Anybody who uses one of these care to comment on it?    Looks like my 40 year old RCBS pro melt may have bit the dust.

George

George Babits wrote on May 26^th, 2021 at 1:18pm:


George,

I sent my old Pro Melt back to RCBS after finding that the heater was not working properly.  They promptly refurbished it and sent it back to me - no charge.

Wayne

Sounds like the Lyman is a good melting pot.   I think I'll call RCBS first and see about getting this one repaired.   If it is just the thermostat, or heating blanket, I may be able to repair it myself if I can get the parts.   I had it apart about 10-12 years ago to replace the pot, so replacing the heating coil may not be that big a deal.

Regards,
George

I actually converted mine to being just a Ladle pour and I do like it allot.

For the past forty years I’ve been casting with a commercial solder pot and often wonder why more casters don’t do the same. When I was growing up in CA I used to see quite a few of the old timers using them. I recall one of Frank Pachmayrs shops with several on the long window benches. These pots are commonly used in the electronics, aircraft, space tech etc. so for the past five or more years frequently show up in auctions and can go for very short money. Mine is a Waage guessing around 70-80 lbs capacity ( 6” x - 7” deep ) 120 volt full temp control dial to 800°. This pot is heavy and will hold temps to within 10° even after hours of casting. The larger capacity gives better temp control plus very easy dipper access. Waage has been in business over a hundred years and my pot was built in the early 50’s with never any problems. Check them out well worth it. 

ballardhepburnmich wrote on May 30^th, 2021 at 12:32am:


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Wayne

I’ve had three and sold all to pay for one but all were auction finds. If I were going after a used one I’d look into sawmills, old shipyards anywhere that used to or still runs machinery with babbitt bearings. Most of the big old machinery has been changed over to ball bearings by now but these pots can be found over in the corners abandoned.

I’m sure that PID controllers are more precise however my Waage easily hold 10° or less for hours of dipping which more than satisfies my casting needs. No need to continuously add alloy and wait for temperature to come back up. On smaller pots with less mass and lead then temperature fluxuations and on/off heater activation would inherently be more frequent. These Waage’s are still used in  commercial applications where solder temp is critical, such as dipping etc.. So I’m just spitballing but these big old pots are good enough for me. And I prefer reliable simple beam scales too.