Lyman Mag 25?

Hotwheels81

Hotwheels81

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Anyone here use one? I'm shopping for a new pot and the old Lee 4-20 while tempting to buy a new one just seems dated... And the RCBS is a bit on the expensive side for poor country folk such as myself...

Needs to be a bottom pour... Needs to have good heat control...
 
I'm pretty sure the mag 25 is more expensive than the RCBS. I have the RCBS and wouldn't trade it for any other pot. One drip every couple hours is pretty awesome. You want better heat control, you can build a PID for about $40 with parts from ebay.
 
sawzall said:
I'm pretty sure the mag 25 is more expensive than the RCBS. I have the RCBS and wouldn't trade it for any other pot. One drip every couple hours is pretty awesome. You want better heat control, you can build a PID for about $40 with parts from ebay.
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I'm finding the Mag 25 listed on average $100 cheaper than the Pro Melt on the US sites... The Pro Melt retails for $379usd thru Brownells and $669 thru wholesale sports... I've yet to find a Canadian store that deals with the Mag 25..

For the life of me I just can't see what makes the RCBS Pro Melt worth $550 more than a Lee 4-20... I could swallow my scotch pride if it was in the $300 ballpark but damn... Used a Lee pot And really I make more of a mess than the odd drip that came out of it..
 
Hotwheels81 said:
I'm finding the Mag 25 listed on average $100 cheaper than the Pro Melt on the US sites... The Pro Melt retails for $379usd thru Brownells and $669 thru wholesale sports... I've yet to find a Canadian store that deals with the Mag 25..

For the life of me I just can't see what makes the RCBS Pro Melt worth $550 more than a Lee 4-20... I could swallow my scotch pride if it was in the $300 ballpark but damn... Used a Lee pot And really I make more of a mess than the odd drip that came out of it..
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Are you using the lee pot for clean lead only? Mine seems to drip a couple times here and there but i just keep one of the lee ingot molds under it to catch any drips. I can deal with the leaks if it means saving $200+ dollars on the pot. I use a home made PID controller which makes all the difference in the world at keeping the temperature exactly where i want it. The lyman mag 25 has one built in so i would go for that one over the RCBS.
 
I've got a couple Lee pots, a magnum melter and a 4-20. Neither leak. I just wish Lee would make a 40 lb pot at a reasonable cost.
 
If you're somewhat handy, it's not too hard to build one yourself. So long as you can stand it not having the polished looks of a commercial unit. I built my bottom pour pot from scrap items I had and a large stove element, my only cost was the welding wire. Holds 50 pounds of lead. As mentioned above, a PID can be assembled cheap to provide phenomenal temperature control.
 
Camaroguy said:
If you're somewhat handy, it's not too hard to build one yourself. So long as you can stand it not having the polished looks of a commercial unit. I built my bottom pour pot from scrap items I had and a large stove element, my only cost was the welding wire. Holds 50 pounds of lead. As mentioned above, a PID can be assembled cheap to provide phenomenal temperature control.
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Hmmmmm... Now you have me thinking...
 
As a hoarder, I used to have every single electric pot ever made. Still have some leftovers for tests and such. The Lyman 25 works well. But If I'd have to chose again I'd go with RCBS hands down. I still have a bad looking RCBS that works like a charm. The 25 so called PID is cheap made and I found discrepancies between it's readings and the real temp inside. Not huge but still differences. The RCBS holds much better the temp and warms up faster. Also it can be moded.
The old Saeco pot is a beast tho. Ugly but reliable.
The nastiest and the most pathetic pot I ever work with is Lee. And I'm to poor to buy cheap stuff anymore.
 
Moose_Master said:
As a hoarder, I used to have every single electric pot ever made. Still have some leftovers for tests and such. The Lyman 25 works well. But If I'd have to chose again I'd go with RCBS hands down. I still have a bad looking RCBS that works like a charm. The 25 so called PID is cheap made and I found discrepancies between it's readings and the real temp inside. Not huge but still differences. The RCBS holds much better the temp and warms up faster. Also it can be moded.
The old Saeco pot is a beast tho. Ugly but reliable.
The nastiest and the most pathetic pot I ever work with is Lee. And I'm to poor to buy cheap stuff anymore.
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You found discrepancies between what the actual lead temp is and what the PID is claiming but did it keep the lead at a consistent tempature?

What's so bad with the lee pot?
 
The 25 kept the temp with no issues discrepancies regardless. No big deal to learn the differences and adjust accordingly.
I won't start any debate about Lee. To many Lee lovers that I have no intention to bother with my stories. I have no gain from a such argument. I don't care what others chose. I only care about what I chose.
Lyman is not a bad choice but now I'm curious about the the new RCBS Pro-Melt II. Can't find any reviews about it and that's intriguing me.
 
The missus actually bought me a little Lee 10lb pot for my birthday so my plans have gone horribly sideways as always... But... I'm building a PID that I can swap between pots... And I'm doing some research into building myself a clone of the Magma pot... Somewhere around 40lb capacity... PID controlled... Bottom pour setup for a dual cavity mold...

This all came about when I asked a friend "I wonder how a 173gr .308 FN Lyman mold would work in an M305, them FMJ's are up to $0.26 a piece..."

Needless to say... I need to increase production.



 
I've been casting for the past 20+ years. I tried the LEE 20lb pot and the Lyman Mag25 but now have two RCBS Pro-Melts. The RCBS pots are far superior, more consistent and generally better overall construction. If you're an occasional caster, the LEE and Lyman pots will serve, but if you plan on pouring a lot of lead or demand the best in the way of equipment, the RCBS is the better choice for non-commercial casters.
 
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