Cars and trucks get suitably warm inside if parked in the sun.

I might try to heat water to circulate (pour over) the drum. This would
eliminate the possibility of overheating and destroying the epoxy.

Would your 1500 W heater do the job if you built a "hut" of pink foam?

200 lbs is that awkward weight where extreme measures are overkill, but you
can hurt yourself easily.

Roger

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm

"Evan Gatehouse" wrote in message
...
My drum of epoxy has partially crystallized - blame a cold spring. Any
suggestions on how to warm up ~200 lbs of epoxy + drum short of purchasing
a drum heater??

I've thought of just painting it black and leaving it in the sun but this
year we've had only a few days above 20°C (~72F) and I need to get the
drum up to 120°F for a few hours to melt it all again.

I've also got a small 1500W electric heater that I keep pointed right at
the drum, which seems to melt a bit as I am using it, but I am beginning
to think I'm getting behind the melting rate!

I also have a 50,000 BTU Propane Heater that I can use in the garage space
I am borrowing, but no easy way to direct it toward the drum (it mostly
vents upwards like a kerosene heater).

Thanks, etc.

Evan Gatehouse

Wrap an electric blanket around the drum on "HI". Wrap another blanket
round that to hold heat in.

On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 21:01:18 -0700, dbohara wrote:

Wrap an electric blanket around the drum on "HI". Wrap another blanket
round that to hold heat in.

Monitor the temperature inside the blanket tent to make sure it doesn't
get too high. It would be a shame if the blankets caught on fire, and a
tragedy if you burned down a house.

--Mac

Mac wrote:
On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 21:01:18 -0700, dbohara wrote:


Wrap an electric blanket around the drum on "HI". Wrap another blanket
round that to hold heat in.


Monitor the temperature inside the blanket tent to make sure it doesn't
get too high. It would be a shame if the blankets caught on fire, and a
tragedy if you burned down a house.

Electric blankets don't get that hot. Otherwise, you'd have millions of
people burning in their beds.

On Fri, 01 Jul 2005 10:16:49 +0000, Brian Nystrom wrote:

Mac wrote:
On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 21:01:18 -0700, dbohara wrote:


Wrap an electric blanket around the drum on "HI". Wrap another blanket
round that to hold heat in.


Monitor the temperature inside the blanket tent to make sure it doesn't
get too high. It would be a shame if the blankets caught on fire, and a
tragedy if you burned down a house.

Electric blankets don't get that hot. Otherwise, you'd have millions of
people burning in their beds.

Makes sense. Where I live, electric blankets are not necessary, so my
experience is limited. I was thinking that when they get hot, the people
just turn them down or off. But I guess they must have some kind of
thermostat or something?

Still, for process control purposes, the OP should keep an eye on the
interior temperature somehow, if possible. After all, he said 120 F for a
few hours, so he'll want to know when the temp passes 120. I imagine a
radio shack remote sensing thermometer could do this.

--Mac