Lee melting pot Fail video UPDATE.... (zinc will dissolve steel) Caution... Johnny's Reloading Bench. (CHECK THIS OUT) "How Hot Does A Lee 4-20 Lead Melting Pot Get? Go to Johnny's Reloading Bench!
Innovation always comes with risk, but having great companies like Lee and a great community like this makes it a whole lot easier. Thanks for taking us along for the ride! Also, agreed - both of the JRB channels are awesome.
Hi Elvis!: I´m so happy you didn´t get hurt doing your research work to share it with us reloaders. Fortunately, tools can be replaced, at least to some extent. As an E.R. Doctor, I can tell you, some accidental injuries regarding melting metals can be VERY nasty, painful and sometimes, can leave permanent sequels. I truly believe LEE has gone thru great efforts to make our hobby as safe as possible, as well as the several other Companies. Believe me, I´m Old School, and have had my share of misshaps, regardless of the brand of tools I´ve been using, which includes old Ideal(Lyman) moulds, as well as RCBS, Dillon, SAECO, etc. LEE has a great Customer Service and great products, I cannot remember how many great LEE Molds, Dies, presses, etc, I´ve purchased. Thanks a million for sharing your experience with us, the reloading community. Let´s work safe, and please, keep up!!
Like you, I've purchased a lot of Lee products. I know people brag on the customer service from Dillon but, Lee's customer service is second to none. They've always gone well above and beyond for me and, I don't have a RU-vid channel....just sayin'.
Lee is fantastic at customer service...and great for reloaders both new and old. Glad you got things figured out and thanks again for letting us share your experiences and experiments as you go along. Great posts and keep them coming
Elvis thanks to reloaders like you we may have other options. pushing the envelope forward keeps inovation alive and we always enjoy the ride. I'm new to reloading and have just purchased all new Lee precision equipment thanks to you. good job and keep trucking.
That is amazing that Lee will replace the pot! This just increases my respect for the Lee company for standing behind their product, even when failure is caused by misuse. Lee makes quality products and very reasonable prices.
Lee is a great American company that till this day makes excellent value products without ripping out the customer. Majority of the other reloading companies in the US now are all profit driven without much innovation nowdays.
that's why I use so many lee products. people bad mouth them because they don't cost as much as the others but their quality and customer service is outstanding. good to hear Elvis! keep us all posted on your progress. Again ... thanks for all you do.
Awesome of Lee taking care of you even though they didn't have too. I have been using Lee products exclusively since 1990's. This just reinforces my belief in Lee being a great company. Elvis thanks for all the knowledge you have shared with us on your discoveries.
Thank you Elvis for the update! I'd seen Johnny's Reloading Bench during a channel search, but haven't stopped before. I will now. Thanks for the info.
Awesome follow up and 2 thumbs up to Lee. Thank the good Lord above you were close and caught that in time in preventing what could have been a disaster.
Thank you for this video. You know we read warnings all the time but sometimes we don't know what they mean or why. Thanks for showing us your successes and failures. It helps us all learn. Thanks again!!!!!!!!
Yes sir Karl Jones .... I made up my mind some time ago.... Show the good, Bad , and ugly... It's the helpful thing to do... come to find out... some of the dumb ideas I have are things we have in common! : )
I was just about to start casting zinc with Lee pot, I'm going to use the zinc for 12 gauge slugs,,, I'm still going to use zinc for my slugs even though some people call me crazy, but I'm going to do it with cast iron dipper, thanks so much for you information on casting and sharing this pot failure. ..
How much zinc, lead ratio was you using? I've ordered the exact modle. Can I melt ole tire weights in it? They do contain zinc I think... I've seen other videos of people doing it..?
I was wondering what the verdict would be. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good on you Johnny for helping Elvis. Good on you Elvis bringing this to everyones attention. Also very cool of Lee, they really are squared away.
Hey Brian Brown.... Yea It really worked out... We all learned a little something and it came out in the wash! Thanks Lee And Johnny For helping out and pitching in! And Thanks to all you fine folks for the great thought, Information and conversation. We all gain! : )
elvis ammo hey brother I commented it might be a bad thermostat and then johnny did his video and man that thing got hotter then it should have even though the directions say no zinc I would still ask lee why it gets so hot it is still a safety issue and lee should fix that issue and have a high temp shutdown
Hey Elvis, The zinc is a junk metal thats why they use it for wheel weights. It would be very easy for zinc to be contaminated with magnesium since it is a low qualty control metal usage(cheap). If you get magnesium on fire, pot was about the rite temp at 1300, it will melt your steel liner in pot and aluminum base very easily. I still think weight vs mass of bullet i s very interesting. Keep up the good work. I know you will figure it out. looking forward to next video!!
hi elvis, luckily you were not harmed and glad to hear Mr. Lee will sort this out. You are a real inventor, trial and error is the way to go. Many great inventions stem not from preplanned succes but from failure or just pure coincidence of inventors just trying things nobody has tried before in combination. That's serendipity at work. Business plans do not make inventions, inventors do. But inventors take risks, unfortunately. Paul Mauser lost an eye when working on a semi-auto version of Gewehr 98. Stay safe. Btw, when is the all new Lee-Elvis zinc melting pot coming out (featuring zinc resistant inner liner)?
