Well I've been bitten by the casting bug... I've ordered some of the basics, pot, mold, handles, and was wondering about lead thermometers. I see Midway has a couple a Lyman at ~$32 and a higher-rated (more stars) RCBS at ~$50. These prices got me thinking... How about a non-contact IR thermometer like this one...
IR Thermometer at Amazon
For $40 bucks more this would seem infinitely more versatile, could even use the thermocouple probe to monitor the Thanksgiving turkey (so long as I didn't stick it in lead beforehand).
Has anyone used one of these for molten lead? I'm guessing it would work fine as long as there is not a stagnant crust floating on top insulating the lead from the surface reading. Seems that a stir or a skim would solve that problem. Also, would it be useful to get a temperature reading of the mold from time to time, to avoid frosted bullets from a too hot mold?
IR Thermometer at Amazon
For $40 bucks more this would seem infinitely more versatile, could even use the thermocouple probe to monitor the Thanksgiving turkey (so long as I didn't stick it in lead beforehand).
Has anyone used one of these for molten lead? I'm guessing it would work fine as long as there is not a stagnant crust floating on top insulating the lead from the surface reading. Seems that a stir or a skim would solve that problem. Also, would it be useful to get a temperature reading of the mold from time to time, to avoid frosted bullets from a too hot mold?