SWO Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 I have a Lee Prod Pot that is about 10 years old. It looks like the Prod Pot IV, but it may be an earlier version. The problem I'm having is that hot lead drips out of the bottom pour spout between pours and when I lift the handle to pour, it comes out in an erratic dribble instead of a steady stream. My jig heads are complete, but they have ripples in them. Any ideas of how to fix this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 I have two of them, and my oldest has a rectangular body, not like the newest, which has a rectangular hex. Anyway, mine always drips between pours. In your case, the first thing I would do is stick a paper clip in the hole from the bottom, something may be clogging your steady stream. If that doesn't work, empty your pot completely, and take a look at the plunger (the thick rod that goes into the pot and seats itself on the hole opening). With everthing cool, look at the plunger for any gouges or wear (there shouldn't be any) since lead always sits in the pot. Take some steel wool clean your plunger, then look at the pouring hole, and lightly clean it. Do not open the hole. Blow out the excess steel wool, plug in and fill with lead. Odds are you have something on the bottom of the pot that is causing uneven flow. Let us know what your final solution was, so we can all learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWO Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Thanks Cadman. I was just on the Lee website and they suggested to use valve grinding compound to lap the valve stem and valve seat. They also said to flux often to remove impurities in the lead that may be causing the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 I’ve heard that also, where you can hand lap the stem and the hole where the stem seats, with polishing compound. They do this for cylinder bores. My first question would be if it’s worth all the time invested, and if you do hand lap, you have to know what you are doing, so you get everything symmetrical all around. With that said, it’s a personal choice. I use bees wax as a flux to clean my lead. Candle wax will do, but some candle wax flames up so you have to be careful. Beeswax only smokes. Whether it helps or not, I think it does, but that’s my personal opinion. I pour a lot of lead, and I don’t seem to have too many problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWO Posted January 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 I tried lapping the stem and stem seat, and it worked great. There was a little piece of lead stuck in the spout which reduced the flow. That was a real pain to get out, but now it flows like new. The lapping only took about 10 minutes. I made some tube jig heads last night and they turned out great. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookUp Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Sometimes, just taking a screw driver to the slot on top of the plunger and turn it back and forth a few times clear up the problem for me. Most impurities tent to 'float' to the top of the lead pot, allowing themselves to be scraped off. Watch out fluxing, drop wax into hot lead will cause a flame up. Dont ask me how I figured that one out .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braveviper Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Mine is new out of the box and leaked right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatman Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 I use a very long piece of lure forming wire and put a pot under the nozzle pull the handle and run the wire through the hole to clear it. Never really had a problem with the nozzle clogging doing this. Wear Very HEAVY gloves when doing this. Fatman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 SWO, If it is really old and you can't fix it. You can return it to Lee with a check for half the current retail price and the will send you a completely refurbished pot with a full warranty. TJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWO Posted February 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 SWO,If it is really old and you can't fix it. You can return it to Lee with a check for half the current retail price and the will send you a completely refurbished pot with a full warranty. TJ TJ, Thanks for the info. However, I was able to fix it and it works as good as new now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