"A new technology test method has been developed to determine the attack of molten zinc on different steels. The tests were carried out with low-alloy steels, tool steels and stainless steels. These materials were tested in pure molten zinc and in a zinc alloy containing 4% aluminium. The test temperatures were 400-600 °C. The effect of the superficial oxide layer that protects steel against zinc attack has been investigated and the attack mechanism have been discussed. The relationships between zinc attack, time and temperature have been established for low and high-alloy steels. Small additions of aluminium to the zinc melt have no effect on the attack rate. In a zic melt contaning 4% aluminium the rate of the zinc attack on steel is greatly reduced. In this case the time law is found to be parabolic at 500 °C and linear at 600 °C. In a pure zinc melt the unalloyed steel has a better resistance to zinc attack than tool steel." -The attack of molten zinc on steels V. Lampe,H. Roos,M. Svensson First published: April 1977
I would recommend a pot lined with a high temp ceramic. Ceramic crucibles are what they use for a lot of the home forges as they can be heated and cooled repeatedly and with very high melting metals. Just a thought.
Kirk Boswell Would need something rated for high temp and I would recommend a good at least 8th in coating for solid protection but still allow heat transference.
I know this is an old vid but as I watched this, the thought occured to me that if you are shooting zinc bullets through your rifle, with the heat of the projectile traveling down the barrel, I am curious if you were essentially galvanizing the rifling of your barrel? I know when I clean my suppressor that mostly what I clean is lead fouling so it goes without saying that the zinc would be reaching vaporization temperatures too. It's been a year so I figure you have already experienced accuracy degradation if any. I enjoy your vids, hope you keep them up.
This really sucks, I am looking to melt zinc since it has a fairly low melting point, I would have liked to use something like that pot instead of a gas furnace etc.
hey there The Reloader Dude... I didn't feel like they owed me anything... But I was happy they took care of it! The dollars add up fast.. They are good folks!
I did a quick search, and most zinc rated crucibles that I found were made from clay graphite. I wonder if coating the inside of the Lee pot with a high temp graphite coating would work.
I would assume so since they're also made of steel. Some of the graphite coatings I saw that were good for 3200 degrees. I'm guessing they're not cheap. I'd also look into finding out what metals don't react with zinc. You might be able to fabricate your own zinc safe bottom pour pot, or a replacement liner for the Lee from the right scraps.
Have you tried coating the bottom of the melting pot with heat resistant paint? (The stuff they use for barbecue grills that say they can withstand up to 1200 degrees F) I'd assume the zinc could be safely melted in the pot as long as it wasn't allowed to come into contact with the pot metal itself. (Don't know if this would work, just curious about it myself)
Great work, Elvis! I'm heading to Johnny's to check out his latest. Seems like, while searching online for molds the other day, I came across a Lyman cast iron smelting pot. It looked only about 5 inches in diameter but it was as deep as it was wide. Seems like it would be easy to get your ladle in and out of. Could be great for zinc with your propane burner. Just a thought.
hey Elvisammo, you should aucton off that 4-20 pot. I bet that's collectable now. seriously, Lee has great customer service. I don't often ask for a replacement though because for the price most of their stuff far outlives what I expect it to. Glad you didn't get a bad burn. Best to you.
Hey mky45lg... Yea i didn't ask for a replacement. Just wanted them to know what happen. They offered. Cool. but I know what ya mean. I wouldn't wear something out and ask for another one either. ! Thanks!
hi Elvis, i'm rally sorry of what happened, but i imagined such a thing could happen. This pod of lee are not adeguate for zinc casting. for this i use separate inox melting pot., with metano gas. the thickness pod of lee is too small
Every once and awhile while putting sprue pieces in the pot I’ll get lit up (electrically shocked) pretty bad by this lee 4-20 pot and it has me a little on edge now when filling it back up and this is all with me not even touching the pot. This is my secondary pot I use the Lyman mag 25 as a primary.
I love this community. A lot of other communities jump all over someone if that person admits they done goofed. Not a single person Ive seen in the comments so far has had anything truly mean to say, and I am glad to see that. Im a little late to the video, just had it stashed in my watch later for a rainy day for some time now but Ill say this anyway, Im glad to see your okay and happy to see your still pushing the limits in your videos. Its always a good day when elvis ammo is involved :)
Thanks Ethan G... Thanks for stopping by. Never too late! : ) .. This community is a great one! Every once in a while comes a troll to prove that they are the authority of evil and ignorance! : ) It's on the rare side though. Glad your here! Thanks for watching.......
