chrismp wrote:In theory, yes, if it is insulated well enough. It all depends on the environment of the blanket. For example if the blanket is in direct contact with an aluminum cattrack (=big heat sink) it might not reach the desired temp or take much longer than with a wooden cattrack which conducts less heat.
Thanks for the reply.
Blankets will be insulated with a 3 mm mdf board, maybe two if needed. Room temp. is alway obove 20°C.
Gumby wrote:www.yuhengheating.com was who i used but found them on alibaba. Dont be turned away by minimum buys often they will be more flexible than there adds say. Also most will do custom jobs just question the person you are dealing with. took 8 messages back and forth to get what I wanted then received the blankets 9 days after payment.
I just got quoted US$450 for 2 mats by these guys.
Does anyone have a picture of their blankets that they bought? I'd like to see the quality of them. specifically the double ply. I'm looking to upgrade my homebuilt ones this year.
Although I have no pictures, they are quality, at least they seem to be in my opinion. I bought 2 from these guys - very easy to deal with and a quick turn around, I got them delivered in a week. The blankets are not extra thick, can't remember what I ordered. I sandwich them each between sheets of 26 gauge steel sheets which may be over kill but I wanted to protect them and I had no prior experience with heat blankets in the press.
I have pressed 60 pairs of skis with the blankets and just yesterday decided to take the blankets out of the sheets to look at them and they look the same as day one. I would not hesitate to buy from them again.
First of all, I'm an electrical idiot. I took some courses in college and walked away more confused than I was at the beginning of them. So this all intimidates me a fair bit. But I want to set my press up properly and that means putting heat in it. I'm trying to run some calcs on what watt blanket I will need. I plan on having two blankets, 15"x78" each. I have 220/240v available in the room so I would like to tie into that. I do not plan on using the blankets for dye sub at this point but it may be worth buying a blanket capable of doing so. How many watt blanket should I order? Or how do I go about running that calc? I have read multiple different things and the more I'm reading the more more I am getting confused. My initial thought was to get a 220v 2400 watt blanket. Is this in line with what others are using?
rockinB wrote:First of all, I'm an electrical idiot. ..... I am getting confused. My initial thought was to get a 220v 2400 watt blanket. Is this in line with what others are using?
I don't think you're going to find consensus on blankets size. Everybody done differently and blankets ranges iirc from 1300W to 3500W. Maybe even 4000.
it's a long-standing thread "DIY heat blankets" with all information and discussion on the subject.
Anyhow my blankets about 1700 –1800 W or just under 8A in 220v and more than enough for cook-up skis
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
Thomas A. Edison
Thanks MR. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on for the last two days. I ran some calculations and 1800 watts should be much more than I need as long as I don't have too much heat sink in surrounding materials. I am also meeting with an Elec. Eng. friend sometime in the next few days to show him what I am trying to do so he can look things over and make sure I am doing it properly/safely.