Lyman 25 Furnace?

[fonestar]

My LGS has one but it's over $500. Does anyone own this or have used one? Worth it? I'm worried about the touch buttons one more thing to go wrong.

Right now I'm using an old Lee 10 pound pot which is "okay" but kind of a PITA I'm having to disassemble it and clean it all the time.

 

[ryan]

Can't hardly believe I would ever say this, but you can buy 4 Lee 20 pounders for that price.

 

[MuthaFunk]

Or one Lee 20Lb and a PID kit to get excellent temperature control and consistent weights on your casts.

 

[Freyr_255]

Just get a lee 20 lbs pot and thermometer. Don't over think it too much.

 

[yodave]

A new Lee pro 20 and a DIY PID controller is far cheaper, and because you build it, and understand it, if anything goes wrong with it, you will be able to repair it, can't say that for a pot that has parts sourced from somewhere you don't know

 

[freire]

Just get a lee 20 lbs pot and thermometer. Don't over think it too much.

This is what I do

 

[fonestar]

Thanks for the replies. I've seen the 20lb pot and it's just a bigger version of what I have.

 

[ryan]

Just for the record, I am not a Lee fan by any means, but I do like their melting pots for a couple reasons, they are cheap and rebuildable. All the others cost way more, and fixing them might not be feasible. All they need to do is melt lead, and if you get a lee that leaks at the spout, it's easy to fix, and lee sells parts if you ever need any. When I bought mine I filled it with water first and boiled it to see if there were any leaks. If it doesn't leak with water, it won't leak with clean lead.

 

[Freyr_255]

Thanks for the replies. I've seen the 20lb pot and it's just a bigger version of what I have.

The reason for getting the Pro 4 20lbs pot is that with a larger mass it's easier to keep the temperature stable while casting and adding lead. I don't know about other people, but when I cast I tend to do large batches once I'm set up so I'm always adding lead. I've switched to using a mini muffin tin for ingots as they're less of a shock to add to a pot relative to larger sizes. Adding the thermometer just allows you to keep your lead relatively stable for consistent casting and truthfully I don't even use one anymore as you kinda develop a feel for how things are going and just slow down or add an ingot depending on which way you need to go. If anything mold temperature is a bigger problem than lead temp unless you really have it cooking.