should I pot my Seth Lover? how might it change

[Possum]

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Waaaaaay too expensive. Here is what me and Leo use:
PRESTO ELECTRIC ADJUSTABLE TEMPERATURE FRYPAN - SKILLET - eBay (item 350332363272 end time Mar-30-10 20:36:41 PDT)

Odds are your local Goodwill store has one on their shelves for five bucks. You definitely need a thermometer though, you put a huge pile of pickups in these things too.

[onusx]

i got a mini fry-daddy deep fryer at a garage sale that was already filled with a paraffin/beeswax mix, and a couple huge sheets of beeswax, from a candle maker. works totally great on the small handful of things i've potted. has an adjustable temp, and i like the dimensions-- plugs in wherever, no stove/boiler to deal with.

[David Schwab]

Waaaaaay too expensive. Here is what me and Leo use:
PRESTO ELECTRIC ADJUSTABLE TEMPERATURE FRYPAN - SKILLET - eBay (item 350332363272 end time Mar-30-10 20:36:41 PDT)

Let's see... $9.99 for the pan + $17.94 for shipping = $29.93

Wow.. you save a whole $.06!

Not waaaaaay more expensive on eBay. Locally maybe.

Odds are your local Goodwill store has one on their shelves for five bucks. You definitely need a thermometer though, you put a huge pile of pickups in these things too.

What's the lowest temp and does it stay there? For that extra $.06 mine stays at the right temperature.

I have to warn that my wax warmer has developed a leak, and I see others are saying the same thing on Amazon now. Too bad they didn't when I bought it!

[the great waldo]

Let's see... $9.99 for the pan + $17.94 for shipping = $29.93

Wow.. you save a whole $.06!

Not waaaaaay more expensive on eBay. Locally maybe.


What's the lowest temp and does it stay there? For that extra $.06 mine stays at the right temperature.

I have to warn that my wax warmer has developed a leak, and I see others are saying the same thing on Amazon now. Too bad they didn't when I bought it!

Hi David

I would imagine some silicone sealer would seal your leak problem, but it will be a bugger to clean the wax of before you seal it. I use a cheapo fondue maker with water and a metal milk pot with the wax in, it´s tricky to control with the thermostat as most have a too large hystersis making it a bit of an on off affair. The fryer thing Possum recommends should age the pickups fairly quickly if the temperature knob gets knocked. I think i´ll invest in a wax warmer as they are pretty cheap and designed to do the job.
Cheers

Andrew

[David Schwab]

Hi David

I would imagine some silicone sealer would seal your leak problem, but it will be a bugger to clean the wax of before you seal it. I use a cheapo fondue maker with water and a metal milk pot with the wax in, it´s tricky to control with the thermostat as most have a too large hystersis making it a bit of an on off affair. The fryer thing Possum recommends should age the pickups fairly quickly if the temperature knob gets knocked. I think i´ll invest in a wax warmer as they are pretty cheap and designed to do the job.
Cheers

Andrew

That's a good idea. I opened it and saw where it's leaking from where the wire for one side of the heating element goes. They had some weird white stuff that started to get crumply. I didn't have any silicone RTV, but I'll pick some up.

I might take all the parts out and build a better tank.

[Possum]

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My fryer will heat to lower than wax melts, and high enough you melt a whole pan of wax in about four minutes :-)

As far as potting a bucker with tape on and assembled you might want to keep it submerged for almost an hour. I have a PAF that is potted and I can still make it squeal. Bees wax isn't good for potting...

[flyneye]

Then theres those candle melters at Wal~Mart. My gal insists are safer than burning candles for the smell. I have one in the bathroom. You can have Hazelnut cream or Cherry Vanilla scented pickups. Probably costs $5 or $6 bucks less the candle.

[MistaT]

I found an old crock pot at a garage sale for $3. That is what I use. Then I got an old meat thremometer and bent up a metal bracket so the it would sit in the wax.

The crock pot has a glass lid, so I can see the thermometer.

[Spence]

The HoMedics ParaSpa Plus Paraffin Bath will take around 3 hours to melt the wax but it can be safely left on forever. They are pretty gentle and hold plenty of wax.
Myself and Jonson use a similar wax pot now after years of using other methods.
Frankly I find them excellent value for money.

[David Schwab]

The HoMedics ParaSpa Plus Paraffin Bath will take around 3 hours to melt the wax but it can be safely left on forever. They are pretty gentle and hold plenty of wax.

It actually takes about a little over an hour to melt the wax. I guess it depends on hold warm the room is.

Except for the leak it developed, I've been very happy with it.

[Possum]

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Yeah I don't dig that part at all. With the temp controlled skillet you can heat up a whole pan of wax if you're in a hurry in about 15 minutes on high temp but you don't dare leave it if you're doing a hot start because you have to turn it down to useable temp once you've blasted it up to speed. I'm usually not in that much of a hurry, so leave it set and then it takes about an hour to melt, but its nice I can get it going fast when I need to.

[MistaT]

I'm with Possum as far as a fast heat up.

One of these days when I have enough time, (yeah right!) and I stumble on to an old industrial temp. controller, I will use it on my crock pot potting thingy.

Usually they are proportional (actually P.I.D. but let's not go there..) which would give you the best of both worlds. A quick heatup, with accurate temp. control at the desired setpoint.

[David Schwab]

The slow heat up is never an issue though. I just turn it on in the morning when I'm going to wind some pickups, and it's ready when I need it. If not I keep winding and set the bobbins aside until its ready. Then I leave it on all day.