pressure pot for casting

[joe zarnitz]

what to use other than harbor freight----some safety issues concern me---tks,joe

[John K Jordan]

what to use other than harbor freight----some safety issues concern me---tks,joe

What pressure do you need? Would a kitchen pressure cooker work?

Regardless of the container when pressurizing anything it is safe to put it behind a wall, in a bunker, secondary container, something. When I worked pressure testing tanks we put them underground. Even a harbor freight pot should be safe enough if you pressurize it from another room.

JKJ

[Marvin Hasenak]

I had a 2.5 gallon Bink's paint pot. There is a an airplane refurbishing plant located here, every once in a blue moon they sell surplus stuff. I stumbled on one for $25. New it is over $500.

[Don Frank]

The harbor freight ones are fine but don't get the pressure above 60-65lbs. There is no real gain in going any higher but there is a lot of potential danger. If you check youtube you'll find pressure pot disasters and they all seem to happen when someone gets the attitude that more is better. Usually at 100+lbs. I own 6 pressure pots, the largest being 55gal. I certainly don't want to be in the room or building if one fails. However, I have 75lb relief valves on all of them so if the pressure was accidently increased the safety valve would keep it from going higher. Make sure that any pot you use has that safety item installed and at what psi it releases.

[Russ Denz]

I'm just getting into the world of resin casting, too; it seems fascinating. You might want to visit NVWOODWERKS.COM. Zac Higgins does a great job of introducing people (and far beyond basics) to the world of pressure stabilization and casting. Safety is number one for me, so I went with a CA Technologies pressure pot from FinishingSystems.com. Check out Zac's website...and hold onto your wallet getting all set up.

[Harold Balzonia]

In my opinion, you are wise to stay away from the harbor freight style pot. The clamps on that style pot dig directly into the edge of the top. I'd rather not take the chance of weakening that lid by gouging it 4x every time I tightened the bolts.

The better style (says me) is the "over clamp" style. Here, the bolt slides between two welded pins and the top wing nuts crank down on the pins, not the lid. Much more secure over the long haul, I think.

the harbor freight style is sold under dozens of brand names but it is the same pot. Same is true of the "good" pot (lots of brands attached to the exact same pot).

i attached photos of the two clamp types.... easy to see the difference. For me, it's worth the extra couple bucks for the good clamping system.

a quick amazon search of "pressure paint pots" will yield many results. I got my first pot from the amazon warehouse as a returned item for a significant discount. My other pots I have picked up at auctions.

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[Chris Fairbanks]

I bought the CA technologies pressure pot. They have one setup for resin without the agitator. http://www.spraycat.com/pressurepots.html. There is a lot more info on casting penturners forum. I feel a lot safer with this pot vs the harbor freight one.

[James Combs]

I have two pots which are more or less identical, both are stamped not to exceed 50psi in use. They have 5 clamps with a cast-iron lid. I use them to pressure cast pens and small waste-wood castings. Because they are USA made and in good shape I do push the pressure a little but never exceed 60psi. 55-60psi seems to be pretty much the standard pressure for casting Alumilite to insuring a bubble free cast. I don't particularly like PR for casting but the few times I have used it pressure was not required. PR doesn't trap/generate bubbles like Alumilite.

The blue pot I purchased new and have had for many decades but the white one I found on eBay for around $70.
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