Conference 7.286::home_work

re: .-1

Stop into your favorite pet shop that has aquarium supplies. Most tropical
fish need warm water and tank heaters come in various wattages to handle heat
dissipations of small to large tanks.  Depending on the amount of wax you
need to keep warm, you can get an appropriate wattage heater and build a box
to house it and the wax.

These tank warmers have built-in thermostats, so you should be able to adjust
the temperature to your needs.  Be aware that while the tank heater was
designed to be water-cooled, you will need to mount it in the box so that it
is suspended in mid-air.

If I were to build such a box, I'd construct it out of plywood with a hinged
lid. There'd be a floor suspended above the bottom of the box about 2"-3"
above the bottom.  I'd bore a hole through the side of the box and about
1-1/2" above the bottom large enough to insert the heater and tight
enough to suspend the warm end about the middle of the whole assembly. The
power cord and thermostat would be on the outside for convenience.

Chris

    re .1
    
    Yes, I'm familiar with aquarium heaters, since I used to keep turtles,
    which will stop eating and die if their environment isn't warm enough. 
    But don't aquarium heaters have to be submerged?  (I have to admit
    though, that my knowledge of this sort of thing stopped about 15 years
    ago, and meybe there have been some changes since that time.)  
    
    I think I'll wander down to my local pet store, though, and check out
    what they have.  This IS exactly the sort of thing I need.
    
    Thanks,
    ellie

Hmmmm.  Wax, heaters, electricity all in the same box.  Could be quite
flammable.  Especially if you use a fish tank heater with breakable glass
between the filament and the liquid wax.  I'd be careful how I designed
my 'oven'.  Consider safety.

Stan

    
    How critical is the temp? If it goes too high or too low will it be a
    disaster? If not:
    
    
    Cheap Ideas.
    
    Why not just try putting a 60 watt light bulb in a box with a
    thermometer. Check the temp after an hour. If it is too cold switch to
    a 75 watt and/or add insulation. Too hot use a lower wattage and/or add
    a few holes to the box.

    Hmmm, what about an incubator.  Temperatures close and adjustable.
    There are small units that I've seen in day care and preschools that
    help children learn...

   USe the appropriate size tank heater to heat the water. Put your wax in 
   tupperware and float it in the conditioned water bath.

   Safe, cheap. use your turtle tank...:8]

Re: .5

Chicken egg incubators are 101�, he wanted 90�.  However, if that's close
enough, I built an incubator for a grade school science fair project.  It
consisted of a particle-board box about 1' x 1' x 2' with a glass door.  The
heat source was a pair of light bulbs, wired in parallel with a 101�
thermostat that I got from a poultry supply shop.  The thermostat handled
the 120 volts just fine.

An earlier attempt used "flasher" sockets (I got them from an appliance
dealer who used them on sales displays).  I experimented with wattages on
the two bulbs until the temperature was about right.  It wasn't stable
enough for hatching chickens, but should work fine for keeping wax warm.

   >> Use the appropriate size tank heater to heat the water. Put your wax in 
   >> Tupperware and float it in the conditioned water bath.
      ==========
    
    If you don't have any of this, my wife sells the stuff and it comes in
    fancy colors now... (Help me get rid of the 'excess' *P L E A S E *...)
    *8�)...*8�)...*8�)...*8�)...*8�)...*8�)...*8�)...*8�)...*8�)...
    
    Patrick			Long_Live_`66_Mustangs!!!
    

Probably all you really need is a simple double boiler.

    The Tupperware and the double boiler idea would be fine if I were using
    small amounts of wax, but the "chunks" I deal with are about 16"X24"X2"
    which can be broken up into smaller bits, but still take a bit of room.
    Both the incubator idea and the different-wattage light bulb ideas
    sound like I could make them work.  I think I'll get one of those lamps
    with a reflector, and put that on one of those 5 gallon plastic buckets
    (or maybe a metal bucket) and see if that works.  What I'd like to be
    able to do is to turn this thing on in the morning and have wax ready
    to work when I get home from work.  I now heat it with a lamp, but it
    takes a couple hours to get to the right temperature.  
    
    IN reply to another note, yes, safety is something I keep in mind.  The
    flash point of wax is about 400F, so for instance, when I'm combining
    different types of waxes to give a good sculpting medium, I use an
    electric frying pan, set at about 200.
    
    thanks,
    ellie