Air Fryer For PC Bullets???

[Agarbers]

I am gearing up to powder coat my bullets. You experts say a small convection oven works best because the fan prevents temperature variations. I have access to a cheap air-fryer and it seems to me that that should work the same. Have any of you used one for this?

[dangitgriff]

I want to know the same, will be following this.

[GARD72977]

We have 2 air fryers. They seem to blow air pretty hard straight down. It doesn't seem to be the best set up for PC.

Wont know until someone tries....

[OS OK]

Will it get hot enough? How hot is it capable of?

[Cargo]

That would be fantastic. Excuse me while I hang around and wait for someone to try this out.

[Agarbers]

Will it get hot enough? How hot is it capable of?

Our unit that is used for food goes well over 400 degrees. I see one on FB Marketplace for $20.

[rockrat]

Isn't another name for air fryer, would be "oven"

[wolfwing]

If this works - it would be the way for me to go.

[bangerjim]

Velocity of air varies from unit to unit and it could possibly blow the powder or thin it out. Who knows! They are mostly very tiny cavity ovens. I could only get mabe 75-100 in our air-fry oven....totally not big enough for me. And it peaks out digitally at 400°F....might not be actually 400!

I would suggest sticking with a good quality standard convection oven like Oster.......mine cost $120 at Walmart and holds HUNDREDS of boolits (with the extra rack I made) and it's totally digital with temp accuracy ±5°F. (NO PID needed here!) Perfect bakes every time.

Some one is bound to try this someday and post the results. I'll just stick with what I know works every time.

banger :cbpour:

[Agarbers]

I picked up the air dryer for $20. I am waiting on the powder so when I get it I'll see what happens and post it here.

[John Boy]

What other forum have I seen this exact post before ... :coffeecom

[Agarbers]

What other forum have I seen this exact post before ... :coffeecom

It's not exact. I changed a few words...

[rsrocket1]

I paid $5 for one toaster oven from the Goodwill and $3.50 for another from the Goodwill outlet store. Having two inexpensive toaster ovens lets me leap frog between coatings and bakings. I fill a tray in about half the time it takes to bake the bullets, so I can process bullets twice as fast. I calibrated both so they hold the proper temperature for a good cure. No need to spend triple digits for an expensive oven when there are many out there virtually free.

[bangerjim]

I paid $5 for one toaster oven from the Goodwill and $3.50 for another from the Goodwill outlet store. Having two inexpensive toaster ovens lets me leap frog between coatings and bakings. I fill a tray in about half the time it takes to bake the bullets, so I can process bullets twice as fast. I calibrated both so they hold the proper temperature for a good cure. No need to spend triple digits for an expensive oven when there are many out there virtually free.

More power to you! I just spend what I want when I want. I have never had any luck with used garbage. Someone throws it in the bin for a reason! I have spent $5-10 each on 4 different ovens B4 I threw them all away and bought the new Oster BIG digital one.

I have discovered a coffin does not have side pockets and you cannot take it with you, so enjoy life while you can and buy what you want!

banger

[GARD72977]

I could not get Hitek or PC to work well until I bought a decent convection oven from walmart. Best 69.99 I have spent in bullet casting.

[kevin c]

My experience is similar to Banger's. Goodwill and estate sale convection ovens wouldn't get to or hold temperature or had very uneven heating. I went with a Breville convection oven that was expensive, but works very well.

I'm not saying that less pricy units aren't up to the task; there are lots of members who bake their coated boolits and have better results than mine. I'm just reporting that my second hand purchases may have been really cheap, but ended up being wastes of my money.

If you can find the cash, buying once and crying once can save the frustration of tools that can't do the job they were bought for, especially when they steepen the learning curve when trying something new.

That being said, innovation and invention come out of need. I'm curious to hear if an air fryer would work. It might be a fine option for low volume production at what sounds like modest cost.

[MrWolf]

Wouldn't you be severely restricted on the amount that could be baked at a time vs an oven? My airfryer is round and more upright. Do they make flatter, multi layered ones?

[gumbo333]

Yes they do make multilayered rectangular air fryers, that also work as toaster ovens where the air doesn't blow. Dont think mine blows so hard it would desturb the powder but I have never PC'd.

[slide]

You might run a search on this site. Air fryers were tried a few years ago. I don't know what the results were. Might give you some info.

[Hossfly]

I think any type of closed insulated container with even heat distribution and accurate temp control would work. If your willing to experiment.

Ive tried a lot of things with home supplies that worked and some didn’t.

Just remember that when you cook pc, lead, or any other toxic thing in an appliance, is no longer good for food.

[GoldieMI]

tagging and waiting to see what results.

[Conditor22]

Waiting for someone to PC some and post pictures. I like my air frier too much to use on PC, might get another one if it works well but ----- nut sure I have the room :(

[Agarbers]

Wouldn't you be severely restricted on the amount that could be baked at a time vs an oven? My airfryer is round and more upright. Do they make flatter, multi layered ones?

