Casting Thermometer

Standard Member

oscarflytyer posted this 08 December 2012

Mine goes in before I light the fire and comes out JUST before I kill the flame!!! What they are made for! NP

Oh yeah... and after starting w/o one, I will NOT smelt OR cast W/O one - NO WAY! Invaluable, IMHO... YMMV

Attached Files

CBA Member

R. Dupraz posted this 08 December 2012

My thermometer has been in the pot for several yrs. now. The only time it comes out is when the pot gets cleaned.

RD

Attached Files

CBA Member

Balhincher posted this 08 December 2012

I have a Lyman thermometer that is probably 20 years old at least. I've always left it in the pot all the time I'm casting and occasionally forget to take it out when I shut off the pot. It still works fine.

Attached Files

CBA Member

offhand35 posted this 08 December 2012

I leave my RCBS casting thermometer in the pot from the moment everything has melted until I am done and ready to pour off the last little bit of alloy into ingots. I would be very nervous casting without it now. Leaving it in once showed me when the controller on my LEE Magnum melter went runaway BEFORE the pot could possibly “melt itself".

Attached Files

Standard Member

Wayne S posted this 08 December 2012

http://www.teltru.com/p-272-big-green-egg-primo-grill-dome-kamado-replacement-thermometer-lt225r-5-inch-stem-2001000-degrees-f.aspx MidSouth has these on sale as well

Attached Files

CBA Member

Brodie posted this 08 December 2012

Thanks Wayne; I need a new thermometer since my Lyman is so cockeyed as to be useless. Brodie

B.E.Brickey

Attached Files

CBA Member

IMR380 posted this 09 December 2012

Thank you all. I was hoping it was alright just to leave the the thermometer in the melt, but wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do. I will just leave it in from now on. Gary

Attached Files

CBA Member

Uncle Russ posted this 10 December 2012

Or you could remove it and pass it on to some newbie. Purchase a PID control, both watch and control the temp at the same time. Join the 21st Century and watch your pot do things you never dreamed it was doing. The temp swings are so great as to blow your mind and inconsistant, “WOW". See the future-----go PID!!!!!!!!! :jawdrop:

Attached Files

CBA Member

IMR380 posted this 10 December 2012

Uncle Russ,

Pid controller sounds interesting. Could you give info. on what type to get, how to hook up, etc. Thanks, Gary

Attached Files

CBA Member

Uncle Russ posted this 11 December 2012

Pretty simple if you purchase a ready made control. Insert probe into pot near down spout (if bottom pour) about 1/2” off bottom. Plug pot into control, turn pot thermostat to HIGH, plug control into wall. Set desired temperature and watch the magic happen.

List to make your own is rather short if you are handy and learn quick or have experience programming electronic devices. You may have some of the materials in your shop. I can send you a list or supply the unit-your choice. :lovecast:

Attached Files

CBA Member

joeb33050 posted this 11 December 2012

I went for years without an alloy thermometer, kept reading about how helpful they are, finally broke down and bought one. I measured temperature, cast bullets, adjusted the pot knob, kept records-got good bullets. Like before the thermometer. Now it's in the jar with tooth brushes/teeth brushes, brass rods and other long things. It's happy there, I'm happy with it there, and it will NEVER wear out. Another dead end.
joe b.

Attached Files

CBA Member

Duane Mellenbruch posted this 11 December 2012

I do not know if Joe is a dip or bottom pour fan. I suspect that if a caster dips, then he has a good feel for the fluidity of the melt as he is fluxing and mixing the alloy in the pot. If it is sluggish he will probably crank up the heat and if the castings are frosted, he will turn it down. No problem, that is sort of the same thing with the BP pot. If it does not flow freely, we crank up the heat, and if it casts frosty bullets we turn down the heat. Where I find it useful in casting is in the larger pot that seems to take a while to heat up. The top might be liquid, but there are still unmelted portions in the pot so it does not flow easily. If you open the valve and nothing comes out, you know it is too cold. But if you do not stay and watch it, you may not notice that it is not fully shut off, and as it warms it will drip and then trickle and then you have a nice pile of cold alloy formed under the pot nozzle. With the thermometer in place, I can tell by looking at the dial if the pot is up to temp for casting or not. If not up to temp, I do not mess with the valve handle because I know it will not flow.

Does this alone make better bullets? Probably not, but it does keep me from making poor bullets. And to me, that is another one of the nice things about having a thermometer. Duane

Attached Files

CBA Board

John Alexander posted this 11 December 2012

I like the range of opinions in this thread. Of course you can usually depend on a range if Joe chimes in. I think Joe is probably right but I'm not the sort that is completely comfortable if there is something around that could be measured and isn't being measured yet. (My wife says it is either a genetic defect or some disease I acquired in engineering school.)

