tailchaser Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Quick question, I have one of the LEE production pots, and i have a big problem with it dripping between pours, i have 3 or 4 different plungers that i clean and change out, i twist the plunger, i make sure the handle comes completely down, i flux the lead, i use good lead, but after a few pours it will start dripping.. is there anything i can do?? please help, i am tired of the little burns .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 I don't have a solution for you as mine leaks sometimes as well. It looks like your plunger is not seating itself in the hole. You can empty the lead out of the pot and take a look to see if there is anything stuck around the hole where the plunger sits. I do this about every 2 years where I will empty my pot and steel wool the plunger, plunger hole and pot wall. You can also send it back to Lee and they will take a look at it and tell you if there is something else wrong with it.Other than that all you can do is put a small can under the pot when you're not pouring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
optimax Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 I don't have a solution for you as mine leaks sometimes as well. It looks like your plunger is not seating itself in the hole. You can empty the lead out of the pot and take a look to see if there is anything stuck around the hole where the plunger sits. I do this about every 2 years where I will empty my pot and steel wool the plunger, plunger hole and pot wall. You can also send it back to Lee and they will take a look at it and tell you if there is something else wrong with it.Other than that all you can do is put a small can under the pot when you're not pouring. I just bought a new lee melter and my old one started leaking after a pour I would push on the handle some and the spout would seal. I noticed that if I left it on for extended periods that it would leak more. I finally drained all the lead out and remelted and it worked fine. You might have some contaminates in the lead also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 Here are a couple of things I do for drips. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. 1, I run a piece of spinnerbait wire up the hole to clear it out and increase the flow. 2. Heat the spout with a propane torch then open it up and let some lead flow out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cz75b Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 for the short term, keep a screwdriver handy and turn the slot on top of the stop rod and that should stop the drip until you make another pour....sometimes a weight on top will help "seal" the leak between pours, often it is a slight piece of crud causing the stopper to hang up and it will eventually fix itself. Often the amount of lead alloy in the pot will matter, more means more drip (bigger head) and even pot temp can make a difference. I occasionally drain and clean the interior well, spray with mould release and often that works well including treating the end of the stop rod with release. Getting into the habit of the slight turning of the rod after a pour will become second nature. Keep an ingot mold under the spout or at least something to catch the drips and return the drips to the pot (I always have a set of needle nose pliers handy too) Welcome to the world of the Lee bottom pour. My pot is 12 years and going strong....has melted hundreds of pounds of alloy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubetragger Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 for the short term, keep a screwdriver handy and turn the slot on top of the stop rod and that should stop the drip until you make another pour....sometimes a weight on top will help "seal" the leak between pours, often it is a slight piece of crud causing the stopper to hang up and it will eventually fix itself. Often the amount of lead alloy in the pot will matter, more means more drip (bigger head) and even pot temp can make a difference. I occasionally drain and clean the interior well, spray with mould release and often that works well including treating the end of the stop rod with release. Getting into the habit of the slight turning of the rod after a pour will become second nature. Keep an ingot mold under the spout or at least something to catch the drips and return the drips to the pot (I always have a set of needle nose pliers handy too) Welcome to the world of the Lee bottom pour. My pot is 12 years and going strong....has melted hundreds of pounds of alloy. mine drips as well..... I do the screw driver trick also its like cz said just part of the fun of using a lee bottom pour... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syd Fishious Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 1) Screwdriver trick turning the top screw 2) Bounce the handle a couple of times 3) Empty your pot, take it apart and clean the bottom spout with a torch head cleaning kit. or 4) Wear gloves, live with it and keep a ingot mold underneath you pot like I do. I usually pour 400-500 jigs at a time and just don't waste the time cleaning it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Maxwell Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 (edited) If the screwdriver trick does't work, try tapping the top of the plunger with the needle nose pliers you use for removing the finished products from the molds. Tony Edited March 14, 2011 by Tony Maxwell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tailchaser Posted March 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 If the screwdriver trick does't work, try tapping the top of the plunger with the needle nose pliers you use for removing the finished products from the molds. Tony thanks for all the advice.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo D Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 thanks for all the advice.. I do all of the above but still keep an empty tuna can under my pot to catch any drips. I then put the lead back in the pot with pliers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCD Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Your pot is leaking because your plunger is slightly out of plumb, leaning slightly to the left or right at the top. Use a screwdriver in the slot at the top of your plunger to slightly turn and straighten your plunger to the plumb position. Your owners manual will tell you to never hit your plunger to stop a leak... but it doesn't tell you about why it leaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBK Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Your pot is leaking because your plunger is slightly out of plumb, leaning slightly to the left or right at the top. Use a screwdriver in the slot at the top of your plunger to slightly turn and straighten your plunger to the plumb position. Your owners manual will tell you to never hit your plunger to stop a leak... but it doesn't tell you about why it leaks. Turn your heat up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCD Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 Turn your heat up. Is 9 1/2 high enough??? I use a hardball mix from rotometals that requires a very high heat because of the 4% antimony in the mix and don't have leaking problems when I keep the plunger plumb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