Do a Google search,on Griddle Q...... This is a heavy duty stainless steel griddle,made for putting on top of your gas grill. I stumbled across it,in my auction hunting adventures. I use this underneath my Lee 4-20 bottom pore unit. Check it out.
Hey Elvis- I was wondering if you'd make a video about crimping. How it effects the pressures, when it's appropriate and how much. Perhaps also speak about accuracy and the repeatability of the crimp. Thanks!!!
I'd think if the barrels were chromed and since it's not nearly as hot inside the barrel as it is in a casting pot that it wouldn't have much if any effect on the barrel, especially if you clean the rifle regularly. Berdan primers in surplus would be a lot worse if left to sit due to the corrosive salts. Just my opinion.
Prepare2Survive , Actually, that's a good question. I think there might be a tiny possibility of some galvanic corrosion. but I think it would be extremely small. Consider how long a zinc-dipped nail will last. I'm pretty sure that the only real problems happen at extended exposures with elevated temperatures.
ay you seem to be a metal expert so I have a question and couldn't find an awnser anywhere. I love guns and have several bullets on display on a shelf, any chance of lead posion? not rely touching them just for display. just curious thanks!
Hey Troll Policy.. Thanks for the question... Im not an expert but I can tell ya what I know. it's simple really. No problem displaying your wonderful bullets. But when handling lead you should wash your hands before touching your mouth, eyes, nose. Ingesting lead would be the number ! reason for lead poisoning. To inhale it one would need to create a lead powder for it to go airborne... Hope this helps! thanks for watching... i should start a display of my own! : )
Hey man, thanks for all your videos I was thinking if you took your the liner out of lee pot went up to like a custom motorcycle shop you should be able to get it like chrome-lined like the exhaust tubes on the Harley and that should stop any interaction between the zink and the steel liner and again thanks for all the time you spend on your videos man you have awesome info
look up nyc cnc on youtube he is a gun guy and has a cnc shop i bet he can make what you need. keep up all the good work, and thanks for all the time and work.
+elvis ammo I have 4 of these pots and your video is what promoted me to read the instructions. I always chuck them on opening a box ! Amen brother no injuries and enjoy your videos thanks for sharing your experiences
As soon as I heard you say that you shouldn't put those other metals in that pot the bonding of the two,metals under heat , is what popped into my mibd. And tell Johnny reloading bench that I said it's nice to see that there are still some decent people out there that will help there fellow man
Like I said Elvis, I tried Zinc casting and found it not worth the extra effort for me personally, However You have put out some real info that should be digested by anyone thinking about doing it. Also.. Not to go on a rampage, You are second to Fortunecookie in promoting Lee products. You and he both bring out unarguable innovation and quality for what you are paying for, and there are some products that Lee makes that just can't be beat or get anywhere else. Their pistol die's for one. Nobody in the Die making world will say that their dies will make more accurate ammo than Lee. Guess what? the salesman at Dillon told me that. So,,, It was a blessing for others that you did the video, we are all glad that nothing happened to you, God must have had his hand on the situation in your Bullet shop dude. Dave.
elvis, send me a drawing and some measurements on that bowl, and i'll make you a stainless bowl, i really hate to see this zinc series come to a halt because of a bowl, things were starting to get interesting
MrAlbert4, i don't know about getting into the business of making them, i'll make a few, but i don't see much call for one, as long as you use lead as most shooters will probably do, the steel bowl will last a long time. i was offering to elvis cause he's kind of a wildcatter, and i've been known to pull a few out of my hat too!!! i have worked in fab for 40yrs and the last 25 in the food and restaurant ind. so making a bowl for this furnace wouldn't be a big deal, i don't own a lee furnace so i don't have any measurements to see if a liner would be feasible or just make a replacement bowl. i may get a bug and go out and buy one and if i make a few i'll let you know and maybe you start making bullets!! (if elvis gets it figured out) but keep watching his and jrb,FortuneCookie45 Preacher's Day off and all these guys have good vids and we'll see what happens, so have a good day MrAlbertt4
shotdog I've got a bunch of zinc saved up from wheel weights over the years. I was hoping this series was going to provide enough info to make zinc a viable alternative to lead for some uses. I already cast lead alloy bullets.
I know this is off the subject but I just learned something new today on reloading. Shell holders of different brands have different size heights. So if I change a 9mm Lee shell holder with a 9mm rcbs or Redding or Dillon and so on they change my die settings. Can you make a video about this?
cgirl111 I don't think melting the zinc is the problem. I thing it was ElvisAmmo's first zinc vid when he tried ladle - casting the Zn. what we need is a bottom - pour pot with a zinc-proof liner.
I don't think you're going to find a cheap bottom pour pot with a graphite or clay liner. That's why I suggested one of those diy forges you see on youtube used by people to melt aluminum cans.
Wonder if anyone makes a cast iron bottom pour pot. Some DIY discussion here: www.alloyavenue.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-2340.html Reminds me of when TRprepper was trying to make silver bullets (paranormal penetraters).
