Full auto melt pot

[Harrylee]

Well I’ve seen reloading has been slow these days so thought I’d spice it up a little. Been doing some casting lately and the one thing that always drove me crazy was my melting pot, got a LEE
4-20 hooked up on 220 and it’s OK for what I’m doing except for the temperature control. I constantly have to keep my eye on the thermometer it swings up and down like crazy, and I just plain don’t trust it, one time took a break for maybe 7 minutes and turned the pot down almost to the lowest setting #2 on the scale (had it set on 5 ½ when casting for 700 degrees ) and when I came back it was almost 900!. Now some time back I’d see talk about auto PID control systems and they where bulky and expensive. So getting real tired of chasing the temp control that could swing 50 degrees at a blink of an eye, I decided to relook the homemade auto controls. And what I found that now is all the components are small and cheap and they will keep the pot + or - 1 degree of set point. Now you don’t need to be that precise but you need to be close in your casting temp for good bullets. So I bit the bullet ( pardon the pun) and ordered the parts for this project, really not to bad it was $73 including shipping and if this make my casting life easier then it’s all worth it and still makes casting cheap. Now some may say you don’t need that, and I’ve been doing this for years without that and maybe you got lucky with the temp or your pot held good temp, but we lived without microwave ovens for years but now it’s the norm so why not take advantage of the technology to make it easier. It takes a little doing but if your handy not so bad, learning the programing may be the hardest part. I have seen there is some high end pots on the market that use this but you pay the price. So this is my project and how I did it: The guys at castboolits had a lot of good info on this. This is the parts I ordered

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=14

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=20_3&products_id=22

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_30&products_id=9

And a few things kicking around to make the project
Had a box so that was no cost
And a terminal block once again had one floating around

In the first photo I put my Zippo in the picture just to show the size of the components and they are small.

Cutting the hole for the PID controller had to be carful there is not much of a lip on it to cover the cut out.

Mounted the solid state relay on the lid of the box they do generate some heat, since this is a metal box it should pull the heat from the lid, have to wait and see on that might have to put a heat sink on the lid

Next the wiring not to bad pretty basic but need to be sure every hook up is right

Got all the wiring done today TIME to see if this works!!!!!!
Plugged in the pot added some lead sensor in pot along with the thermometer at first they showed a big difference but as time went by they became closer, now I have it on the auto cycle take an hour or so for that to run, set the lead temp at 700. Now as I’m writing this an look over at the PID it’s holding between 699 and 701. EUREKA we have success now with my new vent fan setup I’ll be able to cast all winter and no more crazy temp swings from the pot. Still have to fine tune the setup a little but that’s nothing


http://www.kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=13138&stc=1http://www.kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=13139&stc=1http://www.kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=13140&stc=1http://www.kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=13141&stc=1

[muggsy]

When casting bullets the temperature is going to vary every time you add or subtract lead from the pot. I've always just saved the good pours and dumped the bad back into the pot. I'll give you credit for going the extra mile. Your set up looks fine and the ventilation system is definitely a must.

[Bobshouse]

What happens when you flux the pot? I get flames about 2 feet high.

[Harrylee]

As an after thought I should have put a bottom sensor in and that may happen in the near future.
2 foot flames wow never had flames that high, I don’t flux when casting I’ve all ready fluxed when making the ingots and since it’s bottom pour all the crap is on the top anyway

[marshal kane]

Harrylee: I flux, several times, when making ingots from wheel weights. I also flux, several times, after the ingots have been melted in my bottom pour Lyman Mag20 casting furnace. IME, I've found that slag tends to also collect at the bottom of the pot and doesn't all readily float to the top even with thorough stirring and fluxing. If I flux when the lead level is low, I can always find more slag rising to the top. In either case, full pot or half full pot, I can raise and skim off slag yet none of my bullets exhibit slag on their exteriors. I'm not disputing that your fluxing produces slag free ingots, I'm just saying that may not be the case for the rest of us and a divergent opinion is always helpful to the newer casters.

Bobshouse, we need more information on how you're fluxing if you want more responses. Occasionally, my fluxing will ignite but will only produce flames about 3 to 4" high which quickly go out.

[Harrylee]

Harrylee: I flux, several times, when making ingots from wheel weights. I also flux, several times, after the ingots have been melted in my bottom pour Lyman Mag20 casting furnace. IME, I've found that slag tends to also collect at the bottom of the pot and doesn't all readily float to the top even with thorough stirring and fluxing. If I flux when the lead level is low, I can always find more slag rising to the top. In either case, full pot or half full pot, I can raise and skim off slag yet none of my bullets exhibit slag on their exteriors. I'm not disputing that your fluxing produces slag free ingots, I'm just saying that may not be the case for the rest of us and a divergent opinion is always helpful to the newer casters.

Bobshouse, we need more information on how you're fluxing if you want more responses. Occasionally, my fluxing will ignite but will only produce flames about 3 to 4" high which quickly go out.

Duly noted marshal, I may on occasion flux when casting as long as any flames don’t hit my exhaust system I’m good with that. But I’m finding this works for me and keep scraping the sides and bottom the crud comes to the top and I get good pours from my pot. It works for me but may not work for others. And BTW the PID control is a god send keeping the temp of the pot with-in 5 degrees of set point. And I’d like to know what Bobshouse is doing for fluxing, that just doesn’t seem to add up right, so Bobshouse let us know how your doing it. There may be some help around here. We are a friendly group don’t ya know?:o

PS: Bob I wasn’t trying to be rude to you so stay in the game and talk to us

[marshal kane]

With regards to your PID control presentation, that was EXCELLENT.

[johnnysespresso]

Interesting venting system. I had a large basement window I could set up by so I just use a window fan, but I don't see a window in your work area. Where there's a will, there's a way. Nicely done.

[Harrylee]

Interesting venting system. I had a large basement window I could set up by so I just use a window fan, but I don't see a window in your work area. Where there's a will, there's a way. Nicely done.


That was a old bathroom fan I took out on a job and I knew exactly what I was going to do with it. Makes it nice now I can cast thru the winter months. It does have a flapper vent on the outside