Need large oven. Only have 120v service. What to do?

[vasker]

I need to build an oven large enough to coat a car chassis. My garage only have 120v service. Does anyone know what the charge is to put in 220v? Or does anyone have any experience with propane ovens? Thanks.

[SCOTTRODS]

I need to build an oven large enough to coat a car chassis. My garage only have 120v service. Does anyone know what the charge is to put in 220v? Or does anyone have any experience with propane ovens? Thanks.

That's definitely a tall order for 120..... Not hap'nin.

220 might even have a time of it. Some sort of gas is the answer in my opinion. Although It can be done with 220, it will be a very use specific design and would limit the ability to do other items. If you choose 220, get the a 100 amp circuit at least... do some calculations first though, to determine the dimensions, volume of the oven desired, amount of burners you'll need to heat it to cure levels, and that will help determine the proper amp rating that you will need to have installed,... if you go electric.

If you are going to do many chassis' then it would be a very worthwhile endeavor. But if you are only going to do one or two chassis/frames, An oven specifically for that might be best left alone, and the work farmed out to a coater that has the facilities already.

[ed_denu]

Voltage really has little to do with the question, it's the watts/amps that will determine the utility service requirement. An oven big enough to do an auto chassis will require a lot more than a 240 volt, 100 amp circuit. You're looking at probably a minimum of 50-60k watts for a 6'X6'X18'.

Propane as Scott suggested might work, but I also agree that if this is a one time project you would be much better off to have it done by a shop with this capability. The cost to build an oven this size would exceed many times the cost of having a frame powder coated.

[JordanG]

Propane heaters would probably be the best/only option. For a one time operation, you could just turn them on/off manually to achieve a given temperature. Whatever you do, dont try and get your garage up to 450deg without an oven

[BDSax]

call an electrician

[bigtoy302]

Propane would be a good option. They are very cheap to run. I can run mine for less then $1 a hour. Mine will run up to 14 hours on 20lb tank. It hits temp in 12 minutes. Look in this forum under my name at my oven build.