Leaky bottom pour

If you have a Lee 20 lb pot, tighten (clockwise) the flow control screw, 1/4 turn at a time, to allow the flow valve to seat lower.

If leak doesn't stop after 2 complete turns, you have an obstruction or some dirt in the pour spout under the pot. Use a paper clip, insert from the bottom, to clear. Wear eye and hand protection.
 
Periodically it's a good idea to drain it completely, take apart the pour mechanism, and clean it. I just did mine after the "tinkering" methods stopped working.
 
A small pair of vice grips clamped on to the pouring handle may provide enough additional weight to stop the leak, all Lee's will have this problem, the RCBS does not! That's why the Lees have become known as the "drip-o-matic".
 
I have a 20+ year old SAECO pot that drips. It too has a set of vise grips clamped to the handle. I have not got around to making a weight.

Consider it one of the prices paid for the ease of use of a bottom pour pot. Set up a catch basin of some sort (I use my ingot mold) and dump it back into the pot.

I don't store any lead in my pot when cold, drain it down complete each use. Keeping the pot over half full, and keeping the metal clean, is of help to keep things sealed up. Clean up the seat of the valve, and clean up the end of the valve rod each use. Some guys suggest valve lapping compound.

I've resorted to the paper clip trick when I could not get the valve cleared other ways.

Cheers
Trev
 
You probably have an obstruction in the port. Heat it up real good and work the handle up and down really fast and hard and it should work out. I have to do this every once in a while because I sometimes put dirty lead in my melting pot.
 
I had a "Lee-ko-matic" as well, but it was the smaller version, not the 20lb one. Nothing I did seemed to cure it. It was like the needle and seat were worn out after very little use. Wish I could offer you something helpful. I bought an RCBS Promelt and haven't had a scrap of trouble with it. Big bucks though.
 
Denny, I have the same leaky-Lee. I gave up on the bottom pour, plugged it and just use the o ld dipper. Actually, I prefer the dipper, anyway.
 
After my Lee finally died, I bought a small (maybe 8lb) straight pot....Lyman I believe....and use a ladle. If you're casting 2, or even 4 hole molds, there really isn't much difference in time. Once you get into 6 hole molds though, the bottom pour is definitely faster Bruce. You just can't beat the nostalgia of using a ladle though. That's how the real men do it :D Oh, now THAT comment won't draw any fire LOL!!!!
 
Years ago I did have a similar problem with my Lyman pot. What I did was drain the contents, clean the outlet and plunger and then matched up both components using valve grinding compound. Cleaned both components after the 'valve grind', end of problem. It never leaked again.
 
At 1/4 the price of an RCBS melter, it's just easier to keep a dental pick and a straight blade screwdriver beside the melter when casting with the good ol' Lee dripamatics. :p
 
Ditto on Peterson's cleaning the pot and lapping the the pouring value. Also use same size drill to clean out the pouring hole so lead flow would go straight down. Just one of those things that should be done very ten years or so.
 
Good tips - here's one more (for the Lee 10 lb pot). Make sure that the weighted "handle" is parallel to the ground when in its lower position. Over time it can slowly bend down, and as the angle decreases from 90, so does the pressure it exerts on the valve.
 
My old Lee pot went on perma-leak some years ago. I bent a piece of hatwire into an check mark shape and fed it into the bottom of the full and heated up pot while holding the valve handle open at the same time. Whatever was blocking the needle was cleared and its never happened since. Worth a try on yours.
 
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