Hi, New on here.
I'm from the UK and due to temp fluctuations at night in the workshop can get issues with high build going off correctly
I'm thinking of making an "oven" 2ft X 2 ft X 9ft box with a strip fluorescent light, 60 or 70 watt as heat source, should keep the temp nice and steady in a confined sapce.
Anyone else done anything similar please?

Thanks

Flouro don't throw much heat. i think you would be better served using incandescent bulbs 2@100 watts will up the temperature considerably. Alternately you could apply two thin coats rather than one "high build" .

I dont deal with the DOE any more (thank god) but if memory serves me right 100W "incadescent" bulbs were being phased out a few years ago and replacements would product less heat.

Try a search on -- heat lamp bulbs - heat elements - and reptile heating

But I also like two thin coats

Bill - willierods.com

Steve,
I suspect that the fluorescent light will work just fine.

You indicate a temperature fluctuating issue. Just by enclosing the rods in a case will take care of nearly all of the fluctuations.

The small amount of heat that you get from the bulb will likely supply any additional small amount of heat needed. The light will also give you the light to really check over the rod as it is drying for any needed touch up.

However, if you need to "heat" the box by 20 degrees or so; then the use of an additional heat source would be a good idea.

Be safe

Thanks guys. I use 2 coats, first is literally just a lick to wet the threads second is finish. Still get issues as the UK temps can drop from twenty C to 5 at night, The high buld satys tacky then :-(

I have some 300w ceramic IR reptile heater but think they would be OTT in a small enclosure, I think the flouro would just provide enough heat to keep a constant in the box (only 36 cu ft of air)
I think its the gradual drop of temp that causes the issue.

Going to make it this week & I'll keep you posted :-)

Steve,
I expect that if you put in 4-standard 25 watt bulbs, it would be about the perfect amount of heat for your box;

[www.lightbulbs-direct.com]

Just mount 4 sockets in the box, hook to the line, insert the 4 -bulbs and turn on when drying.

Good luck

If you use a dimmer switch, you can actually regulate the heat to the desired temp when using the std incandescent bulbs. Not like a thermostat, but can be adjusted to your desired level of heat

Ron Weber

Ron Weber Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you use a dimmer switch, you can actually
> regulate the heat to the desired temp when using
> the std incandescent bulbs. Not like a thermostat,
> but can be adjusted to your desired level of heat

Damn ! why did I not think of that !!! perfect and thanks to the poster above for the info & idea of the 25w bulbs, I like this forum, guess I'll be a regular !! :-)

A couple of lights will get your temps up, can get cold here as well during winter and not to long ago built a drying box and put a couple of Halogen globes in there as they give of a fair bit of heat, these days they put a film over the Halogen globes that gives of less UV than a standard light bulb not that it would probably matter to much I think.

I also put a strip of LED warm colour lights around the bottom about 5 meters worth as that's what it came in and noticed by the digi thermostat that even just having them on can raise the temp by about 1 celsius (1.8 Farenheit) in the box, was interesting as we all know LED's don't put of much heat at all but when confined into a drying box with no air movement does just a little. I only mention this as a little temp can go a long way and was surprised that there was a difference at all by having the LED's on.

SG Custom Rods
Australia

Steve,
A dimmer on a cord works well for a project like this one:

[www.homedepot.com]

If you have a strand of non-LED Christmas lights lying around, they can be a quick and easy source of heat for a drying box.

Take care,

Chris

You will achieve a more constant heat if the heat source is tied to a thermostat. You mentioned that the temperature can flucuate so you heat should flow that if you need a constant temp. Most likely you just need to elevate your overall curing temp.

Here is a 4-100 degree F thermostat that could easily be built into a drying box.


[www.fleetfarm.com]

I've been thinking about building a new box myself. I've already built two over the years. The first had a significant problems that ultimately led me to tear it down after a couple years of frustrating use. Basically the main problem was overdoing the heat source from the start. The box got way too hot.
I soon added a thermostat, but this only helped to some degree. The thermostat would close the circuit and the lights would get hot, and a few minutes later the thermostat would open the circuit. the problem was there was so much heat still coming off the bulbs the temp would still spike way over 120 degrees. It would then take 20-30 minutes till it cooled enough to switch back on and the cycle of heat spike and cooling would repeat.

I changed out the bulbs to much lower wattage bulbs (I think from 100s to 25s) and that helped a lot, but the spikes still reached over 95. I tried adding some vent holes and while this lowered the spikes to about 90 or so, the venting created a chimney effect and I noticed the occasional dust speck on the finish I never experienced before. I added some dust filters I cut from coffee filters and put them over the vent holes and used this for a couple years. A few years later when I rearranged my shop into two areas separating the clean from the dirty operations, I redesigned and built a box with a larger volume and no vent holes in hopes it would stabilize the heat spikes. My top temperature spike was about 90, still a bit warmer than my goal of 85 but acceptable.

Things that I learned and would incorporate if I was building a new box from scratch:

Insulate the box with 1/2 to 3/4 rigid foam.
Keep the volume large, larger than you need so it heats more slowly and evenly
Use a thermostat to turn the heat on and off automatically
Use a timer to set the maximum time.
Use a rheostat to adjust the heat output. Mark a "curing" spot on the rheostat where the thermostat has the heat circuit on about 80% of the time.
Set rheostat to full to preheat box. Once preheated, lower the rheostat to the predetermined "curing" mark.


If I was a full time or serious part-time builder, I'd consider taking it one step further and eliminate the problem of a rare but catastrophic power outage. When you consider what an ill-timed power outage could cost in ruined materials and labor, for not too much money you can set up a 12V deep cycle battery with a trickle charger to power your dryer box when you are not present or sleeping. From the battery, a 8-hour timer is wired as a master control, from this two circuits are made one for 12V and the other to power a small inverter for 110V. The 110V AC side is used to run the rod dryer motors and the 12 volt DC side is for the heat. On the 12 volt DC side, power goes to the thermostat and relay which send power to the rheostat which set the power output to 3-5 12v automotive sockets and single element 12v bulbs.

When you're present, run the drying motors plugged in to your service, but when you leave switch to the inverter. A small DC power supply can provide the power for the heat circuit when plugged in.

There are lots of ways to set up a hybrid 110V AC / 12V DC backup system to control rotation and heat, I just described one combo, there are certainly other ways this could be set up.

Is it possible to heat the room

Bill - willierods.com

Steve, I built a rod box that is 1 foot wide and 9 foot long. Put a set of christmas tights in, line the bottom of box works just fine

Steve,
Where are you based?
I'm down in Salisbury Wiltshire.
Depending on the size of your room, why not get a black heater in there, I use a couple in my workshop, (not my rod building room), and these heaters keep the temp around 11°C even in the winter.
They cost about the same to run as a 100 watt lightbulb and will keep your rod building room at a regular temperature.
Regards,
Phil.