anybody ever made there own electric casting pot

[jason f]

Was thinking about trying it. Just looking for some ideas. I have a 20 pound lee that works perfect. I just like to try different things.

[wv109323]

Go to the "Special Projects" section. There has been several. Also there was a college graduate contemplating going into the business of manufacturing casting pots. There was a lot of good conversation about the optimum casting pot.

[blikseme300]

This is how I built mine: http://bliksemseplek.com/boolits.html

[jason f]

Thanks for the info. I will definately be building one of these. About a 60-70 pound capacity would be perfect.

[Big_Blue]

This is how I built mine: http://bliksemseplek.com/boolits.html

Wow! I took one look at the number of photos and knew the job wasn't for me. I'm kind of a JB Weld kind of a guy. I was hoping for a solution along the lines of "cut off the bottom of a water heater and..."

[jason f]

6361463614Well I started on my version of electric pot. Couple more weeks and it should be done

[moptop]

Here's how I built my pot.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14265&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1251128115

[Big_Blue]

Here's how I built my pot.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14265&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1251128115

Here's a link to MopTop's thread: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?56336-homemade-for-you-bottom-pour-fans!&p=596267&viewfull=1#post596267

[Salmon-boy]

This is how I built mine: http://bliksemseplek.com/boolits.html

I've been drooling over this since I first saw it.. Started me thinking that I should do a 4/6 spout version for mass quantities..

Been looking for a heater band since..

[kitsap]

Been looking for a heater band since..

Go to the upper right hand corner of the page and click on fast search for heater bands.

http://www.imscompany.com/Public/Home.aspx

DougF

[jason f]

There is hundreds of them on ebay for sale

[Mozz]

Ok Heat band or Cartridge?

What best?

[blikseme300]

Ok Heat band or Cartridge?

What best?

Cartridges will be much harder to make work. I have used 2 methods with success but neither used a cartridge. The first was using a bendable element which was wrapped around the pot and held in place with sheet metal and clamps. These elements are available from McMaster. The second type uses heat bands as shown on my page in the link above. There are 2 factors to consider what band to get: total wattage (watts/sq inch) and maximum temperature rating. Many band heaters will break down at the 700-750 degrees of operation. There are multiple types of insulation used apparently. Watts alone do not tell the full story.

[jmorris]

I made the one I use on my homemade version of a master caster. 3/8" pipe with a bottom that has the valving in the bottom for pouring. The element is a 3500 watt replacement oven element that cost $12 from Sears wrapped around it and a stainless cover clamped around it to hold it tight against the steel.

Used a solid state relay and PID to turn it on and off to keep it at temp.

The pot full holds 60#'s.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/caster5.jpg

[jmorris]

Looked at the $300+ band heaters but they were too rich for my blood for a machine that I didn't know would work as good as it does. After it worked didn't see any reason to change.

[Salmon-boy]

jmorris, now THAT is what I'm talkin' about....

Was the element hard to bend? Brittle? Did you need to heat it?

Nice Job!

[jmorris]

No, it was really easy to bend by hand with no tools. Although I haven't tried it, I would imagine a used one would be brittle and more prone to crack.

[blikseme300]

No, it was really easy to bend by hand with no tools. Although I haven't tried it, I would imagine a used one would be brittle and more prone to crack.

Yes, it will crack. Been there...

As for band heater costs new ones are pricy but you can get them very cheaply if you are patient on evilbay. I got 4 new sets at $30 each.