Lyman MAG 25

oldrodder

oldrodder

CGN Regular
Rating - 99.6%
244   1   0
Location
Sudbury, ON
First off.......I'm not "casting" aspersions on the seller here!

I bought this furnace recently on the EE. It arrived in due time, well packed and in exactly the condition that the seller described: Like new! Plugged it in and it worked as it should for 2 casting sessions. On the third session, i fed it 10-12 lbs of alloy and plugged it in! It reached 400 deg very quickly then slowly started to drop maybe one degree every 10-12 seconds. I unplugged it when it reached 240 deg. The next day, I tried it again and it didn't get past 54 deg. I'm suspecting the PID. Reached out to Lyman but to date, they haven't responded. Now, to figure out how to remove the partly melted alloy in the furnace.....any suggestions??
BTW, do we have a Lyman repair depot in Canada?
 
Well thats quite a bummer. I looked at that pot but passed because they are apparently not friendly with all different mold designs.

I've heard that Lee is good about replacement elements for their pots and RCBS is usually well regarded for their customer service response to issues so hopefully Lyman are at least as good in keeping up with their competitors. Maybe reach out to retailers who carry their products and see if they can help or give you advice.
https://www.lymanproducts.com/internationaldealers
 
Lyman USA will answer you back. I broke the handle at the junction of that little wire spring hole and they send me another one free - they did not even charge me shipping to Canada..
 
vagrantviking said:
Well thats quite a bummer. I looked at that pot but passed because they are apparently not friendly with all different mold designs.

I've heard that Lee is good about replacement elements for their pots and RCBS is usually well regarded for their customer service response to issues so hopefully Lyman are at least as good in keeping up with their competitors. Maybe reach out to retailers who carry their products and see if they can help or give you advice.
https://www.lymanproducts.com/internationaldealers
Click to expand...
Vagrant:
The first thing I did was remove the mold guide for that reason, and replaced it with a flat piece of aluminum. Other that the dripping issues, I've had excellent service from all my LEE pots. In fact, I have 5 sitting in my shop. I most casters, I enjoy owning & using high end" tools. To that end, maybe 5-6 years ago, I bought an RCBS Pro Melt on the EE that again was "As new" When I first tried to use it, it struggled to reach 600 degrees F. I contacted RCBS and never got a reply.
I hope I have better luck with this one.
 
oldrodder said:
First off.......I'm not "casting" aspersions on the seller here!

I bought this furnace recently on the EE. It arrived in due time, well packed and in exactly the condition that the seller described: Like new! Plugged it in and it worked as it should for 2 casting sessions. On the third session, i fed it 10-12 lbs of alloy and plugged it in! It reached 400 deg very quickly then slowly started to drop maybe one degree every 10-12 seconds. I unplugged it when it reached 240 deg. The next day, I tried it again and it didn't get past 54 deg. I'm suspecting the PID. Reached out to Lyman but to date, they haven't responded. Now, to figure out how to remove the partly melted alloy in the furnace.....any suggestions??
BTW, do we have a Lyman repair depot in Canada?
Click to expand...

Do you consider yourself a technically savvy guy? If we suggest you roll up your sleeves and start poking at wires, are you into that?

There are 3 major components at play here, the element that provides the heat, the thermocouple that measures the heat, and the PID that controls the one based on the input of the other.

Do you have a way to measure the energy consumption of the element? Do you know if it is actually running at the rated power when provided 120V?

Do you know if the thermocouple is measuring properly? All the temperatures you reference, did they come from the PID reading, or are they measured independently?

Is the PID set properly, and does it look like it is sending appropriate signals to the relay? Namely, 100% power when temp is well below the set point, but on only a fraction of the time when close to the setpoint?

I think Lyman just mounts a common REX C-100 PID controller into that machine, don't they? The same kind you can buy on Ebay for $20.
 
BattleRife said:
Do you consider yourself a technically savvy guy? If we suggest you roll up your sleeves and start poking at wires, are you into that?

There are 3 major components at play here, the element that provides the heat, the thermocouple that measures the heat, and the PID that controls the one based on the input of the other.

Do you have a way to measure the energy consumption of the element? Do you know if it is actually running at the rated power when provided 120V?

Do you know if the thermocouple is measuring properly? All the temperatures you reference, did they come from the PID reading, or are they measured independently?

Is the PID set properly, and does it look like it is sending appropriate signals to the relay? Namely, 100% power when temp is well below the set point, but on only a fraction of the time when close to the setpoint?

I think Lyman just mounts a common REX C-100 PID controller into that machine, don't they? The same kind you can buy on Ebay for $20.
Click to expand...

Battlerife: It worked fine for the first 2 casting sessions. I did check the temp on the first session with an analog thermometer, good to 1200 deg F. and the temps were within 10 deg of each other. I will wait till I hear from Lyman before I tear into this thing.
Thanks for your input.
 
Well, I heard from Lyman yesterday and again, today. Here's the reply:


Idriss Nasry
7:37 AM (23 minutes ago)
to me

Mike,



Would you be able to forward over the forum link? Warranty applies only to the original consumer from the manufacturer or an authorized Lyman distributor or dealer. They do come as finished goods, besides the handle assembly we do not offer other parts.







Lyman Products

Customer Service

475 Smith St

Middletown, CT

06457

1-800-225-9626

www.lymanproducts.com
 
Here is the last email from Lyman:

Idriss Nasry
12:37 PM (1 hour ago)
to me

Mike,



Unfortunately, you are not covered under warranty as you are not the original consumer. The most I can do is a reduced price on a new unit.
 
That's definitely not first class customer support. I guess it being electronics might be part of the reason they limit their liability.

Hopefully there are user serviceable parts available that can be found to get it going again.
 
BattleRife said:
Sorry to hear that.

I have played with heaters and PIDs a good bit, if there is something I can help with, just ask.
Click to expand...

As it turns out, Lyman don't make this furnace and offer no spare parts other than the handle! Through out several emails, Mr Nasry is trying to convince me that Lyman stands behind it's products, even tho they can't or wont provide me with parts that I'm willing to pay for! I remember when that was so, but obviously, the business model has changed, and not for the better!!
Battle: I will reach out in the near future. Thank you!
 
Had one of my friends have the same problem with his 4 year old MAG 25 that he picked up in Wyoming when he was coming home from a family vacation. He could set the temperature and the element would not heat up. Lyman was no help , said it was never registered and the warranty had run out anyway, asked about parts and basically none are available. We took it apart and the wire connector to one of the legs of the heating element had burnt off. I repaired it and changed the other one also just in case. I must say I was not impressed with the quality of the electrical work I found, must be assembled in China with low quality connectors like everything else. I use a 40 year old 20 lb Lyman pot that I control with a PID and it has worked flawlessly for all these years and melted literally more than a ton of lead I am sure.
 
Here is the last response from Lyman:


Idriss Nasry
Thu, May 4, 7:48 AM (1 day ago)
to me

Good Morning,



The price would be 270 with shipping being a bit more as going to Canada and tax if applicable.





Idriss Nasry

Lyman Products

Customer Service



475 smith st

Middletown, CT

06457

www.lymanproducts.com

They offered me a new furnace at the reduced price of $270 USD. Reg price is around $430 USD.
So, the total price would be $270 USD + shipping + taxes + duties!
I think I'm gonna pass.
 
Totally unimpressed with current Lyman products. I have a lightly used 3 year old Lyman Gen 6 powder dispenser that is totally off with its weights, won't hold a calibration. Took it apart and basically found relatively cheap Chinese construction, nothing really user fixable. Its garbage.
 
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