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I have had a Lee Production Pot IV for I guess, 3 years or longer, and I have gotten so frustrated with it clogging up that I ordered a new one today. (I have cleaned it out the best I can) What is the best way to keep my new one clean and prevent it from clogging up? I try to get all the slag off the top with a spoon and when I am done I drain all the lead out but I'm guessing that maybe that's a mistake as it puts whatever slag I could not get at the bottom of the pot. Your thoughts?
i would drain it out as much as possible and then carefully turn it up side down and use a small wire parts brush to finish cleaning it out i do this just after i up plug it as its cooling
I pour on wooden Table. I cut hole in bottom of table and any lead that leaks out of pot goes in a 5 Gallon Metal Bucket under the table ......I had to cut metal bottom of pot so the lead would go in the 5 gallon bucket..........I used the round blade for cutting doorknob holes in doors. Works Great.....and don't worry about few drips.
I have Lee pot that is over 20 years old. Don't use it a lot but it has never been drained or cleaned out. Once in a while it will pour slow when it first gets hot. I have a piece of spinner bait wire bent at a 90 that I will put in the spout and lift pour handle . That solves that problem. I try to not let it get to close to the bottom before adding more lead. Use spoon to skim of dirt from top.
This has been on before and while some leave lead in the pot when done I'm not one of them. My 2 original pots were 24 and 27 years old - and I finally had to go to Lee for their 1/2 price replacement program. Those pots before they died made 1000's of jigs and I love how easy they are to use. The Lee's will leak, they are a bottom pour pot and stuff sinks.
You didn't say anything about fluxing your lead!!! If you don't DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!! Until a thread about it on TackleUnderground Best Lead Melt Flux? - Wire Baits - TackleUnderground.com I had never fluxed my lead, and I'm a convert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It helps keep the lead clean and makes it pour so much better.
Here's what I do for cleaning after EVERY USE!!!
When all the lead is out of the pot I WEARING GLOVES tilt it forward to get any remaining lead to flow out the hole, I turn the pot down to about 200 degrees and then I shove the jig wire (old bass jig with the barb cut off and shaped into an L) up into the hole from the bottom and remove any clogs/buildup, then I use a long piece of spinner making wire and do the same from the top.
I then turn the pot off and let it cool totally. When cooled I pull the pouring bar out of the pot and use an old knife and a piece of steel wool to get any crap off it and then use an old flat head screwdriver to scrape the inside of the pot down. I tip the pot over and knock all the scrapings out then use a big piece of steel wool to wipe the inside of the pot till totally clean. I even use a fine long handled flat head screwdriver to help clean the pour spout inside the pot, tip it over and knock anything out, put the pour bar back in and it's set to go.
It worked well for me and the pots lasted a LONG time. That the original pots lasted 24 and 27 years shows it works, plus when you go to pour again everything is clean and ready to go.
tapout, my pot started doing that and even after emptying the pot and making sure the spout was clean it still did that. pretty sure I had contaminated all my lead with zinc or something like that. I used to have lead that was shiny on top but when I started having problems my lead wasn,t shiny but had alot of slag and had a krinkled surface, and I could scim slag forever until I emptied the pot if I did it long enough. lol so the quality and pureness of the lead has alot to do with it. I have always had problems with partially whole heads too, but now Ive made a couple single cavity molds with the sprue hole cone going right down to the head cavity, and have not had a single partial pour! just food for thought.
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Originally Posted by Fatman
That's some good advice there!! I only empty my pot and clean it out every blue moon. I don't get the drips as bad and when I slow down or plug up I ream it out with a piece of wire. I've broken that wire off a few times in my days and just did a couple days ago with a full pot. I didn't want to dump it, so I used a long wire through the top with the plunger lifted. Finding the hole wasn't a problem, but turning the wire one direction was critical, for me. It pushed the stub out enough I could grab it with my pliers.
Flux the lead, the better you flux it the smoother things go. I flux my pot occasionally using veg oil or my favorite bacon grease. It will lube the sides of the bowl and make skimming the dross easier. Plus, the bacon smell is awesome while pouring. It kinda makes you hurry so you can eat. I love that bacon grease for fluxing when I make my ingots. If you get enough in there it will completely cover the surface, then stir with something LONG cause that babies gonna burst into flames. If you continue skimming and stirring while it's burning your lead comes out very clean and it doesn't seem to oxidize near as bad. The hotter you get your lead while fluxing the better it turns out too.
Tapout64, thanks for starting this Thread and thanks to all the rest of you post ways to flux and clean pots. Man i just learned a lot about pouring just in an hour of reading your posts and that link on lure making. Thanks to Crappie.com for acess to such a great group of guys who are wiling to share all their knowledge.:Hands Clapping
I just found 1 more reason why I LOVE BACON!
Glad to help