DIY Arc rod warmer

[jimbo84]

Drilling a hole in the tube and a small bolt and ring terminal to connect a cable that would need to be connected back to the earth terminal of the plug. Cleaning the steel of the tube around the new hole where the ring terminal connects and then some paint to prevent it future corroding and becoming a bad earth (can be worse than no earth sometimes).

A continuity check with a multimeter to make sure the earth is effective.

Difficult to say the best/neatest way of getting from the tube to the plug without being able to see the rest of the gubbins in the photos. There May be an earth at the controller but most likely will be class 2 so no earth from the plug.

I’ve knocked up a rough heater box utilising a bulb to heat my rods following on from your idea so thanks for posting this up, the warmer rods definitely make a difference.

 

[colaboy]

As Jimbo above says, a bolt, preferably no smaller than M5 drilled into the tube. A ring crimp from that to an earth cable. The easiest way would be to cut the flex you currently have at a suitable point and then join it to three core flex with an appropriate connector. Then the earth or PE going to the ring crimp.
It doesn’t need to win any design awards but it would be a huge leap in safety from no earth,

 

[TurtleDude]

Just sticking my oar in here.. since I’m a big wuss and scared of anything electrical having been shocked a few times in the past..

I’m considering making something with one of these little heaters. You can select the level of heat on the dial and the thermostat will do the rest.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/dimplex-...0hDYeEuYsK2i_uhq2cFwhkR9BZl_DpwMaAsYUEALw_wcB

It’d need to be inside the storage chamber so I was thinking a piece of larger diameter pipe 8-10” with a piece of plate inserted in the bottom on which the rods sit like a shelf. The heater would push in underneath with the controls exposed for adjustment. You could probably even use ceramic soil pipe for that Kamado Joe vibe?

Ive got the 60w one in the kitchen for the dog as the radiator in there is a bit limp.

 

[knighty]

I'd buy some heaterd tape (it's really wire, not sure why it's always called tape!)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162793258041

just pick the length/power you want... doesn't really matter if it's a bit over powered if you have a thermostat anyway

one of these would work well as a thermostat (I use loads of them) - and has a handy temperature display for you

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/192939909127

but you'd need to put it in a little box


if you're not keen on the electrics you could use one of these....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283619289642

just stick a plug on the end of the heater tape and plug it into that... the wire coming out of it with the little metal thing on the end is the thermostat so stick that inside the tube

:-)

 

[Farside]

Just sticking my oar in here.. since I’m a big wuss and scared of anything electrical having been shocked a few times in the past..

I’m considering making something with one of these little heaters. You can select the level of heat on the dial and the thermostat will do the rest.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/dimplex-...0hDYeEuYsK2i_uhq2cFwhkR9BZl_DpwMaAsYUEALw_wcB

It’d need to be inside the storage chamber so I was thinking a piece of larger diameter pipe 8-10” with a piece of plate inserted in the bottom on which the rods sit like a shelf. The heater would push in underneath with the controls exposed for adjustment. You could probably even use ceramic soil pipe for that Kamado Joe vibe?

Ive got the 60w one in the kitchen for the dog as the radiator in there is a bit limp.

That's exactly what I was using. It lasted a year before giving up.
I had it in a steel box with a hinged lid that was easily large enough to not over heat (so I thought) but thinking on it, if I use another one of those I'd have it on a timer so it only came on for an hour or so per day. My only object was to keep the rods drier than normal storage and have a bit of heat in them when using, and to that end it worked really well. There was a very noticeable difference using rods from that box.

 

[brightspark]

class 2 double insulated so no earth needed

 

[TurtleDude]

That's exactly what I was using. It lasted a year before giving up.
I had it in a steel box with a hinged lid that was easily large enough to not over heat (so I thought) but thinking on it, if I use another one of those I'd have it on a timer so it only came on for an hour or so per day. My only object was to keep the rods drier than normal storage and have a bit of heat in them when using, and to that end it worked really well. There was a very noticeable difference using rods from that box.

The one I have has a thermostat control on the end, so no timer needed, just tweak the settings so it gets warm enough without overheating. It’ll just cycle on and off merrily day and night.

