My Diamond in the rough gloat

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Justturnin

Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2011
Messages
2,235
Location
Houston, Tx
Well I have been wanting a pressure pot that would reach 80psi. The one I use now is good but only hits 50psi and as my casting materials change I am seeing a need for more pressure to really push the resin in the voids and shrink the trapped bubbles. Well, like many, I cant afford a high dollar pot at the moment so I watched fleabay. My only requirement was 80psi and 2.5 gallon. Well one came up for $100, Unknown brand buy it now, but there was a pic of the cert showing it was rated for 80psi. This bad boy was looking rough. Lots of paint and as you can see in the pic below you cant even see the gasket on the lid. I took a chance, fingers crossed.

Pot Before 1.jpg
Pot Before 2.JPG

Well, once it got in I tried to free the gasket but ended up tearing it. It was a rock and likely needed replacing no matter what. On my calls to find a gasket that fits it I was guaranteed that I had a Binks/DeVillbis pot as no one else has this size gasket. So I reach out to someone I knew had a Binks, Curtis. All I had was the Cert stamped on the bottom but it matched 100% aside from the Serial number. Well needless to say I am really getting excited that I got a +$300 pot for $100. Ended up getting a gasket from Granger up the road. While I waited for it to come in I took some time and about 1/2 gallon of paint stripper. I broke all the fittings off and cleaned up the regulator and added a fresh coat of black to it. I replaced the Gauge and valves just to be safe. During my cleanings I even uncovered the Binks sticker but it is a goner. I built a new rack for the pot, you can kind of see it in the background. Need to make some more molds so I can work 2 pots at a time now..... I think I will go w/ Mold Max for this round. The Regulator works but the Safety valve wont go above 55psi before it pops so I will order another one of those. The first thing this pot will see is 10 gator jaw blanks and a few Bottle stoppers.

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2012-04-18%252015.32.10.jpg


....end gloat
 
Last edited:
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Do yourself a favor and ditch the regulator. You are your own regulator and will be able to shut the air off with your valve when it gets to the right pressure. A regulator is just one more area for things to leak. On my pots, I prefer very simple. On one inlet I have a ball valve and then a male quick connect plug. The other inlet has the gauge and pop off valve. That is it. Makes the lid less cumbersome as well.
 
Do yourself a favor and ditch the regulator. You are your own regulator and will be able to shut the air off with your valve when it gets to the right pressure. A regulator is just one more area for things to leak. On my pots, I prefer very simple. On one inlet I have a ball valve and then a male quick connect plug. The other inlet has the gauge and pop off valve. That is it. Makes the lid less cumbersome as well.


I debated that while I was putting it together. My other pot does not have one and works fine. Putting the handle on and making sure the regulator did not interfere w/ the clamps was a chore.
 
That rack looks just like a BBQ grill.:biggrin:

Congrats on the find, and kudos on saving a great pressure pot! Nice job.
 
Just teasing you. I built a rack very similar to that one using 1/4" plywood and 3/4" doweling. They work great.
 
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