Crock Pot Surgery!

[tedmich]

Older units had resistors. Some newer ones use a bi-metal thermal trigger that's near impossible to modify accurately.

thus my post
$16.89

these work really well; people use them for Cooking Sous Vide!
http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/20...ensive-diy-way

[big_teee]

Thanks guys.
I have almost no money in the small crockpot.
Sure don't want to put $17-$30 bucks into a cheap crockpot.
I will just keep using the Bulb Limiter, until I have a Plan B!
T

[David Schwab]

Thanks guys.
I have almost no money in the small crockpot.
Sure don't want to put $17-$30 bucks into a cheap crockpot.
I will just keep using the Bulb Limiter, until I have a Plan B!
T

Plan B is to buy a paraffin warmer and be done with it!

[big_teee]

No need to spend Much money, so far this is working pretty well.
I think my wife invested a whole couple of dollars with coupons.
I used it today.
I put it on high until the wax is nearly melted then I run it on the limiter, and it kept it right around 140F degrees.
So far so good.
T

[jason lollar]

I use a variac

[big_teee]

I use a variac

Thanks,
My dim bulb tester is a Poor Country Boys Variac! lol
T

[jason lollar]

it is pretty ingenious- and cheap- i use to do alot of stuff like that starting out years ago- scrounge, glean and hold it together with bailing wire- it works

[big_teee]

I found these.
Prices better than I expected.
Variac Autotransformers, from 3 amp to 20 amp with isolation
T

[Steve Conner]

Well, even if you have to use a 60 watt bulb in summer and a 100W one in winter, it's not going to break the bank.

You might also like to try a diode (1N5408 etc) in place of the bulb, or a light dimmer if you have one kicking around.

[Jazz P Bass]

How about using a 3 way lamp.
Oh, that's right, they are illegal.

[David Schwab]

How about using a 3 way lamp.

That would save a bulb and socket.

Oh, that's right, they are illegal.

How so? I have several three way lamps in my apartment. But then they now have compact florescents in them. That wouldn't help in this situation.

But they aren't illegal... yet.

Congress overturns incandescent light bulb ban - Washington Times

Not to get political, but this kind of misguided crap is amazing:

(from the article above)

“Republicans have fulfilled our promise to the American people by allowing them to continue to be able to choose what type of bulb they use at home. Consumers should drive the marketplace, not the government.”

So let's just continue to rape the planet based on what the American people want to buy. They wont be happy until we run out of oil.

I'm at least glad to see solar powered street lights popping up everywhere.

[big_teee]

Well, even if you have to use a 60 watt bulb in summer and a 100W one in winter, it's not going to break the bank.

You might also like to try a diode (1N5408 etc) in place of the bulb, or a light dimmer if you have one kicking around.

What the 1N5408 do to drop the temp in this circuit?
Also without me researching the Light Dimmer, what wattage ratings can I get.
T

[Steve A.]

I was going to start a thread on my Crock Pot Little Dipper 16 oz crock pot intended for warming dips and sauces. I finally got around to trying it out and besides taking a long time to melt 1/2 lb of paraffin it did do the job. I think it has a 150 degree thermostat because the wax never got any higher than that. I'd unplug it from time to time to keep the temperature where I wanted it using a digital meat thermometer. If you check out the listing at Amazon you will see that most of the people who bought it also bought various hobby paraphernalia and not other culinary items so it is evidently popular with hobbyists of all kinds. ($12.95 and eligible for free shipping)



Crock Pot Little Dipper

A crockpot with a special lid can be hooked up to a vacuum pump for more thorough and efficient potting. If the stock lid will not work you can have a plastic fabricator make up a lid for your crock pot, drilling a hole for a 3/8" schrader valve which can be connected to a vacuum pump with refrigeration hoses. To make a good seal you can have the lid made with 2 circles of clear plastic, the one on the bottom being slightly smaller to hold an o-ring (vacuum shops might have an o-ring that will fit.) You can use silicone to hold the o-ring in place until you put it on the crock pot. With a large crock pot you might want to use a variac to set the temperature exactly; once you have determined the voltage needed to keep the crock pot at 140 degrees you could wire up something to keep it at that voltage to free up your variac for other duties. [I do not take credit for any of that- a boutique pickup maker showed me his vacuum wax potting rig which was what I described here.]

Bottom line for the Little Dipper- if you are only potting a few pickups and remember turn it on ahead of time it should do the job for you

Steve Ahola

P.S. They make light dimmers that use a diode as Steve Conner suggested- those are the only kind of dimmers I use in my condo because they don't cause my guitars to buzz. The diode allows only half of the 50 or 60hz AC sine wave to pass, thus reducing the voltage and/or current for the light- or crock pot. Those dimmers are installed yourself on the 18ga line cord.

EDIT I found the other half of my double boiler (the smaller pot filled with wax)- it was on my desk under a bunch of papers and a tele pickguard. Actually it would be handy to melt the wax in the double boiler and then use the Little Dipper to keep it at 150 degrees (which seems to be its thermostat setting). I need to figure out a way to lower that to 140 degrees. It would be a lot easier if I knew the amp rating of the Little Dipper which is not printed on crock pot itself or in the manual. I thought that all electric gadgets were supposed to have current ratings. (I do have the test equipment to measure the current but I need to figure out which box I stuck it in.)

[David King]

I have to put in a plug for my percolator coffee pot / gluepot / wax warmer. It has a weak=> strong setting that gives a full 650 watts for the first 10-15 minutes to speed up your wax melting, after that it drops to 50W to keep it right at 140º. And it was free.

[gripweed]

I use a variac

Your pickups must get the brown sound!