Abstract: In the ingot casting of killed-steel steels, insulative walled reservoirs known as hot-tops are employed at the top of the mold to maintain a source of molten steel which can feed the shrinkage cavity that forms during solidification of the ingot. Presently, these hot-tops are set to a predetermined height prior to the filling of the mold cavity. As a result of such controlled height pourings, variations in the volume of the mold cavity lead to significant losses in the ingot-to-product yield. To overcome such losses, the invention employs a floating hot-top. Rather than teeming to a prescribed height, the ingot is teemed to a prescribed weight and the floating hot-top is placed on the surface of the steel so teemed. Further pouring is delayed, at least until the hot top is welded to the surface by the freezing of the molten steel in contact therewith. Thereafter, the hollow center of hot-top is filled to provide a sufficient reservoir of molten metal for the resultant shrinkage cavity.