Anything under 50F and my petrobonds performance declines significantly. Mulling helps at less-warm temps, but when it's near freezing or below forget it. Here's my solution. It works really well. The torch on the right is unneeded.
I’d be tempted to come up with a warming pad or box using heat cable and styrofoam. Maybe turn on the power a few hours prior to molding. Here is a video (not a great video) of making a heat mat. I don’t know all the factors regarding safety using the heat tape. A fire would be a bummer. Perhaps you or others have experience with heat tape. Denis
Pretty sure FishbonzWV has heat for his sand storage. Can't remember the method he uses. One of those reptile aquarium pad heaters sure seems like it would be easy solution. They are usually a self regulating thin rubber sheet that could be placed under a protective metal plate in an insulated box or an older plastic cooler. Best, Kelly
Good ideas, I bought an ice dam melting wire to put in my sand bin to warm up my greensand a few years ago, but I wound up snaking it up the drain to the flat part of my roof to prevent it getting blocked up with ice and backing up to cause rainstorms in the attic instead. I had some luck blasting my weed burner torch into the muller to warm up the greensand while it ran, but I just had to hold it there, which was annoying. I like the torch holder idea! But I may have another one of those wires somewhere that I can try when it gets cold enough that the new sand stops being sticky. Jeff
Nice job on the plaque Jeff. The paint really set it off. I have to warm my PB when it's cold. You probably remember this from AA. Water heater element ran on 120v instead of 240v. Heat control through a hot plate thermocouple. Just plunge it into the sand, give it a few minutes and repeat until the sand is warm to the touch. I don't do the whole heap, just enough for facing both sides. I've used it twice this year.
That door, save for its placard, seems a mite plain. You might keep this in mind: The trident thingie is a Spading Fork. The other is a Molder's Trowel.
Thanks guys, I'll keep both of those ideas in mind. Bonz, I had forgotten about your sand warmer until I saw the pic above. Thanks for the reminder! Jeff
COMPLETELY off topic but this forum used to allow us to delete our own posts, how come that's not possible anymore?
Equally off topic, my internet just came back to normal after 7h down. So now my kids can start their homework. At 10pm. Thanks to whoever did delete those multiple accidental posts. Jeff
Nice castings guys. As a D&D fan, do you watch the Manshorts D&D skits on YT? Their Florida edition series had me LMAO! Mark
I assume you mean GRUDGE anyways, that makes sense. I wonder if there's a compromise possible, something like allowing deletion within a few hours of posting after which it becomes permanent.
Ive been working on my foundry in my extremely limited spare time. Man it sure looked bigger before I started trying to decide where I would put everything. Hoping to get a muller going soon. I saw an easy muller build that I am going to try...a cement mixer with the blades removed and a bowling ball inside it. Easy and cheap. 139$ for new one.
My foundry just got a lot smaller inside too! I think Fishbonz is doing something like what you suggest to mull his sand. The crossbar holding a wheel and plows was pretty easy to add to my cement mixer muller and seems to work really well if I keep it to half a 5 gallon bucket of sand or less per load, but Sandrammer on youtube seems happy just using an unmodified cement mixer to make and maintain his greensand and petrobond. I also recall a few guys on the old forum doing what you are thinking about, but using hollow stainless steel spheres poured full of lead instead of a bowling ball. Let us know how it works! Jeff
Bowling balls don't work well. They are too lite and just float on top of the sand. I use a smaller than bowling ball, piece of limestone rip wrap than I got off the side of the road. It's not perfectly round so it rolls (regular mulling), flops (good for crushing the crust), slides (smearing action). It's been in use for years and works well.
Excellent idea! I have access to millions of round creek rocks of various shapes and weights. Guess I will be going rock hunting instead of bowling ball hunting.LMAO!!
I have a cement mixer that I was afraid to use as it may contaminate my sand with concrete but I can use it when I put the sand down in my floor to see it it works well on our old foundry sand. Heck it might work so well I decide to not to use that sand on my floor.LOL