Rescuing epoxy

[dstgean]

Charlie,

Thanks for the tip I read of yours somewhere about microwaving the part A epoxy that had crystalized.  It reconstituted perfectly!  That saved about 3 liters of epoxy.

Dan

[brigait1]

How's that boat coming Dan? Got any pictures?

Pete

[Charlie Jones]

Microwave!!!! I don't think I said quite that. That would scare me.

I microwaved a gallon of water til it boiled, then set the epoxy jug in that- in the hot water.

I'm sure happy it worked though.

[Tom Lathrop]

Charlie, I couldn't believe you said that so I'm glad you chimed in.  It could work out ok but it could also be a disaster to the epoxy, microwave and domestic bliss.

[PAR]

I've microwaved resin before. So long as you don't over heat it, the goo's fine. It doesn't take much time to warm epoxy up from a crystalline state.

I have to admit, the hot water tick is much safer and would be a better method. I've never had epoxy crystallize on me, but I have nuked it to get some temperature in it.

I don't know if the containers are microwave safe and it would be hell to pay if you found out they weren't.

Do yourself a favor and warm epoxy when the other half isn't around. I've gotten caught a few times over the years and it's cost me a new stove, a new blender and a new flour sifter. Not to mention the knots on the back of my head from the cast iron skillet, she used to announce her displeasure.

I use the old stove to post cure stuff now, the blender worked fairly well grinding up bits of cured 'glass for filler, but it's died a horrible death since and the sifter is still in use, sitting at the epoxy mixing area of the shop.

[PeterP]

Par-Here's a use for your flour sifter. Get a stand and a bag for your belt sander if you don't already have them. Then the saw dust caught in the bag can be sifted and used for wood flour in your next project. Again, the name of the game is not to get caught with stuff lodged in the sifter but if you do the wood can  always be claimed as good supplemental source of dietary fiber. PeterP

[Designer]

I have been cooking epoxy resin in a microwave for a long time. Three minutes to the gallon is what I usually do. It comes out just warm and very clear. I have been putting a wet towel or rag in the microwave and wrapping the hot wet towel around gunwales or ply coamings to make it limber, it is quick and it works.

[Tom Lathrop]

I have been cooking epoxy resin in a microwave for a long time. Three minutes to the gallon is what I usually do. It comes out just warm and very clear. I have been putting a wet towel or rag in the microwave and wrapping the hot wet towel around gunwales or ply coamings to make it limber, it is quick and it works.

He forgot to say that it is not Carla's microwave and sits in the shop ;D

I have stunk up the kitchen with a couple projects in the microwave too. 

[Charlie Jones]

;D

Ok- I defer to Graham. I'd just never had the nerve to try it.

And I was pretty sure it WASN'T Carla's microwave ;D ;D ;D

[dstgean]

Microwave!!!! I don't think I said quite that. That would scare me.

I microwaved a gallon of water til it boiled, then set the epoxy jug in that- in the hot water.

I'm sure happy it worked though.

Well the warming part anyhoo.  I used the school's microwave and this stuff was chunky!  Now it's crystal clear and good to go.  I did warm it up in a plastic paint bucket because the huge container wouldn't fit anyways.  As it turned out the thinner goo found a leak in the old container and I transferred it to a gallon water jug.  should be used up today anyways, so the durability of the jug is not such a big deal.

All my pics are on Brian's camera as I keep forgetting to grab mine.  The bulkheads are cut, the side panels are ready for epoxy, and then on to assembly.  I am wondering though, should I glass the outside of the 4mm panels for abrasion resistance or both outside and inside?  I am going to dry sail this thing after all.  I was going to epoxy seal the inside and glass the outside.  Thoughts?

I also threw up a wiki page you can check out--but no pics there of the cutting yet either, just the design.

Dan

[Gordy Hill]

MICROWAVE??????

Heck, if it's that cold wait a day  or two!

Now I've put resin in the freezer for a few minutes to give me a bit more working time........

[Tom Lathrop]

Ray,

I hear the Amish have some great heaters that are free.  They look pretty fancy for a boatshop but I'm sure you wouldn't mind that ;D

[Apteryx]

epoxy, and then on to assembly.  I am wondering though, should I glass the outside of the 4mm panels for abrasion resistance or both outside and inside?  I am going to dry sail this thing after all.  I was going to epoxy seal the inside and glass the outside.  Thoughts?

Dan

From my understanding the glass is generally thought to be unneeded (and possibly unneeded weight, too) on the inside of the boat - I'd appreciate thoughts about this, too.

How about decks?  The foredeck will see some abuse from anchor chain, that seems a good candidate for fiberglass.  How about seat tops, sole area, places like that?