The used model I bought is fairly small so it is mainly an experiment. (The air fryer we use for food is about twice as big.) If it doesn't work for PC I can always use it to dry my washed brass.

[kevin c]

I was just browsing in the store where I bought my big Breville convection oven. There's a new model out that is also an air fryer that looks very much like mine in the size and number of heating elements and the control panel. The main difference I could see is that the air fryer function uses a turbo setting on the fan that my model doesn't have.

This might work for HiTek, as the inventor stresses the value of high speed and turbulent air flow, but I have no experience with PC, and don't know if a lot more moving air helps or hurts.

[Agarbers]

The air fryer works great except for the limited size. I used Eastwood powder.
https://forums.sassnet.com/uploads/monthly_2021_01/IMG_2678.JPG.c93b10dd0ac3992c36258ada2e71e6f8.JPG
https://forums.sassnet.com/uploads/monthly_2021_01/IMG_2679.JPG.5e374826cb712b84b99df31f7f528589.JPG

[wolfwing]

Here I am planning a trip to the used appliance guy's place to look for a cheap stove with broken burners. Looks like I can use a convection oven, toaster oven or air fryer and not have to worry about wiring in a 220 line.

[Conditor22]

I would stick with a convection oven - first choice air frier second choice - and toaster oven as last resort, toaster ovens can work for small quantities but have more of a chance of under baking or melting boolits

[Agarbers]

I would agree. The air fryer works great but is limited in size. But I also recommend being wary of some convection ovens. I bought a used Toastmaster convection unit at Goodwill yesterday. It has a digital readout so I had to experiment with it and then locate a manual. It turns out the maximum cooking time is 15 minutes and there is no way to adjust the temperature. It was also missing the drip tray so it was blowing lots of hot air at me. It's going back to Goodwill today.

[Conditor22]

I would agree. The air fryer works great but is limited in size. But I also recommend being wary of some convection ovens. I bought a used Toastmaster convection unit at Goodwill yesterday. It has a digital readout so I had to experiment with it and then locate a manual. It turns out the maximum cooking time is 15 minutes and there is no way to adjust the temperature. It was also missing the drip tray so it was blowing lots of hot air at me. It's going back to Goodwill today.

Sorry about your bad luck, Not saying you are wrong but max cooking time being 15 minutes seems strange.

bypass the timer and block the air from escaping under the door (pure lead should do that or scrap metal or ??)----- oven works. I don't use the timer on my ovens

[Agarbers]

Sorry about your bad luck, Not saying you are wrong but max cooking time being 15 minutes seems strange.

bypass the timer and block the air from escaping under the door (pure lead should do that or scrap metal or ??)----- oven works. I don't use the timer on my ovens

This unit had all digital controls and it didn't seem worth the trouble to do modifications when I saw another convection unit at another Goodwill for just a little more and it could do everything I want. I also see one on FB Marketplace. We live roughly 45 minutes out of town so I have to decide if a trip is worth the 90 minutes lost or if I can wait and combine it with something else. For now, this can wait.

[derek45]

LOLOLOL

I just bought my wife an air fryer for Christmas


Gonna ask her what she thinks

[digs foxhole deeper]

[popper]

She got an air fryer as gift, small size, inside looks the same except for shield over heating elements vs a convection oven - higher fan speed and temp? Frying generally shorter high temp time to crisp outside without overcooking inside. INHO, stick with convection.

[hickfu]

More power to you! I just spend what I want when I want. I have never had any luck with used garbage. Someone throws it in the bin for a reason! I have spent $5-10 each on 4 different ovens B4 I threw them all away and bought the new Oster BIG digital one.

I have discovered a coffin does not have side pockets and you cannot take it with you, so enjoy life while you can and buy what you want!

banger

Hey Jim, Is this the one you have?
I just picked this up yesterday for 19.99 at a thrift store and it works awesome.
275150

[bangerjim]

Hey Jim, Is this the one you have?
I just picked this up yesterday for 19.99 at a thrift store and it works awesome.
275150

That looks close! Remember convection ovens generally run 25°F lower that the temp you set them for. Good luck.

[fcvan]

All of these posts and not one mention of 'you will never cook food in it again' and you wont.

I already had a Black and Decker toaster oven we didn't use so no investment that wasn't already made. That sucker works, hands down. When I first set it up I did buy a cheap thermometer from Wally World for 6 bucks. It turns out 385 means 400. Cook time is supposed to be 10 minutes so I timed how long it took to get the oven and boolits to temp, add 10, I put them in, turn it on, and set a timer for 15 minutes. BTW, don't accidentally leave a piece of cardboard on top of a toaster oven, it acts like insulation, boolits slump badly, especially when they are 223 GC boolits in a jig with little drilled holes so the GC shank doesn't get coated.