Tank Heating Questions.

[meganine]

Hi,

I just tried out my 3.5 gal anodizing kit for the first time. Mostly, I'm pretty happy with the kit. There are two things that I have concerns about.

1. The 100W heaters that came with the kit.

For the dye tank, the instructions say to use one heater to bring the temperature to 60°C/140°F. With one heater, on for approximately 30 minutes, the tank temperature rose from 20°C to 25°C. Upon adding the second heater for another 20 minutes, the tank temperature rose to just below 30°C. Not hot enough.

Also, the dials on the heaters have no markings. I'm not even sure if they are set properly. Is counter-clockwise hotter? From all the way clockwise, what is the typical amount of turns required to reach 60°C?

Or, do I simply need to wait longer?

2. Heating the sealing bath.

I bought a 1200W hot-plate from Canadian Tire. On high for 30 minutes, the temperature rose to 60°C. Obviously not high enough to make water boil. My tank is 7.5L/1 gal. I'm guessing that my my hot plate is underpowered for the job. What do other people out there use? What kind of rating?

In the end, I just put the pot on the kitchen stove. I don't want to do this again--I'm afraid that I might spill something in the kitchen.

Thanks in advance,
Chris

[mcaswell]

Version 5 of our manual goes into detail about the heaters on page 15:

To set the heater adjuster to the optimum temperature of your tank,
turn the heater dial to its mid range position and then immerse it into
the solution. Monitor the temperature after approx 1 hour, and make
adjustments accordingly. If the heater does not bring the temperature
up high enough, remove the cover and undo the screw holding the
dial. On some models, you'll see a small groove on the underside of
the dial. There is a raised nipple on the head of the heater and this
runs in the groove. The groove does not go all the way around the
dial, stopping you from continually turning the dial to raise the
temperature. You may either lift the dial over this stop, or simply drill out or cut out the stop, allowing free
and continual movement of the dial. Most models have already had this modification carried out.

New anodizing kits contain a 300W ceramic heater for the sealing tank (which is now plastic). This heater quickly brings the solution to a boil. If you're having trouble getting the solution to temperature, I suggest trying a ceramic heater. See http://www.caswellplating.com/suppli...c_heaters.html