The box should have some ventilation holes in if there is a lid on it to allow the baked off moisture to evacuate, otherwise you’ll just be steaming your rods, and your heater lol.

 

[jimbo84]

A bit ghetto but surprising how warm it gets. some old 3mm sheet, 12mm round bar and a 100w bulb. Earthed through the lamp holder. Improves welding in the depths of winter.

 

[Memmeddu]

A bit ghetto but surprising how warm it gets. some old 3mm sheet, 12mm round bar and a 100w bulb. Earthed through the lamp holder. Improves welding in the depths of winter.

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It's something that I can and I should make
But I think that the heat source should be something different .
Anyway do you know how hot it gets?

 

[jimbo84]

It's something that I can and I should make
But I think that the heat source should be something different .
Anyway do you know how hot it gets?

Not massively hot, you can hold them in your hand, but considering they're only 1 or 2 degrees to start with in winter it makes a noticeable difference to how they burn.

 

[Memmeddu]

Not massively hot, you can hold them in your hand, but considering they're only 1 or 2 degrees to start with in winter it makes a noticeable difference to how they burn.

I am thinking to make one since I started using 7018 .
The idea was to use the grill lamps took out from a microwave oven and a 350°C thermal switch to have a good temperature to put out all the moisture
Because I found that dry 7018 work exceptionally better than open air 7018
Ultimately I'm struggling with them , half rod good than start to extinguishing the arc and that is annoying because the weld isn't good to see
I do like to lay a good bead pattern and restarts or cold section are not good to see .
I don't really need to much strength but I can run 7018 why not doing it better?

 

[irn_bru_ce]

I was finding it tricky to get my cold 7018s to start the other day after leaving them in the shed over night by mistake, how long would it take to dry them out in an oven, and do they work like fresh sealed rods once redryed?

 

[Yamhon]

A bit ghetto but surprising how warm it gets. some old 3mm sheet, 12mm round bar and a 100w bulb. Earthed through the lamp holder. Improves welding in the depths of winter.

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Is the bulb holder in your setup mounted to the steel box or is it just layed inside? I've not done any MMA welding yet with my MMA machine being broke still, but this could be a useful project I'd like to tackle.

 

[Morrisman]

Have you had it inspected by a professional electrician, to make sure it’s safe??

Sorry, just came here from a Facebook group, kit car building, where a post was locked and a guy told to ‘take it to a professional’ when he asked a simple steering question.

 

[Memmeddu]

I was finding it tricky to get my cold 7018s to start the other day after leaving them in the shed over night by mistake, how long would it take to dry them out in an oven, and do they work like fresh sealed rods once redryed?

7018 box I have says 350°C for 4 hours

 

[jimbo84]

Is the bulb holder in your setup mounted to the steel box or is it just layed inside? I've not done any MMA welding yet with my MMA machine being broke still, but this could be a useful project I'd like to tackle.

Drilled a hole to fit the lamp holder (32mm I think), and fitted it to the box, used a metal lamp holder so the steel box is earthed.

Left some rods in there for about an hour the other day (forgot it was on) and they were too hot to touch, not sure how hot that is but I have asbestos hands so it will have been hot.

 

[the snooper]

Just a thought but electric blankets are never too hot to handle and that could be the effect of coiling it round a small tube you might find it will fail if it's getting hotter then designed for, time will tell

 

[irn_bru_ce]

7018 box I have says 350°C for 4 hours

I saw a few rod ovens on ebay that were rated at 80°C, so that must just be for keeping new rods dry

 

[TechnicAl]

I was finding it tricky to get my cold 7018s to start the other day after leaving them in the shed over night by mistake, how long would it take to dry them out in an oven, and do they work like fresh sealed rods once redryed?

It depends on what you want from them. If you need low hydrogen you have to bake at 350-400 oC for an hour but if you only want to dry them 110-150 oC for 30 mins will do it.........There are two types of moisture, loose and combined, the loose can be boiled away the chemically combined needs the high temp bake

 

[TechnicAl]

I saw a few rod ovens on ebay that were rated at 80°C, so that must just be for keeping new rods dry

they are......ideally you should transfer from baking oven into a "quiiver" ay 75oC where they can be stored indefinitely