Repair of a Lyman Mag 20 melting pot / furnace?

[Jack C., 69th NY]

While in the middle of casting some round balls, I refilled my Lyman Mag 20 to capacity and then realized that the pot was cooling down, it stopped working. I called Lyman in Middletown, CT and was told by their service dept. that they no longer service the Mag 20 units. Does anyone know of another shop or service that might repair a Lyman Mag 20?

[Joseph Plakis Jr, 00302V]

I had a Lyman Mag 20 pot & it also stopped working. I took the cover off of the temperature control & found a very short piece of broken "wire" in the temperature control. I replace it with another piece of wire and I continued to use that pot for several years (I bought a master caster). The wire that burned out was probably used like a fuse. I would guess that if the pot got too hot or drew high amps it popped just like a fuse. This also would cause you to either send it back to Lyman or buy a new pot.
I always turned on my Lyman Mag 20 and never left it until I unplugged it. I never had a problem after I replace the piece of wire that burned out.
Joe Plakis Jr
Hampton Legion
00302V

[Jack C., 69th NY]

I spoke with a ceramic kiln repair facility fellow in Missouri. At his recommendation, I took the unit apart, bypassed the switch and tried it. That was done to rule out a bad switch. The orange light does come on, but no power to the heating coil. He says it's the coil but he does not have the proper coil for the Mag 20. He thought Granger MIGHT have the part but was unsure. He did say to get back to him in about 6 months as he has gotten several calls on Mag 20's by virtue of Lyman's advice. Lyman says they do not service them and not to send one to them.

[ohio charlie]

Saw this on another forum, may be worth a try

G'day All , my Mag 20 element bit the dust a couple of years ago and I replaced it with a Lee Pro 20 LB element http://specialtypistols.infopop.cc/emotes/thumbup.gif it is a bit slower in heating up but works fine and it was cheap so I bought a few spare elements but have not needed the yet.

[Jack C., 69th NY]

Thank you for that, it's worth a look.

[ohio charlie]

Midway has them in stock. Read the reviews someone says they used it on their Lyman furnace. It is cheap enough to take a chance maybe. Good luck

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1262827110#questions

[efritz]

Mine also burned out the element. Called Lyman for part. They said they don?t have part and don?t repair. But I was offered a super deal on purchasing a new mag25. But return the old one. When I called back to get all info on where to send it. They replied no need to do so. Got the new pot and very very pleased. My old pot lasted probably 30+ years. Someone else will be using my current pot as I?m sure it will out last me. If you want a new pot see what they say about a deal.

[Jack C., 69th NY]

It's too bad that Lyman products did not offer me the same deal when I first called, I might have jumped on it. I just called Lyman and pressed the "discount" issue and was then offered a 50% off of retail ($520.00) plus tax and shipping. Too late for me, I already ordered an RCBS pot. My first impression with Lyman was that they did not care, that being too bad for all concerned. I hope the RCBS unit performs as well as the Mag 20.
Now, the Lee coil part is worth exploring. I am going to run that idea in front of the owner of the ceramic kiln repair fellow I spoke to last week. He did say that he could do the repair if he had the proper part. Electric scares me so I'll defer to someone who knows.
Thanks for all the input.

[noonanda]

It's too bad that Lyman products did not offer me the same deal when I first called, I might have jumped on it. I just called Lyman and pressed the "discount" issue and was then offered a 50% off of retail ($520.00) plus tax and shipping. Too late for me, I already ordered an RCBS pot. My first impression with Lyman was that they did not care, that being too bad for all concerned. I hope the RCBS unit performs as well as the Mag 20.
Now, the Lee coil part is worth exploring. I am going to run that idea in front of the owner of the ceramic kiln repair fellow I spoke to last week. He did say that he could do the repair if he had the proper part. Electric scares me so I'll defer to someone who knows.
Thanks for all the input.

Every time I have ever had an Issue with an RCBS product, they have been great in warranty replacement of stuff