HF pressure pot

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Laurenr

Laurenr

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2010
Messages
302
Location
Spokane Valley, Washington
It has been an interesting evening. I put some blanks in the brand new HF pot, and it immediately blew the casket out the side, turning the tank on it's side and spraying the contents of my aluminum baking dish, PR and pen blanks all over the inside. ...Ok it happened several times. :biggrin:

Near as I can tell, the gasket wasn't seated properly. But also the welds on the inside of the lid that weld the ring that holds the gasket aren't sealing. I'm wondering if it is allowing air to travel beneath and unseating the gasket?

I will try again tomorrow, but for tonight things are drying out after a thorough and very messy cleanup.

Any one else had a similar experience?
 
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After my 3rd HF pressure pot, I gave up. I know others have had more success though.
 
You need to throw that piece of junk away and get a Binks pot before you kill yourself! THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING FRUGAL AND BEING IRRESPONSIBLE! Those HF pots vary in quality by about 75% from pot to pot. Is that something you really want ot use?

Curtis (Mesquite Man) nearly killed himself with one of these pots! He is a VERY experienced caster and after that episode he only uses Binks pots...........THAT IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!
 
Andy,

I have been casting for 5 years but certainly not longer than anyone else here. Don Ward comes to mind as one of the ones that have been doing it longer and I am sure there are many more! Now, I most likely have been casting exclusively with Alumilite longer than anyone else here! Then again, that would even be presumptuous to assume!

I have 2 Binks 83c-210 tanks like this one: http://www.tooltopia.com/binks-83c-210.aspx This is about the best price I found online and is not cheap at $410 each. If you call around to local industrial paint supply houses, you may be able to do better. I found a place about 45 minutes from here that made me a hell of a deal since I was buying 2 and the economy is slow and they wanted to move some. I paid $325 each.

Another less expensive but still good option is this one: http://www.gleempaint.com/25pot.html It is made by CA Technologies here in the US. It is NOT ASME certified, though.

ASME certified means that each pot has been individually tested to ASME specs to 80# working pressure. Each of my tanks have an unique ASME serial number stamped into the metal showing they are certified. Is it worth the extra money to be ASME certified? Only you can answer that question. To me, the peace of mind was worth it.

Oh yeah, my Binks pots weigh 2x as much as my old HF pot and are the same size. That tells you right there they are more heavy duty and much better made. Good old American manufacturing at its finest!

You might also have some luck at some of the local pawn shops. Paint pots are not used as much as they used to be and a lot of folks pawn them off to get by or to get money to buy an airless. I have seen a couple of older DeVilbiss paint pots in locallly for $70. They are good pots too. Craigslist also has some from time to time. Actually DeVilbiss and Binks are both owned by ITW who make Paslode and Duofast air nailers as well as many other VERY fine tools for professionals.
 
MesquiteMan said:
Andy,

I have been casting for 5 years but certainly not longer than anyone else here. Don Ward comes to mind as one of the ones that have been doing it longer and I am sure there are many more! Now, I most likely have been casting exclusively with Alumilite longer than anyone else here! Then again, that would even be presumptuous to assume!

I have 2 Binks 83c-210 tanks like this one: http://www.tooltopia.com/binks-83c-210.aspx This is about the best price I found online and is not cheap at $410 each. If you call around to local industrial paint supply houses, you may be able to do better. I found a place about 45 minutes from here that made me a hell of a deal since I was buying 2 and the economy is slow and they wanted to move some. I paid $325 each.

Another less expensive but still good option is this one: http://www.gleempaint.com/25pot.html It is made by CA Technologies here in the US. It is NOT ASME certified, though.

ASME certified means that each pot has been individually tested to ASME specs to 80# working pressure. Each of my tanks have an unique ASME serial number stamped into the metal showing they are certified. Is it worth the extra money to be ASME certified? Only you can answer that question. To me, the peace of mind was worth it.

Oh yeah, my Binks pots weigh 2x as much as my old HF pot and are the same size. That tells you right there they are more heavy duty and much better made. Good old American manufacturing at its finest!

You might also have some luck at some of the local pawn shops. Paint pots are not used as much as they used to be and a lot of folks pawn them off to get by or to get money to buy an airless. I have seen a couple of older DeVilbiss paint pots in locallly for $70. They are good pots too. Craigslist also has some from time to time. Actually DeVilbiss and Binks are both owned by ITW who make Paslode and Duofast air nailers as well as many other VERY fine tools for professionals.
Click to expand...

Ok, I defer to Curtis and Don...:) The reason I defered to you is exactly because of the post you just made. You make your recommendations and then defend your reasoning (which I really respect)... The reason it didn't mention Don is because the last I read, I thought he was doing strictly PR with no pressure, now. Some others just say "do this" without justification.:biggrin: Also, you have SOME experience with the HF pots:)

Damn, I hate having to beat a man over the head with a compliment!
 
