125 replies to this topic

[MikeMc]

Simply cut out the centers and leave the outside ring. As far as wiring a dimmer....IF YOURS HAS A FAN IT WON'T WORK

Mine was a convection type, thermometer in the top (2 for 9.995 at Sams Club) I dim it down for 105 and marked the setting,

Works like a charm.....for resin I dial it down to 95

[sportandmiah]

I purchased the $16.00 Harbor Freight food dehydrator, and it works great! I didn't modify or change anything. I simply put my freshly painted car body and pieces on the top shelf, put the lid on, opened the triangle vents, and the next day the body was ready to detail. No warped or melted pieces. Will this work with every model? Who knows. But I like it.

[Evil Appetite]

Wow, you are brave to try that. Makes perfect sense-- too bad it didn't work. It should have worked. But with your Amer Harvest, how did you solve the problem of the trays having plastic in the centers? Did you cut it out? If so, how did you d0 it? Or did you build your own cylinder out of something? If so, what material did you use, and how did you bond it together?

all i did was cut out the tray and left the outter part alone

it does work from what i've read on SA's forum..a guy posted pics and even laid out instructions for me..but..i'm no electrician hehe



as a matter of fact...this is MikeMC's setup!

Edited by Evil Appetite, 26 October 2011 - 04:16 AM.

[MikeMc]

as a matter of fact...this is MikeMC's setup!

Yep.....it does NOT have a fan....thats why the dimmer works well

[Evil Appetite]

Yep.....it does NOT have a fan....thats why the dimmer works well

I checked mine for the heck of it, and it doesn't have a fan either.there's an element at the bottom. It looks like yours, except with a smokey tint to the plastic..it's an old Ronco i think. Better I bough the Nesco than burning down my house though

[MikeMc]

I checked mine for the heck of it, and it doesn't have a fan either.there's an element at the bottom. It looks like yours, except with a smokey tint to the plastic..it's an old Ronco i think. Better I bough the Nesco than burning down my house though

You can buy a rheostat switch pre wired. that said this was electronics 100....simple circuit...hard not to get it correct

[Miatatom]

I finished my drying box and got it calibrated today. I used 1/2" plywood. It's about 14" wide x 12" deep and 20" tall. I bought 2 receptacles and wired them in with the dimmer switch to be able to vary the amount of heat I'm putting into the box. I lined the box with some quilted material that is aluminized on one side. Had it left over from the Cobra I built a few years back. With the lining, I found I really only needed a single 60W incandescent bulb to generate enough heat to maintain 105 degrees. Here's a few pics.

[attachment=19652:DSC_1186.jpg]

[attachment=19654:DSC_1188.jpg]

[attachment=19655:DSC_1189.jpg]

[Big Daddy]

looks good think i'll try and build one myself,been thinking about it for a while now, i hate waiting so long for the enamel to cure on it's own
how long do you figure it will take to cure in the box

[cobraman]

Thats pretty nice. I would imagine it would also be good for keeping dust off also.

[crazyjim]

What do you bake in it?

[Miatatom]

Painted model car parts, naturally. As for keeping the dust off, yes it does. Now, if I can just keep it off the stuff before I put them in there.

[Monty]

Tom, looks like you've created an inexpensive alternative to a food dehydrator, but I'm curious about something. What made you decide on a 20" height? (I'm guessing you've made some calculations based on the radiated heat of the bulb vs the melting point of styrene).

Is the lining material Dynamat?

[Harry P.]

And when you're not drying paint you can incubate chickens!

[crazyjim]

More cluk for your buck, I always say.

[Miatatom]

Tom, looks like you've created an inexpensive alternative to a food dehydrator, but I'm curious about something. What made you decide on a 20" height? (I'm guessing you've made some calculations based on the radiated heat of the bulb vs the melting point of styrene).

Is the lining material Dynamat?

Thanks for making it sound like I really thought this out and it was a very scientific approach but the truth is that's the amount of plywood I had.

I also wanted it to be tall enough so that I could add some shelves for more space if I needed it. I would use some sort of rack like in an oven if I made a shelf. Don't know if I will ever need it though.

Yes, the material is Dynamat, I think. It was left over from the Factory Five Cobra I built. I guess that's what FF uses.

Edited by Miatatom, 29 July 2012 - 02:04 PM.

[charlie8575]

With the coming extinction of incandescent bulbs in the U.S., have you looked at alternatives, such as an aquarium heater? Or will you switch to a 40W bulb and just wait far longer?

I do know that some halogen lightbulbs will continue to be made, Sylvania, I understand, is actually making them in the U.S., too, in a plant in Kentucky. They're a little lower wattage, but should still produce adequate heat to work, it just may take a little longer.

Interesting idea, and nicely done.

Charlie Larkin

[Miatatom]

Actually, I've got a bag of incandescent bulbs that we saved when we switched the house over to fluorescent so I've got quite a stash.

[ffreak]

That's pretty neat there Tom !! If I wasn't using the dehydrator I swiped from the wifey, i'd make me one !!!

[Ringwraith]

Heya Tom, that looks great!
How's it working out for you?

I'm going to build one as well. Is it cutting down the drying/curing time dramatically??
How did you come up with the 105 degrees?
The dimmer is a great idea. Do you use a thermometer to watch the temp?
I was just reading that those easybake ovens can hit 375!!
They use 100W bulbs.
I remember melting little army men in my buddies
sisters easybake when we were kids!! lol
Would hate to melt my cars! ;-)

Cheers
Sean

[blueoval92]

thats nice man, i waiting to finish buying up the list of cars i currently want then i plan to buy a dehydrator and attach the top to my paint booth so it can double as a drying oven. anybody know how hot those dehydrators get?