Merlin Posted October 23, 2018 Posted October 23, 2018 I am using a home made box. Igloo cooler with screen rack and heat ducted in from a ceramic heater. I remember reading the heat source should be outside the dry box so this may be a stupid question. I have a large food dehydrator that is not in use except a a dust collector. Of course the heat source is integrated in the dehydrator. Do any of you use food dehydrators for pyro or is that a really bad idea? It would dry better than my box as the temp can be controlled from 95 to 158F and has several racks.
MadMat Posted October 23, 2018 Posted October 23, 2018 (edited) Ive used a dehydrator exclusively since the beginning and never had any problems. They don't get that hot (they're supposed to dry the food not cook it!) so I don't think the heater is a source of ignition. But, to be on the safe side, I have all the shelves screened with rather fine screen (approx. 20 mesh) and I clean it at every use so there is no build-up of dust. You must have a fancy one since mine doesn't have any temp control. I put a thermometer in it once and it was running at 95 F with an ambient of 65 F Edited October 23, 2018 by MadMat
Merlin Posted October 23, 2018 Author Posted October 23, 2018 Thanks for the reply. My thoughts are for flammable solids eg. Stars primed with a final BP layer. My dehydrater only heats to Max of 158F. It's not the temperature that concerns me but if a spark could be produced and ignite the contents.Think of a typical hair dryer. It has a fan blowing across heating elements. Sometimes lent, dust collects can break free and make a spark when it hits the heating element. I don't know how typical food dehydraters are constructed but they do pull in ambient air and heat it similar to a hair blow dryer. You have used one successfully so maybe my concern is unfounded. It would be great to be able to control temperature and have multiple racks. Thanks
MadMat Posted October 23, 2018 Posted October 23, 2018 Well I can't speak for your dehydrator, but the fan motor on mine is an induction motor (no brushes, no sparks). the one thing that bothers me about your unit is, it has a thermostat on it, which could potentially be a source of a spark when the contacts open or close. Mine is a dumb one... no source of sparks except maybe the switch, which I never use. I simply plug it in and unplug it.
memo Posted October 24, 2018 Posted October 24, 2018 (edited) I have torn a part a few, they have open hear coils. if one should short out witch they do, it could lite you stars. why take the risk. merlin you already have a ceramic heater. I think I would just stick with that. kind of just like a glue gun they work great until the short out in a shower of sparks Edited October 24, 2018 by memo
Merlin Posted October 24, 2018 Author Posted October 24, 2018 All good points. Glad I didn't "experiment". I will relegate it to individual non flammable chems.Thanks guys.
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