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Thanks guys! I am all over it. My wife and I call our pen business "The Penury," and once again we will prove it. So long as I am going to the expense, I may as well go for the Binks. I will shop it around.

Lauren
 
Lauren,

You might want to check out R3 Manufacturing Ltd., They are out of Grove City,Ohio. Rob Young is reallygood man to work with. You can reach him at 614-940-8871 or their web site r3mfg.com They also have a good quality pressure pot. They are not cheap. But as the old saying goes you get what you pay for. I really like mine.

Al
 
I am unsure what the differences are between the Binks and the CA pots as far as metal construction I guess. The Binks pot must use a higher quality or thicker walled metal perhaps which makes the price more...I have no idea. I also am not too familiar with what the ASME is all about. I am using the CA technologies pot, although I paid a bit more than the price that Curtis just posted! Dangit!! What I see in the Binks pot though right off the bat is that the screws go on to the lid. This is a feature I do not like, because I feel you have less holding power if the pot was to begin to fail due to being out of round perhaps, then the clamps can slip off the sides, and just the fact that the screws go on the lid means they dig in over time which fatiges the lid...just like the HF pot lid setup. The CA pot lid is completely different. You can see those huge bunny ear screws hold down a clamp on the side of the pot. They hold the lid not only down, but their is a large rise of metal off to the sides, so that if for some reason the lid or pot did have a crush failure, the lid would pop but not fly off the pot, it is contained in all directions. The screws do not dig in and fatigue the metal of the lid either. The CA pot has a high quality relief valve that is in a seperate location to the inlet and outlet ports, so you don't have that weak link spot where a hose goes into the top of the releif valve. The CA pot also has a built in release valve that you can just tug to unload the air in the pot..although really that is not necessary other than the fact it makes the pot look more fancy. The CA pot is slightly shorter than the HF pot but it is wider inside...wider to the point that when it comes time for me to make new frame molds I will be able to cast 6 blanks wide instead of just 5. I do not know how the Binks compares on the inside. I certainly can't say the CA pot is better than the Binks pot either, because I do not own a Binks, nor am I a pot engineer. I like having those wheels on my pot too...that little CA pot is a solid heavy bugger!
 
The Binks pots are more expensive because they are ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) certified. It costs money to certify that something will not fail at 80psi, not to mention liability exposure to the company that does the certifying and testing of each pot.

The difference between a Binks and a HF are absolutely no comparison. The lid alone on my Binks weighs more than the entire HF pot! I know what you mean about the hold downs digging in on the HF pot but it does not happen at all with the Binks. I was actually concerned about that when I went into the shop to buy my new pots and the fellow there said they work on Binks pots as well and have never had one that had any indentation after heavy industrial use. I have used mine for about a year now and there is not any indentations and I use it a LOT.

I actually went to the local store with intentions of buying a CA Tech pot. I found the retailer by contacting CA Tech and talking with one of their tech people. I asked them what it meant to have a working pressure of 80 psi and he told me that it means you should be able to work with it to 80 psi all day long and not have a problem but that their pots were not certified. I told him about my HF pot failure and he is the one that suggested an ASME certified pot and that I should look at a Binks! I was still planning to buy a CA Tech pot anyway. The company was great to talk to and I really admire a company that will tell you to use a competitor if it better fits your needs.

At the retailer, I looked at both the CA Tech pot and the Binks and was going to get 2 CA pots but the salesperson ended up making me such a good deal on the Binks that I went that direction. I liked the ASME certification, it gives me peace of mind knowing that it has been individually tested and certified to not fail at 80 psi. The CA pot is certainly a good pressure pot too, though.
 
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Makes sense to me Curtis, I'm sure the testing is expensive and I don't doubt it's a beauty of a pot. No doubt just the fact that the lid is not tin makes the screws not dig into it! :biggrin: I don't push my pot as hard as you, but I still push it pretty hard, and I don't think an HF pot is a good thing for Urethane Resin casting. I remember back when mine collapsed in on itself blowing the lid off. You can not put a price on safety.
 
I know several of you will disagree with me, but I use a home built pressure pot. I built it from 8" oil well casing and 3/8" plate, with 7/16" grade 8 bolts to retain the lid. I'm a firm believer in overkill. I use it at 40-50 psi, and I have absolutely zero fear that it will fail at any pressure my compressor can produce.

I certainly would not recommend making one to anyone else though.
 
truckfixr said:
I know several of you will disagree with me, but I use a home built pressure pot. I built it from 8" oil well casing and 3/8" plate, with 7/16" grade 8 bolts to retain the lid. I'm a firm believer in overkill. I use it at 40-50 psi, and I have absolutely zero fear that it will fail at any pressure my compressor can produce.

I certainly would not recommend making one to anyone else though.
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I think that is better built than that "containment cap" they are using to suck up the oil in the gulf! I 'll bet that sucker is heavy!

Just as a point of reference....My turkey deep fry pot is thicker than the HF paint pot.

When you talk about 3/8 plate, you've got my attention..... Now that is engineering!
 
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