Reb's new pressure pot...darn thing leaks!

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MesquiteMan

MesquiteMan

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Recently, Reb contacted me about making a pressure pot for him. I decided to make it even more simple than the two I am using and really like the way it came out. This is for Alumilite and pressure only, no vacuum. The problem is, the darn thing leaks! I pressured it up to 80# on the dot and after 3 fulls days under pressure, it is down to 77#! I guess I will have to re-do it!:biggrin:

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I also made him a rack to hold the molds. It is made with wood grain melamine for the shelves so that leaked resin will not stick. the sides and handle are mesquite! Of course the handle was turned on the lath and has a CA finish!!

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Wow Curtis . That is totally unacceptable ... 3 lbs in 3 days ... I think you should discard that one and try again . Send it to me and I will make sure it is disposed properly , we don't need to add to the landfill problems ....Go Green !!! :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
Really nice design , I like placement of the gauge , mine stands up and is a pain to read .
That is a great idea with the rack , I use wire racks that nest on each other , it can be a pain to load . Yours looks great .
 
Curtis,
I made my first pressure pot based on your "worthless wood" article and it turned out great. I do like the way you've rearranged the pipes on this one, it's more streamlined. I don't know about you but the fixtures on the Harbor Frieght paint pot were a royal pain in the arse to get off. The pin release valve that came with the pot leaked, so I removed it and rearranged the fixtures similar to the earlier photo. Thanks for the more detailed pic's of the rack... much better design than what I came up with... think I will be making a new rack this weekend :biggrin:

Jim
 
Total cost to build this pot:

HF Pressure Pot $ 69.27 plus these fittings:

Lowes Item and part #
221029 1/4" mini ball valve $8.62
11303 1/4" industrial air hose fitting $1.60
214782 1/4" x 3/8" adapter $2.13 $

Grand Total $81.62 !!

I did not get the pot on sale but was able to use a 20% coupon. The 1/4" x 3/8" adapter screws into the pot and then the ball valve screws into it. As you can see, there is no need to spend a ton of money on other fittings.
 
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Personally, I have not seen a benefit to using vacuum for casting. Also, I only use Alumilite and you do not have enought time to vacuum, and then pressure. The only reason, IMO, to use vacuum is for stabilizing. I prefer to use a glass pickle jar so I can see what bubbles are coming out and see what is going on. Using the pressure pot for vacuum does not allow that. Also, adding vacuum to the pressure pot complicates the pot and gives you more areas to potentially leak. All of this is of course, just my opinion so take it for what you paid for it!!
 
MesquiteMan said:
Personally, I have not seen a benefit to using vacuum for casting. Also, I only use Alumilite and you do not have enought time to vacuum, and then pressure. The only reason, IMO, to use vacuum is for stabilizing. I prefer to use a glass pickle jar so I can see what bubbles are coming out and see what is going on. Using the pressure pot for vacuum does not allow that. Also, adding vacuum to the pressure pot complicates the pot and gives you more areas to potentially leak. All of this is of course, just my opinion so take it for what you paid for it!!
Click to expand...
I have a pot I built off Steve Swigers design and it's for pressure and vacuum. I actually have no leaks WHATSOEVER with the vacuum, b/c the vacuum sucks the top down on the pot, which creates the tightest seal possible and doesn't leak at all. My pressure leaks a bit, but that's b/c I need to redo my seal. I've been lazy and haven't fixed it yet. What I do though that ensures absolutely NO pressure loss is I have the regulator that comes with the HF pot set at my desired pressure, and I keep the air compressor hooked up to the pot the whole time during my casting. The regulator keeps from too much pressure, and when my tiny leak causes the pressure to drop a bit, it is immediately brought back up to pressure by my air compressor. The only "risk" is that if my seal were to break or something and I weren't around, my compressor would keep pumping air and never shut off!!!! :eek::eek::eek:But I don't cast much so it's not a big deal for me.
 
GouletPens said:
I keep the air compressor hooked up to the pot the whole time during my casting. The regulator keeps from too much pressure, and when my tiny leak causes the pressure to drop a bit, it is immediately brought back up to pressure by my air compressor. The only "risk" is that if my seal were to break or something and I weren't around, my compressor would keep pumping air and never shut off!!!! :eek::eek::eek:But I don't cast much so it's not a big deal for me.
Click to expand...

That is why I don't use the regulator and DO NOT recommend keeping the hose connected. I actually had it happen one night when I first started. The seal on the pot blew out during the night and when I came back in the next day, the compressor was running full on. The pot had 2" of water in the bottom from hot air and condensation. A few days later the compressor quit all together. Also, if the cheap chinese regulator fails for some reason, gues what might happen???
 
WOW Thanks Curtis

I just got my HF PP yesterday, on sale and with a 20% coupon it cost me about $52. I had been looking at posts on how to rig the pot and your update was exactly what I needed. :biggrin:

Also thanks for the update on the mold rack. I had a previous article from you that did have a few dimensions.

I hope to have the rig up and running by next week. Hope I can my leaks about the same as yours.:rolleyes:
 
I, just finished making my pot similar to yours, but need to test fit your rack, if you send it now it should show up about the time my Alumilite order does :rolleyes: .
 
I know I am reviving an old thread, but I just wanted to say that I made one of these in about 45 minutes and wanted to thank you for the idea. Much easier than the earlier versions. Still working on getting it completely air tight, have a small amount of leaking going on. Thanks for sharing your idea!
 
Ray, Pressure pots are by no means my idea! I would say that setting one up this way is not even necessarily my idea. It is just a simply way to set one up. Glad you found the pics useful, though!
 
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