Heated curing box???

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awood6971

awood6971

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Joined
Oct 3, 2013
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55
Location
High Springs, Florida
I'll get right to the point here. I'm thinking about building a box with a hinged front and a heat lamp, like the kind you'd use to keep baby chicks warm, on top of it to keep the inside of the box hot. Then I could put my PR molds inside and keep them warm while the PR gelled and set. I do not have the luxury of a heated shop and I simply cannot pour inside the house. So this seems like my only option during the cold months. All thoughts, comments and suggestions appreciated. Thanks.
 
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Hi, I have a cupboard in the garage that I have lined with 2" thick polystyrene and I have a small oil filled radiator in there that I use to post cure my blanks. The oil filled radiator is thermostatically controlled so is very cheap to run, I leave it on all day and night when I have stuff to cure and it adds about 20 pence to my daily electricity use. I know this because I have an energy smart meter that shows my usage.

Hope this helps.

Eric...
 
Even though you are in the arctic north (relatively speaking:biggrin:), it isn't going to get all that cold!!! A cheap toaster oven (from thriftshop?) set up under cover outdoors will keep the fumes out of your shop and provide plenty of warmth (using the warm setting only) to cure your PR. If you don't have a covered spot outdoors, then a toaster oven in your shop will work, but may be smellier than a well sealed box.

If you do decide to go with the box and heatsource, make sure you don't make something that could get too hot. Overheated PR is bad news in many many ways. Smoking PR can kill you. Flaming PR ... well you can imagine....

Ed
 
What we used to do in the roofing biz during the winter to keep caulking warm, get an ice chest and a 100watt incandescent light bulb. Did the same thing in my shop to pre-heat my moulds, and to post cure my sheets; one light bulb inside warms the chest to a little over 150 degrees, 2 light bulbs about 220 degrees. Its a little quicker that building one, and it's insulated.
Richard
 
I have a busted fridge from criaglist that I keep a 60w incandescent bulb in, I also keep all my glues, rattle cans, stains, PR, alumilite, ect... works great! Liquid in fridge, blanks in freezer!
 
hey if a 60watt light bulb in a box can cure meat (biltong) then i don't see why it can't cure some resin???

Pitoon
 
I use the Styrofoam cooler with light bulb method for some other curing work I occasionally do. I added a hot water heater thermostat to it also, so the light switches on and off as needed. I think I have it set to 130 deg and in the fall/spring, it is on for 10% of the time, maybe. In the winter on the slab floor, it is on most of the time. Setting it on a piece of fiberglass insulation cuts the on-time a lot, so my box needs a little more insulation. I did line the cooler with reflective insulation inside also. If you try this, make sure to set the thermostat to a known number and measure the temperature when it cuts on and off. Mark that on the box and create your own graduations and don't rely on the thermostat markings. Pretty simple and cheap project.

Sandy.
 
I use a food dehydrator I got at a yard sale for $5 and have dried several hundred blanks in it.... works great, 2-5 days depending on the moisture content.
 
here is a drying box i built to help finish to dry and keep dust off of it when drying.

i using it for gun grips right now.



Ended up making a temperature controller for it.



Had 2 different temperature reading devices to check and see how accurate it is.

It is about 1/2 degree Celsius off.
Able to set it to turn off a a set point and turn back on at a lower set point.

Right now it shuts off at 95 degrees and back on at 90 degrees.
 
I went to the town dump and picked up a scrap small fridge (aprox 5 cubic feet). I added a fixture for a light bulb and a small computer fan. Then I drilled a bunch of holes to allow some air flow. With a 25 watt bulb the temp stays right around 85-90 degrees. I was going to use it for drying bowl blanks but nature does not like to agree and they crack way too often when you accelerate the drying process. You could use a temp control from a reptile tank found at your local pet store as an easy way to control if you feel the need.
 
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