[sswee]

Beware of cast parts. They use all kinds of mixes to get a good pour, to increase strength and corrosion resistance. Some will anodize OK, some not very well due to smut, and some not at all. You'll need some etch. Caswell's anodize/chrome stripper works good and can be used at room temp. Some deox/desmut. It works best at 110*F. For those kinds of part I would use the nickel acetate sealer.

Crock pots work real well. Temp. range on the ones I've used has been 110* to 180*F. You could get a boil with the lid on. The main problem I had using them was size. I couldn't find one big enough for what I was doing. A handful of candy thermometers are useful to keep an eye on heated tank temps. Only problem is they are glass and you have to watch bumping them on hard parts or thermal shocking them to shatter.

White plastic paint buckets with lid work good for tanks but heating in them is problematic. I use the Caswell 300W ceramic heaters and thermostats. The crock pots will work good if they are big enough for your parts. I've used hot plates and 8, 10, 12 qt stainless stew pots for dyes and water boil seal