Keeping Resin and Epoxy warm - without catching fire.

[rwatson]

I just gutted an old fridge to store Epoxy and other Resins in, away from the cold.

I have heard of some people putting low wattage light bulbs in to warm things up a bit, but I wondered what the risk of Vynelester fumes catching fire from say hot bits of the lightbulb or even sparks might be.

Any one have any thoughts about it ?

[Frosty]

I would say its Ok as it is

[gonzo]

I use an electric blanket.

[Frosty]

I think he means just for storage.

[Herman]

Couple of things:

For a fire / explosion you need the following:

oxigen (plenty around)
fumes (moderate to plenty around, needs to be between lower and upper explosion limit)
ignition (sparks from the bulb, or a surface hot enough)

With 1 or 2 low wattage light bulbs (say 30-40 watt) I GUESS you will not reach any limit, and your resins are nice and warm.

[gonzo]

With an electric blanket you never get a very hot area, and they have a thermostat.

[rwatson]

Thanks guys - the electric blanket gives me the warmest feeling ... but of course they are bigger than fridge and should never be used folded.

I need an electric bum-warmer .....

[gonzo]

They make small heating pads too. I have one that is about 25cm by 40cm

[Frosty]

Whoa your both talking wrong ends, one of you is talking about storing epoxy and one is talking about accelerating going off time in cold weather.

[Saildude]

There are thermostats for home heating control of base board electric heaters that would do the switching fine, but I am not sure about how they would live in that environment. Around $ 25-- US dollars for the low tech ones.

[rwatson]

I dont think anyone was mentioning catalyst going off in cold weather till now, but I wasnt aware it was ever a problem. I had always thought it was like Acetone, as long as it didnt evaporate, it was OK, and that heat made it deteriorate over time.

Its relatively cheap, so I was nt too concerned about it.

Also, I understand that you dont want to keep the catalyst and resins in the same container.

All suggestions welcome