PID Temperature Controller for casting. Looking for input.

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I am looking to more finely control temps during casting so I'm looking into retrofitting a PID Controller system into my Lee Production IV Pot.


ht tps://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00T2IODEK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AYS1QP79X4N5R&psc=1

Is this missing anything or unsuitable?
Looking for people with hindsight experience so I'm not wasting my time/money.




Thanks for your time.
 
yup it's all there with the longer probe. you just need a case to put it all in, i used an old powder supply and larger cpu heat sink for the ssd.

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looks like it should work, but if you are not familiar with good electrical practices.... things could get interesting. get a long temp probe like: http s://www.amazon.ca/K-Type-Temperature-Controller-Thermocouple-Sensor/dp/B00FVREP12/ref=pd_sim_469_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BC8BRHGVKYH0BARPEKE3 and don't measure the side walls of your pot, measure the melted lead. see if you can rig it for a 1/4" clearance.

I plan on rehabbing an old saeco pot I got, it needs a total rebuild. I guess I should take photos and document it, give other people the pleasure of laughing when I burn my shed down. :runaway:

good luck, if you do buy the stuff let us know how it worked.
 
I'm confident I can wire it fine.
If I burn my shed down I'll be sure to send everyone pics.
I've had luck thus far with keeping pot at a consistent mixture, level and drain speed. Just looking to eliminate variables and improve QC.
 
You're going to need a 120V plug as well unless you want to wire your Lee pot direct. I'd suggest getting a plug. Here's mine made up with whatever I had around the garage plus the stuff from Amazon.

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I run a Lee 20 lb production pot and I find the included heat sink is more than adequate. It barely gets warm on a hot summers day.
 
I used the alarm 1 function on my pid to turn on a cooling fan for the lead pot, got the fan from an avr out of a generac ecogen, trying to to reduce the temp cycling up and down. Set it 3 degrees above the cycle off temp on the pid. works good after I made some ducting up to keep it from freezing up the bottom spout on my pot.
 
I built mine using an old power supply case also. I also use it to control my smoker, (Thermocouple and fan to blow air into the smoker when the temp. drops) as well as my Lyman lube sizer 450, and an old crock pot. The sky is the limit, pick up the correct thermocouples off of ebay for 5 bucks each and away you go.
 
Yes this will work great but indeed you do want to order a longer thermocouple sensor.
I use a 100 mm. (4 inch) one.

If you have time and want to save $$ you could order from ebay and be done for about half the price.
Also double check product details; some are celcius only, no Fahrenheit.
 
I have been casting with a PID for a couple years now, and while it does keep a consistent temperature ok, when I add ingots to the pot, it takes twice as long to come up to casting temperature again.

I can cast just fine without a PID, so sometimes I don't bother hooking it up.
 
ryan said:
I have been casting with a PID for a couple years now, and while it does keep a consistent temperature ok, when I add ingots to the pot, it takes twice as long to come up to casting temperature again.

I can cast just fine without a PID, so sometimes I don't bother hooking it up.
Click to expand...

That could be pretty easily fixed with adding a switch that bypasses
the ssr and give full output to your pot while keeping the thermocouple in to check the temp.
 
When I went to two pots, the quality and flow of bullets improved wonderfully. The first pot is just a small one that I pick up and dump into the bottom pour pot. This prevents the chilling of the main pot and seizing the valve. My last two casting days put out well over 300 lbs of quality bullets.

The temperature of the lead is maybe not quite as important as the mold temperature - which I regulate with a wet cloth rather than pausing before dropping the bullets on a damp towel on an inclined large platter.
If someone could come up with an accurate mold temperature regulation method - now that would be interesting!

If a guy set up a hinge and chute arrangement for dumping the primary pot into the second pot - it would be safer. I haven't had an accident yet but... it would be more than a visit from the tinsel fairy.

A rack over a heat source to preheat and superdry the ingots before they hit the pot would help the temperature moderation and bullet flow also. I bring them in to warm them up days ahead - and then stack them to warm right beside the pots.

I'd like to try one of those little controllers that you guys are talking about - it looks like a very tidy little unit to use for many things - hot tub, furnace, meat smoker, engine heater, shower temp regulation - lots of stuff.

You guys have set them up to control receptacles - that is just dandy for multiple uses - like maybe the block heater on your vehicle now that electricity is so expensive.

Okay - I'm rambling now - old guys tend to do that - but one more thing: A propane torch is handy to unstick the needle valve on a bottom pour pot.
 
ryan said:
I have been casting with a PID for a couple years now, and while it does keep a consistent temperature ok, when I add ingots to the pot, it takes twice as long to come up to casting temperature again.

I can cast just fine without a PID, so sometimes I don't bother hooking it up.
Click to expand...

I had this issue as well. I manually tuned the PID controller for the type of casting I do and it's perfect now. I have a fairly high gain set compared to the auto tune selection. It works better for me when I'm dropping the hot sprues into the pot while casting. (Be careful when doing this not to splash lead) It also cut my warm up time in half when putting whole ingots in.

If you're not versed in tuning a PID controller you may be able to tune it by executing the auto tune immediately after placing a fresh ingot(s) into the pot.

Each of these controllers have different P I D type parameters which may be the inverse of each other. For example Proportional adjustments are opposite of gain, Integral is the opposite of time... It takes a bit of reading to figure out what unit your particular controller uses and how to appropriately tune it. I work in Instrumentation Controls so it wasn't too bad for me to figure it out. It's not rocket science though, I think most could get a handle on it with a little effort online.


anchor3593 said:
If someone could come up with an accurate mold temperature regulation method - now that would be interesting!

.....You guys have set them up to control receptacles - that is just dandy for multiple uses - like maybe the block heater on your vehicle now that electricity is so expensive.

Okay - I'm rambling now - old guys tend to do that - but one more thing: A propane torch is handy to unstick the needle valve on a bottom pour pot.
Click to expand...

We all have accurate mold temp regulation by doing the exact same process over and over and over again. I typically time my cool down periods and if that's still too hot, I time the damp towel rests internally by seconds.... one....two... three... :)

The engine block heater idea won't save you any $. You're best to get a timer from crappy tire and have it turn on full power 1 or two hours prior to starting it. IMO. You kind of need all the heat they put out to get that block of metal warm. I don't think it would help you lowering the temp. Plus, you'd need to install the thermocouple in your engine compartment in the block somehow... just messy with little to gain.

Great tip on the propane torch!! I don't know why I didn't think of that in the past!!! I'll give it a shot!
 
ryan said:
I have been casting with a PID for a couple years now, and while it does keep a consistent temperature ok, when I add ingots to the pot, it takes twice as long to come up to casting temperature again.

I can cast just fine without a PID, so sometimes I don't bother hooking it up.
Click to expand...

Your PID isn't tuned properly then.
 
ryan said:
I have been casting with a PID for a couple years now, and while it does keep a consistent temperature ok, when I add ingots to the pot, it takes twice as long to come up to casting temperature again.

I can cast just fine without a PID, so sometimes I don't bother hooking it up.
Click to expand...

I have a lid on my homemade pot. I put ingots on it to prewarm them
 
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