What do i have to alter to make a Pressure Pot in UK

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Celt40

Celt40

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Scotland UK
I would like to know what i will have to do to a Paint Pot to allow me to cast under pressure? I live in the UK and wondered if there was anyone in UK that has converted a pot.
I would also like to know what i need to buy and where. I think i remember from a past thread that Axminster Tools sell a paint pot that will take the convertions, although they do not show it in their catalouge???
The compressor i have is an Axminster AW10HP mini air compressor.
@ 40psi - 3.2cfm
@ 90psi - 2.2cfm
Max pressure 116psi.
The tech data above does not mean much to me. Will this be okay to cast under pressure.

Thanks
Dermot.
 
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Celt40 said:
I would like to know what i will have to do to a Paint Pot to allow me to cast under pressure? I live in the UK and wondered if there was anyone in UK that has converted a pot.
I would also like to know what i need to buy and where. I think i remember from a past thread that Axminster Tools sell a paint pot that will take the convertions, although they do not show it in their catalouge???
The compressor i have is an Axminster AW10HP mini air compressor.
@ 40psi - 3.2cfm
@ 90psi - 2.2cfm
Max pressure 116psi.
The tech data above does not mean much to me. Will this be okay to cast under pressure.

Thanks
Dermot.
Click to expand...

According to my handy conversion program:

  • 10 psi = 51.71493 cfm
  • 20 psi = 103.4299 cfm
  • ...
  • 90 psi = 465.4344 cfm
 
Assuming that the paint pot you can get in the UK is similar to the Harbor Freight one that many of us use in the States, the compressor you describe is sufficient.

The HF one is rated to 50 psi, and while some maniacs (Neil...) run it far higher, 50 psi is adequate for anyone who never served in the Marines.

The cfm rating indicates what sort of tools in can drive. In your case, you are filling a paint pot that is probably in the order of 2.5 gallons, and thus do not need any sort of sustained air delivery, you just need to get the pressure up to 50 psi before the resin gels to the point where pressure will not help collapse any bubbles.

A 2.5 gallon tank is just over 1/4 of a cubic foot and to get it to 50 psi, you need to add around 2/3 of a cubic feet of air at standard temperature and pressure. Thus even without the benefit of any accumulator tank on the compressor, and 3 cfm you could get the paint pot to 50 psi in under 15 seconds with that compressor which is more than fast enough.

If the compressor has any sort of built in accumulator tank, it will be even faster.
 
Last edited:
holmqer said:
The HF one is rated to 50 psi, and while some maniace (Neil...) run it far higher, 50 psi is adequate for anyone who never served in the Marines.
Click to expand...

A few questons here:
1) Isn't the HF one rated for 60 continuous with an 80 max?
2) what is a maniace? Is that a great maniac? Now that could be more than one person:rolleyes:
3) As far as the Marines, only Marines have the "ability" to go over a measly little bit of pressure.:eek::tongue:

On the question 3, Hey Curtis, after seeing a post or two of yours, were you in as well?

Have to stick up for some fellows here


Jerry
 
Penl8the said:
According to my handy conversion program:

  • 10 psi = 51.71493 cfm
  • 20 psi = 103.4299 cfm
  • ...
  • 90 psi = 465.4344 cfm
Click to expand...
Um... psi is pounds per square inch (pressure) and cfm is cubic feet per minute (volume). Your conversion program must be magic!

Tom
 
Dermot, Axminster do indeed have a pot but they don't show it on their site as it is a 'spare'. You would need to contact them for the part number. It comes with a regulator, relief valve, hose. I bought mine a few years ago and it was only around £40.

With regards to the pot you have, it would need to be fitted with a pressure gauge and a pressure relief valve.

Your pot probably has two connection points, one for pressure going in from the compressor and the other obviously for the paint to come out.
This output is most often fitted with a pipe that extends inside the pot. You will need to cut it short.

My suggestion is to use either of these connection points to permenantly fit the gauge and the other with a quick snap connector for the input hose. You really must fit a relief valve so I suggest fitting it with a T piece with the input point.

If you need to buy a gauge, then try and get one that will show a vacuum as well. Later on you may want to use it.:wink:
 
Thanks to all for you helpfull replies. I have never worked with valves and things like this before. I have to look at this from all directions................then look again incase i missed anything the first time. Then again i could always just stick to casting without pressure!!!!
I will ask around and see if anyone i know around here will help me with the works.
 
If you don't have any of the stuff already then I'd go for the Axminster pot. You can get quick connectors from B&Q for around £4.
It's a pity you didn't shout sooner as I was in Inverness Monday and Tuesday for only a 10 minute job and would gladly have stopped by.
I will be going back there so if you want, I will let you know when and I'll bring my pot with me. I have several fittings and stuff laying around and you are welcome to them.
 
TomW said:
Um... psi is pounds per square inch (pressure) and cfm is cubic feet per minute (volume). Your conversion program must be magic!

Tom
Click to expand...

Damn it Jim. I am a pen turner. Not an engineer. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

I thought cfm = centimeters of mercury.

But again how does this program figures out 1 drop = 0.00219292 oz.
 

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Dermot

Here is a few pics of my smaller unit to give a idea...any questions just ask.
 

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Penl8the said:
Damn it Jim. I am a pen turner. Not an engineer. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

I thought cfm = centimeters of mercury.

But again how does this program figures out 1 drop = 0.00219292 oz.
Click to expand...


http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictD.html
drop (gtt) [1]
a unit of volume used in pharmacy. Traditionally the drop was another name for a minim, a unit of volume equal to 1/60 fluid dram or 1/480 fluid ounce (about 0.0616 milliliter in the U.S., 0.0592 milliliter in Britain). Now that prescriptions are written in metric units, the pharmacist's drop is equal to exactly 0.05 milliliter (20 drops/ml). In hospitals, intravenous tubing is used to deliver medication in drops of various sizes ranging from 10 drops/ml to 60 drops/ml. The traditional abbreviation is from the Latin gutta, drop. Originally, gt was the symbol for a single drop, with gtt being the plural.

However none of the numbers come up to the one in your conversion.
 
Thanks again to all the info you have given me. I have been looking at the artical by Don Ward on Bubble free casting. He uses an Ultrasonic jewelery cleaner to help remove the bubbles from the resin.
As i have not bought a pressure pot yet i wondered if the other option was for me to buy a jewelery cleaner. How does this method compare to the presure pot.

Thanks Skiprat for your offer of help. I would not ask you to pop in to me on your travels. I am tucked away off the main route.

Thanks
 
Can kind person list all the parts i would need and what is added or removed and where all the bits go.
As you all can see i have used all the correct technical terms so if you are able to help me it will have to be aimed at the complete dummy level. This will give me a chance to follow what i have to do.!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks
 
Don's bubble free casting technique (listed in the library here) works as well or better for me that the pressure pot did.

I follow his article almost exactly and have had near bubble free results. I may not replace the pressure pot since I only do PR casting now.
 
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