Would this pressure pot be good to cast with?

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The first two might be considered "Caster's Dreams". The third one is probably typical of what most of us are using. If I had the cash I would definitely consider the first or event the second ones assuming some research showed they were truly rated at the 80psi and don't ask me how to find that out.
 
This is the 1 that I am looking at, finishsystems.com 51-201C C.A. Technologies Resin (Mold) Casting Pot - 2.5 gallon teflon lined steel pressure pot with wheels and single regulator. Pot is non-asme rated with maximum pressure up to 80 psi. Internal dimensions are 10-3/8" Dia. x 8-3/4" deep.Our Price
$303.03



 
Many folks here use the pressure pots sold by Harbor Freight. There is also a tutorial in the library on how to convert the pots forecasting purposes. Cheap and it works well.
 
Firstly, the first 2 a piratically the same pot, secondly there is a big difference in between 7 and 2 1/2 gallons capacity...!

If you can afford it, buy the better and bigger ones, ratted at 80PSI they will do any casting you may want.

With the more economical one, there are far too many identical pots in this category but not all are the same. Same are quite OK and also factory tested to 80PSI so that will do any pen blanks you may think in doing.

Leaks are more predominant from the cheaper pots, all depend of the manufacturer rubber quality and try/stiffness/thickness lid moulding, one simple trick to improve and in many cases solve the small leaks from the lid in to make sure the rubber and pot lip/edge are clean and rub a small amount of Vaseline on it...!

Tightening a pressure pot lid, should be done in the same way as tightening the bolts in a vehicle's wheel, cross and increase torque on any pass...!

Cheers
George
 
:rolleyes::rolleyes: Unless you are going into production casing the first two, although best of breed, are a little overkill. If money is no object, go for the bigger ones. Most casters use a 2 1/2 gal. pot. For under $100, if you don't like casting, you could always sell it for close to that. If you do like casting, you can always move up to a larger one if needed. Larger one may be hard to sell later on. Small one would be no problem to sell on this site. Jim S
 
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JD Combs Sr said:
The first two might be considered "Caster's Dreams". The third one is probably typical of what most of us are using. If I had the cash I would definitely consider the first or event the second ones assuming some research showed they were truly rated at the 80psi and don't ask me how to find that out.
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The first one is most definitely a caster's dream! I have that exact one. I ordered from their website not from ebay, but it is the same 7 gallon model. It performs flawlessly and I love it. I run it up to 80-85 psi. I would highly recommend it.
 
I also have the 1st one and will be buying another soon. If you buy direct from their website you can have them make it into a vacuum chamber also. I do production casting and it's a dream to have it!

One thing to think about that was already said. It's a HUGE pot and unless you're doing production casting or very large castings a 2.5 pot would be sufficient. You can find a binks or devilbliss pot on ebay or maybe even locally that are rated up to 80psi and much cheaper than the 7gal.
 
I'll have to jump in here with a differing opinion on the big ones. I HAD 2 ASME certified 7 gallon stainless steel pots that I got a heck of a deal on. After using them in conjunction with my Binks 2.7 gallon pots, I ended up selling one for enough money to buy another 2.7 gallon pot. I also do production casting but found the big ones too heavy and cumbersome. The lids have 2 more clamps to tighten and mine were heavy as heck. I MUCH prefer my smaller ones. I still have one of the big ones but it really just sits here collecting dust!

I cast with Alumilite so that may make a difference. With Alumilite, my cycle times are short enough that I don't feel the need to try to make 20 blanks at a time and try to get all that resin mixed before it starts to go off.
 
I also agree with Curtis and Tom. I use the HF pot and I have no problems with it. It's rated for 80psi and the most I've ever use is 80 psi. I also only cast up to 4 blanks at a time so any more than that the resin starts to kick.
 
The 2 1/2 gallon shop fox I bought first leeks like crazy at anything over 40 psi. I have casters on my 7 gallon so weight has never bothered me once. It only has 4 clamps which secure a whole lot faster and more efficiently than the shop fox. the shop fox is built just like the harbor freight model and I just didn't like it. I have the 7 gallon set up with a second valve with shut off to have it double as a large vacuum chamber and it works really well at that too!

I believe there is a picture of it in my photos.
 
Silverado said:
This is the 1 that I am looking at, finishsystems.com 51-201C C.A. Technologies Resin (Mold) Casting Pot - 2.5 gallon teflon lined steel pressure pot with wheels and single regulator. Pot is non-asme rated with maximum pressure up to 80 psi. Internal dimensions are 10-3/8" Dia. x 8-3/4" deep.Our Price
$303.03



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Silverado, I have this pot and I love it. I did develop a tutorial on the adjustments you need to do once you get the pot, so if you end up purchasing it and want to see it, let me know and I will send it to you.
 
do I need one with up to 80 psi, or would 40 psi do just fine?

On this seccont one that I have listed, The 5 gallon one....what is the Advantage of the Dual Air Control Regulators?
 
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Chess_Master said:
do I need one with up to 80 psi, or would 40 psi do just fine?

On this seccont one that I have listed, The 5 gallon one....what is the Advantage of the Dual Air Control Regulators?
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There is not advantage to ANY regulators, IMO. You certainly don't need 2. The reason for for two is if you are going to be spraying with it. The first controls the input air and the second controls the output air. However, for our use, no regulator is needed as you will be your own regulator! You will be sitting there airing it up and when it reaches your desired pressure, you close the valve and remove the air hose.

I HIGHLY advise against using a regulator and leaving the hose attached. What happens if the regulator fails? Also, if the seal happens to blow out, and you have left it overnight, your air compressor will be running all night and it will very likely die. I had that happen when I first got started. Left the hose attached and the seal blew out during the night. Came back in the next day and the compressor was EXTREMELY hot and smelled terrible. It was running non stop. It died the next day.

Here is a better priced source for CA Tech pots: 51-201C $220
Here is a link to all of their pressure pots
 
kevrob said:
Silverado said:
This is the 1 that I am looking at, finishsystems.com 51-201C C.A. Technologies Resin (Mold) Casting Pot - 2.5 gallon teflon lined steel pressure pot with wheels and single regulator. Pot is non-asme rated with maximum pressure up to 80 psi. Internal dimensions are 10-3/8" Dia. x 8-3/4" deep.Our Price
$303.03
Click to expand...

Silverado, I have this pot and I love it. I did develop a tutorial on the adjustments you need to do once you get the pot, so if you end up purchasing it and want to see it, let me know and I will send it to you.
Click to expand...


I have this pot from finishsystem.com also and it's great. Out of curiosity I was checking out the link for these that Curtis provided since it was much cheaper. I can't tell if it's the same exact pot or not. The valves in the photo don't seem to be positioned the same but hard to tell from the angle. Just me personally I will pay extra to order from a website that provides an address and phone number. Usually I like to call the number with a question to see how I might get treated later if I need help.
 
Curtis hit the nail on the head, you would be paying big $$ for and extra 4 1/2 gallon volume space that you probably will not use. I suggest reading this tutorial (IAP Library) for how to build a pressure pot using an unexpensive paint pot (from Harbor Freight):

http://content.penturners.org/library/tools_and_jigs/pressurepot.pdf

Feel free to contact me, there are simple modifications to the above tutorial that we have all made to simplify the build process without compromising safety. Your end product will basically look like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-SPRAY-P...130?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ccb69acd2 without costing you almost 100 + shipping.
 
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