Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting PID Temperature Controller

I am looking for a PID temp controller that someone who can barely plug a light into a socket can install in my casting pot . I can find some for sale on Amazon but installation looks daunting. Can any casters shed any light on my problem?

Before I looked that up my question was, a what?

Now my question is, uh, why?

A pot is either too cold, just right, or too hot.

The bullets tell you what it is when you drop them from the mold.

I am looking for a way to better control the temp on my Lyman lead pot. I am trying to reduce my bullet weight variation due to lead temp fluctuations.

Maybe I'm just too old school but casting technique and maintaining a consistent mold temp has a lot to do with that, maybe mostly everything to do with it. I weigh and cull, culls back in the pot. When you get a mold figured out your culls are few.

Yeah old school you are FA. All a pid controller is a finer thermostat to keep your melt at a stabler level temp wise. I plug my pot into the controller, put the thermostat in the pot and set the pid temp setting
. Naturally a good uniform casting technique with the dipper and watch your cast to cast uniformity increase. Mb

MagnumBob, would you please describe your setup? From what I have read I have to rewire stuff to hook the pid to my pot someplace near the pot thermostat? Help needed, please.

Does it regulate temp as metal is removed from the pot?

Continuously FA from full to refill time, just make sure your thermocouple is in the melt. Add ingots and watch the display. In my Lee mag dipper pot when I'm going good and consistant my 509 gr pp bullets stay within a 1/2 grain up or down from average weight..mb

Well damn.

Thanks a hell of a lot fellers, y'all just spent more of my hard earned money.

Guess I want to know what your set up is too MB.

A buddy of mine in Nevada got it for me was about $250 doesn't have an address only a paper label that says JConn Inv. PID temperature controller. I'll ask him if he knows more as he has one too...mb

There is a guy on the Cast Boolit Site that sells them. You don't have to rewire anything. You plug the PID in and plug the pot into it.

Hatch on Castboolits makes and sells them. I think he charges about 150 for one, but that may change.

I have reviewed the cast bullet site and looked for Hatch. Can’t find anything current or relevant about installation of a PID. I see the pids for sale cheap on Amazon but how do I install one on an existing lead pot?

Rolly, there seems to be a few videos on the YouTube.

I searched "install PID in lead pot". No idea what I'm looking at though. Lol.

When I got my PID from HATCH, the thermocoupling has a threaded section. I simply installed a piece of 1/4" allthread in the base then a piece of aluminum which extended over the pot. The sensor went down in the pot about 1/2" away from the pot side, worked fine.

Thanks everyone! It appears that I just have to plug my Lyman pot into the PID controller and plug the PID controller into 120 volt outlet. Then put the thermocouple from the controller into the lead. What setting do I use for my pot? All the way up(hot) , mid-range or low?

I definitely want to hear feedback on how this set up works out.


Wouldn't that be determined by experimenting with cast size and weight and concluding an optimum pot temp to yield the best results? Just like melting/pouring without the PID?

You can gut the temp control on the LEE if you want, otherwise just turn it all the way up, then use the PID to cycle the heat. They work good.

So to understand this PID thing. The pot is plugged into the PID, and the PID is plugged into 110v power source. The thermocouple tells the PID what temp the melt is at any given point in time. The PID maintains the consistent pot temp by interrupting incoming voltage when it goes above or is maintaining a pre-set temp; and feeding voltage when the pot cools below that temp.

Little magic leprechaun in there throwing a switch on and off to keep a consistent temperature. Right?