I wold like to have a PID controller but haven't wanted one bad enough to do anything about it. I used to enjoy a sort of middle ground. I had a nifty digital thermometer that I assumed was probably more accurate than my Lyman dial type and it didn't cost much more. It gave me something to do to watch the little numbers march upward while the pot warmed. Alas it stopped working and I haven't looked it up and bought another. Anybody know a source for somebody too lazy to look for it.

John

Attached Files

CBA Member

joeb33050 posted this 11 December 2012

I categorize the alloy thermometer with the chronograph, auto/motorcycle tachometer and the second hand on my watch. How was life possible without these? joe b.

Attached Files

CBA Member

joeb33050 posted this 11 December 2012

The auto/cycle tachometer on standard transmission vehicles is a salute to poor memory. joe b. Dipper, like all the best people.

Attached Files

Standard Member

Sonny Edmonds posted this 12 December 2012

Mine is in, and stays in, the melt even when the melt is in a solid state. :shock: I resisted for a long time, but I'm glad to have it. Better than without.

As for PID's, I maintained electrical controls for decades, and built various systems for control. Isn't it interesting I don't want one? Just look at the posts asking what's wrong with the users PID. .>

Attached Files

Standard Member

Pigslayer posted this 12 December 2012

Years ago I dipped. Ten years ago I started to bottom pour. Two years ago was skeptical about a PID. Then I built one . . . I love it. My choice is not for debate.

If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.

Attached Files

Standard Member

Sonny Edmonds posted this 12 December 2012

Pigslayer wrote: Years ago I dipped. Ten years ago I started to bottom pour. Two years ago was skeptical about a PID. Then I built one . . . I love it. My choice is not for debate. Yeah, yeah, yeah.... And whatcha gonna do when the power goes out? :P

Besides, it's hard to take you seriously in that hat, Mister. B)

Attached Files

CBA Member

Uncle Russ posted this 12 December 2012

Sonny my man, will you send me a clipping off that current bush of yours so I can cast when the power is out too? I'll set aside my PID and just eyeball it during those times so as not to overload the pruning. :coffee

What is the wattage rating on those little rascals anyway?

:doooah:

The Pigslayer's hat is VERY stylish, we should all be envious.

Attached Files

Standard Member

Sonny Edmonds posted this 12 December 2012

Uncle Russ wrote: Sonny my man, will you send me a clipping off that current bush of yours so I can cast when the power is out too? I'll set aside my PID and just eyeball it during those times so as not to overload the pruning. :coffee

What is the wattage rating on those little rascals anyway?

:doooah:

The Pigslayer's hat is VERY stylish, we should all be envious. Hi Uncle Russ, You can run an extension cord from my generator. :shock: ;) Pigslayer and I go back a ways, so I pull his leg regularly. Want a tip? Have your PID control a contactor. That way the contactor takes the beating, not your PID nor sensitive electronic SCR's or Thyristors. Most folks have no clue about Inrush Current. What is the inrush current of a 100 watt incandescent light bulb. (Thems old hot white light blubs) I'll wait.... OK, it's over 17 AMPS. For the time it takes for a light blub to go from dead cold, to white hot, there is an instantaneous spike of current. That “bang” tends to knock the socks off of your electronic components.

Enter a heavy duty relay or contactor, and let it take the beating. Could be as simple as one like they use in Air Conditioners. Then when little Johnny posts that his PID stopped working, what's wrong? The relay is easier to replace than the fried PID controller. .>

Or you could build an SCR drive and ramp it up as a slow start.

I used to work on this kind of stuff a lot. Made a career out of electrical. And retired from the field. But all that aside. I have a hard time justifying spending 2-3 times the cost of a Lee Pro IV, for a PID to control it. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?147092-10-Amp-PID-Controllers-For-Sale-Customized-Available>http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?147092-10-Amp-PID-Controllers-For-Sale-Customized-Available Pro IV - http://leeprecision.com/production-pot-iv.html>http://leeprecision.com/production-pot-iv.html (Dayam! Them hooters is up to $80 now! :shock: )

A cool toy, but not cost effective. I have my pot set, and a $20 thermometer to monitor. It just does not stimulate my wallet hand. It isn't cost effective to me. Not when I consider we could do our casting over a campfire.... YMMV ;)

Attached Files

Standard Member

Pigslayer posted this 12 December 2012

Sonny Edmonds wrote: Pigslayer wrote: Years ago I dipped. Ten years ago I started to bottom pour. Two years ago was skeptical about a PID. Then I built one . . . I love it. My choice is not for debate. Yeah, yeah, yeah.... And whatcha gonna do when the power goes out? :P

Besides, it's hard to take you seriously in that hat, Mister. B)

Start my generator. Heh-heh. O.K. guys let's have fun here. I wouldn't mind dipping if I had to. Still got my 10 lb. pot, my Lyman dipper & my propane torch. I can still cast a nice bullet that way. So you like that hat huh? Lee Marvin was GREAT in that movie. I also liked him in “Once upon a time in the west."

If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.

Attached Files