JLouis wrote on Feb 25^th, 2022 at 2:54pm:


I'm surprised at how my Lee pots have lasted, but the thing that surprised me more is the fact that these cheap little pots keep the temperature within a tighter tolerance than my old $300 RCBS pot.   

Chris.

What is the best tool for checking the temperature of the alloy to within 2 degrees that won't cost an arm and a leg?  John, I have read where people install PID switches to control the temperature.  Is that what the dimmer switch does?  It is all Greek to me!  On your dimmer switch do you use a wall switch mounted somewhere and just run the wires into it?  A picture would help me understand what you do.  I am using my RCBS Digital but not checking the actual temperatures so have no idea how precise it is.  I cast a hundred 7mm bullets today to try in the RCBS mould I just bought and they weighed within a 1/2 grain from the lightest to the heaviest with at least 3/4 of them within 1/10 of a grain.  I am using 16:1 at 800 degrees and it seems to have helped my quality in the 30 caliber bullets as well.  Tom

My Lyman MAG25 Digital pot is also 3 inches taller than my Lee 20lb. Pot.
This also makes it quite abit more uncomfortable to use for ladle pouring.
It also does not hold a constant temp. as one might tend to think it does. Not really a big swing and actually not a big thing as everytime time you dip the ladle back into the pot it also changes the temp. As the ladle is also cooling while each bullet is being cast and even more so if one is casting slow.