question on heating

[shemp4]

hi, another new guy here!! i recently started doing some powder coating and i would like to build a large oven. (went from toaster oven to kitchen oven) i am getting alot of great ideas on this forum!! but i am trying to decide to either go with the electric elements or the torpedo heater. my question is how do you control the temperature with the torpedo type heaters? is there a thermostat that will control it to a specific temp? other than low,med,high and if i build my box how do you attach ? and what about a deflector ? dont these things blow kinda hard? thanks in advance. joe

[Popeye]

Go electric, safer

[sdold]

Those heaters put out a lot of water vapor, I don't know if that will effect the coating, but it's there. Also I'm be wondering about carbon monoxide with those things.

It's been a long time since I've taken chemistry, but as I recall you are fine as long as there is enough oxygen to combine with all of the carbon atoms making CO2, if there isn't enough oxygen, CO results (incomplete combustion). This is why it's important to have ventilation when using these heaters.

Restricting the oxygen flow through the heater by piping it into a box seems like it would cause this to happen. It would be interesting to try it with a CO detector.