Simple question I guess. What's your favorite way to melt lead to cast bullets?

I have an old alloy pressure cooker that I sit on a propane stove and use a dipper to pour the bullets. I also have a LEE electric melting pot, but I don’t use that as often because the “stopper” for the pourer doesn’t seal up fully and leaks, dripping lead out of the reservoir.

Lee Pro 4 here. Works great.

Vince, that is a common problem for those pots. Place a container under the spout and bring the pot to temperature.Once temperature is fully reached, rotate the screw at the top of the "pour'" assembly while pushing firmly down. This should clear the obstruction causing the assembly to not seal in the pot channel. May take several tries, but should clear the issue.

SingleShotLover wrote:

Lee Pro 4 here. Works great. Vince, that is a common problem for those pots. Place a container under the spout and bring the pot to temperature.Once temperature is fully reached, rotate the screw at the top of the "pour'" assembly while pushing firmly down. This should clear the obstruction causing the assembly to not seal in the pot channel. May take several tries, but should clear the issue.

Thanks mate, but unfortunately it’s a case of been there, done that. I’ve tried everything to stop it, but unfortunately is continues dripping. I think the problem is a mix of crud that builds up and also a bit of heat induced corrosion. I’ve even gone to the point of pulling the closure rod out and thoroughly cleaned both the point of the rod as well as the drip hole, all to no avail. These days I put a small tray under the dropper and catch the drips to return them to the pot. Surprisingly, I actually prefer the dipper method as it’s easier and certainly no slower, although I don’t cast heaps of projectiles these days. I cast more shot for my shotgun, but that is an entirely different process.

I prefer to use a Lyman electric furnace to melt lead. The whole casting outfit was on sale and I snapped it up. In the past, I used a gas camp stove, but it was hard to maintain consistent temperatures. Finally, the gas stove would tend to run out of fuel at the wrong time. So it depends. All the best...
Gil