Casting question

[Kkoscielski]

Hi.... my Alumilite Clear (slow) arrives tomorrow and I am spinning in my boots to perform my first cast!!! Here is my question. I live in El Paso, Tx. And work out of my garage. With the heat that we have here in El Paso what precausions can I take (other than speed up LOL) to get the best chance for success?

I have a second question. My HF pot does have a small leak. I can put 50PSI in the pot and it will leak to about 41PSI and then sit there solid for 4-5 hours. Like I said not bad but when troubleshooting the leak, by the time I can submurge the pot in water I am at 41PSI and no leak. Very frustratingly Any ideas?

 

[senfschneider55]

Hi,
You could check your over pressure relief valve, most are adjustable
Irv

 

[McKenzie Penworks]

Yep, most likely the pressure relief since it stabilizes. Honestly the 41 psi is probably enough for most things though.

 

[Kenny Durrant]

My concern wouldn't be the heat but the humidity. Any moisture in a blank will cause Alumilite to bubble. If you don't think the blanks are dry I put then in the oven for an hour. If they're dry put them in the mold and warm both up in the oven for 20-30 min. As far as loosing pressure it would worry me loosing any while the blanks are curing. I leave my Alumilite blanks in the pot for 2 hours. If the leak is small enough so the compressor doesn't continually run leave it hooked up until you fix the leak.

 

[PatrickR]

Hi.... my Alumilite Clear (slow) arrives tomorrow and I am spinning in my boots to perform my first cast!!! Here is my question. I live in El Paso, Tx. And work out of my garage. With the heat that we have here in El Paso what precausions can I take (other than speed up LOL) to get the best chance for success?



I have a second question. My HF pot does have a small leak. I can put 50PSI in the pot and it will leak to about 41PSI and then sit there solid for 4-5 hours. Like I said not bad but when troubleshooting the leak, by the time I can submurge the pot in water I am at 41PSI and no leak. Very frustratingly Any ideas?

No need to submerge, a spray bottle with soapy water will let you know where the air is coming out.

 

[JohnU]

I would want to find and fix the leak issue but you only need about 2 hours of pressure pot time with alumilite so you should be fine.

 

[TattooedTurner]

You'll be fine at 41 psi. It never hurts to find the source of the leak though. My HF pot did the same thing - and I knew it wasn't the relief valve or fittings after testing with soapy water - so I made a "wrench" from a 2" dowel to crank the bolts an extra half turn and that solved the problem.