solve the problem with lead splashing out. Or, as I have done since 1965, used a ladle to pour bullets...bottom pours have too many problems for me and I feel that I have better control by using a ladle.

[salvadore]

I have a 10 and 20 lb lee bottom pours. I took the mechanical parts off of the 10lb and put the appropriate size metal screw in the spout and will probably do the same with the 20lb. The price is right, but the bottom pour feature has been a pain for me. My overpriced Lyman 20lb has melted a gazzillion pounds of alloy and lead and the dipper has never failed.

[TXGunNut]

An old tightwad bullet caster told me to use a ladle and not spend the extra $ on the bottom pour pot. For uniformity I fill the ladle as consistently as possible. I'm not a high-volume loader, just a noob low-volume loader fascinated with the process. I like the ladle, but I can be a tightwad too.
Come to think of it, the bottom-pour ladle I like cost more than the bottom-pour option. Still like it.