I picked up wood today for a pair of scaffolds to have a means of lifting and flipping the hull.  With luck one of the scaffolds might help keep the topsides 'wings' from flopping about too much.  I don't have drawings for what I want to do, but the upper corners will be held together with allthread so they can be taken apart and stored in minimal space.

[Ken_Potts]

I hear the Amish have some great heaters that are free.

You and I are watching entirely too much TV Tom  ;D  How can I get them to send me the free heater without the cheesy (expensive) box?

My boat is sheathed in glass on the outside of the bottom panels and epoxy coated on the inside.  The wear and tear is all on the bright work of the coaming and a couple of bad joints.  I don't think glass on the inside (besides the taped seams) would have enhanced my sailing experience at all.

[Tom Lathrop]

An all too accurate forecast Ray.

When we were building the Southern Skimmer, Graham and I went to our local ACE hardware and bought 2 tiny electric heaters for $25 each.  The news is that they provided the exact same amount of heat each as the $279 Amish things with the simulated flames.  I wonder what is said in their meeting houses?  A chuckle about scamming the rubes, I guess.

The fact is, a watt is a watt is a watt. No matter how you massage it, you can't get more heat out than the watts you put in.  I suppose that if the thing catches fire and burns up the box, there is some short term heat gain. ;D

[PAR]

My electric bill was just over $300 this month Ray. We pay about $.10 per KW.

[PAR]

Actually I've been working on a way to drive a generator with a steam engine, that gets it's steam from a solar collector/boiler combination. The current setup only generates about 2 KW per hour, but the next generation (read bigger everything) will produce about 10 KW per hour, which will take me "off the grid". I'll actually still be on the grid, as I'm not storing electricity. What I'll do is continue the "Net Metering" program, where the power companies provide KW credits for over production, per month and they'll send a check each year for the total over my used annual KW.

In other words, I'll produce more then I consume, so they'll send me a check instead of me standing them one.

[Tom Lathrop]

Paul,  I assume you have done a cost/benefits study.  How does it look and what is the payback time?  If it's a zero sum, it's still a good thing.  This is a new system to me.  Are you using a solar insolation concentrator of some sort?  I wonder how the up front costs compare to solar cells and DC/AC converter?

Good on you.

[PAR]

PV's tied to inverters are not cost effective. Good PV panels take many years to amortize the investment costs.

My system uses a very low pressure steam engine, driven by solar heated water.

The engine will free wheel (no load) on 2 PSI. I'm running about 20 PSI and spinning a small 1 KW generator.

I have a 9 sq. ft. parabolic collector, which is an 8 segment (pie wedge) mirror, each set at an 11 degree cant, mounted on a pole. The pole is attached to a stellar tracking motor, pulled off a telescope. This motor is just barely able to move the assembly, but it hasn't burned up yet.

I run two water tanks, one distilled and reclaimed, the other pre filtered, directly from the well. A small outdoor garden pond pump supplies water to the boiler, which is in the focal point of the collector. The boiler is about 3"x 9" copper tubing, with a 3/8" soft copper coil inside.

It currently runs at full speed 6 hours per day, and at reduced speed considerably longer (I have a lot of trees).

The unique thing is the engine, which isn't that efficient as steam engines go, but is very compact, light weight, requires very little lubrication and maintenance.

The next generation of system will have a 6 or 8 cylinder engine, larger generator, tanks, etc. I figure I need about 20 HP to generate 12 KW per hour reliably. Across 6 hours, this exceeds my hottest day situation, as far as electrical usage goes. Meaning, on the "Net Metering" system (requires utility hook up) I'll over produce electricity. Over production is carried over, month to month and at the end of the year the utility company has to cut me a check for the difference.

Everything is home made, the engine, the collector, boiler, etc. The pond pump is a $20 unit from Wal-Mart. The two tanks are old plastic 15 gallon fuel tanks, from an outboard runabout. Plumbing is all simple, hardware store stuff.

[Tom Lathrop]

We're getting way off topic, but this is very interesting.  I think I saw that little engine (or one very much like it) some time ago and forgot about it.  Did you post it somewhere earlier?

I've been following solar cells for forever, waiting on the big price break.  Big push last year for amorphous film that can be sprayed on but no news lately.  Amortized lifetime cost of solar cells is pretty good though.  20 year life is common now.

To make a parabolic reflector work well, it needs to have a software program to keep it aimed correctly for all times of the year for varying solar orbits.  That is, unless you reset it each day or maybe each week might be enough. I guess one of the little  equatorial systems used for telescopes that are cheap nowadays would do that if the mechanicals are strong enough.  I have an old 8' dish from C Band days that I disassembled and kept for some reason.  It would provide approx 50 ft sq of surface.