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Oasis Shot Maker Slowing Down

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lead oasis reloading shot dropper
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2.7K views 24 replies 9 participants last post by  10tenner  
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#1 ·
I have used my 110v Oasis for quite some time (5ish years) with relatively good luck.

I've started to get low drip speeds from my drippers, this usually gets worse as the unit heats up or has been running for a while. I do measure temp with a Lyman digital thermometer stuck into one of the outer drippers (through the melted lead).

I've had problems throughout the years maintaining clean lead ingots - I cast into muffin tins from wheel weights. I melt low and slow as to not contaminate with zinc, though I hand sort all weights to be melted to minimize risk. This has caused dripper problems in the past though for the last 2 years I've been cleaning my ingots religiously so I don't believe my current problems are related to this.

I switched to double drippers when this happened in the past... cleaned drippers with torch tip cleaners.... Usually end up just tapping on the top of the pan to keep flow going.

No complains on the roundness of the shot, I drop into antifreeze with very good luck. Can usually drop 25-40 lbs before the coolant gets too hot.

Any ideas why this is happening? Tips? Tricks? I've though about new drippers again with an updated cast iron pan, would hate to spend the money if there are any easy solutions out there.
 
#2 ·
Your probably getting a build up of an unknown substance, can be many things best not to worry about it, as its easy to fix if that is the problem. Take a torch , one with a good pinpoint flame if you can and heat that offending dripper up good and hot while flowing to get that stuff out, you many need to catch the lead going through as it will start to speed up and flow probably hurting the quality for a few seconds. Your just flushing the drippers out. You may try fluxing your metal with saw dust/charcoal and you will probably fix this problem.
 
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#3 ·
I usually use wax multiple times and let it harden after stirring. Then I scrape. The weird part is if I hold a torch to the dripper, it does not increase the flow. It will just get extremely hot with no change. Tapping only seems to help. These drippers are a pain to clean, that’s why I was thinking on just buying another set. If I keep replacing parts, it starts to become not worth dropping my own shot lol.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I'd say you are getting build-up in the holes in the drippers themselves.

Spend ~$10 and pick up a set of gas orifice drills from eBay or Amazon and use the correct sized one to ream out the holes - drive them with your hands - not a drill.

I do NOT know if this set contains the size you need - just showing what the concept is... 21 pcs HSS Mini Twist Micro-Drill Bits Set & Aluminum Hand Drill & Case | eBay
 
#7 ·
I believe it takes a 71, or 70 drill bit for 7.5.
Also when you clean you lead use Beeswax not plain wax. Size of a pea then good stir while melting. When sludge comes to top skim it off. Do several times before pouring into ingots.
Also I made a set of drippers out from 3/8 brass bolts. Don't need to heat the lead as hot which made my run much longer.
 
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#5 ·
I just went through this problem last year, and @HSLDS is spot on. There is going to be a tiny bit of buildup inside the dripper orifice that needs to be physically removed.

I pulled my drippers, put them in a vice and torched them until hot. Then I used a drill bit in my fingers and cleared out the tiny dripper hole and the larger hole in the back.

Now the shot pours out like new again!
 
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#10 ·
Also if one gets slowing down and tapping doesn't work I have back pushed from the big hole in the dripper and squirted out the crap that gets in them. Sometimes you can only get lead so clean. If they are still cloged while dripping a wire from a wire brush pushed from the drip hole will sometimes get them going also. But be carefull not to break the wire off in the dripper it is not fun to remove!
 
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#14 ·
Slight thread drift….

this Oasis shotmaker….will it make #9’s?

the reason I ask is because I made my shotmaker from scratch. The Mark I version used Tweeco wire welding tips as the drippers or orifices. They dropped closer to a #7 size shot.

For the Mark II version, I bought dripper bolts from Jim Stuart’s Better Shotmaker. They were supposed to drop #9’s. But they are more like #7.5’s.

also….this will sound like blasphemy….but I drop my shot into just plain water.
 
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#18 ·
WATER?!??

If it works for you then whatever 🤷‍♂️

That may be why you are getting larger shot than your dripper sizes. Water cools the shot too fast and will create oblong shot (which would then not fit through correct sieve size). I've used fabric softener and now switched to antifreeze. It's very consistent and doesn't heat up that fast so you can run it without a cooling system.

I think Oasis sells #9 drippers, and the #7.5 drippers are quite accurate. I do size them through a sieve after drying to sort the nasty stuff out.
 
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#15 ·
Like others have said here about when a dripper bolt starts slowing down, I hit mine with a MAPP gas torch and tap the “dam” above the offending dripper with a wrench.

The other thing to keep in mind is that that there is an optimal level of molten lead inside the ladle. That provides the required “head pressure” or “pressure head” to push the melt through the orifices:

Image


I know nothing about these Oasis shotmakers, but other cheaper shotmakers in the past have used circular heating elements. That leaves the bottom outside corners the coolest.

So the very center/middle of the melt/ladle is the hottest.
 
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#22 · (Edited)
Is the ladle of the Oasis shot maker made out of aluminum?

Do you polish the ramp?

And then coat the ramp with anything?

In my case with water, I think that molten lead droplet is going to be so big once it lets go of the dripper bolt regardless of the medium it is dropped in. The easiest way to check size/density is to count out X amount of pellets and weigh them on my digital scale. Then compare it to a chart like this (EDIT, but for lead):

Image




As far as sieves go…

There are wire mesh metal baskets like these in the office supply aisle at Walmart:
Image

I use a 20mm ammo can as my coolant tank.

Submerged to the right side, inside the ammo can is some metal tin….kinda like a Saltines tin, but shorter:

Image


The wire mesh basket is cut up and bent a certain way so that the “rat turds” roll down the mesh and fall into the “saltines tin”.

The good shot falls through the mesh and into the bottom of the 20mm ammo can.

I use a broiler element from an electric oven. It is set up for 220V. It has a lot of gumption. There is no thermostat control.

I am the thermostat.

when it gets too hot, I uplug it.

When it is running right, it sounds like birds chirping. When things start slowing down, I plug it back in.

I used to have a multi-meter from Harbor Freight. It had a temperature probe that I would keep dipped into the melt. The only down side was it put out temperature readings in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit.
 

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#23 ·
Thought I would add an update. I purchased new double Drippers and they worked well for a couple pounds but then started to slow down again. I’m scratching my head thinking what the issue could be. I have a Lyman digital thermometer that I stick inside one of the dripper inlets to hold it in place. After tapping on the rim of the pan with a little luck, I took the probe of the Lyman thermometer and started to jiggle it and tap inside of the dripper. This did the trick. I now go to each dripper and tap inside of it with the probe, and it does temporarily free up the dripper again.

i’m not sure if an aluminum pan with steel Drippers flowing lead Alloy through them is causing some sort of cooling or buildup within the Drippers. Any other thoughts?
 
#24 ·
An aluminum pan will shed heat faster than a steel one. The 110V unit puts you at a real disadvantage as well.

If the unit has run well in the past but you now have problems two thoughts come to mind.

One, you have a contaminant in your lead that is causing it to 'clump.'

Two, the element in your Oasis is starting to fail.

I forget if you say that you smelt your own lead, but if you do try this. Use your smelting process to create molten lead. Ladle this molten lead directly into the pan of the Oasis unit - if it works as expected think heating element, if it does not think 'doped' lead.
 
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