chrystalized resin...now what?

so ive got a 55gal drum of resin thats turned to fairly hard white snot. the formulator is telling me to warm it to 140-150f and stir it well and itll be fine. anyone done this before? wrapping in an electric blanket wont get it there, it weighs 500lbs so bottom heating is difficult. any ideas?

thanks in advance

 

Return the old stuff - - probably out of date - should have a shelf life of 12 months? - and could have been contaminated (with hardner?) and at 65 degrees celsius - have him light the fire and put the full drum on the fire in his warehouse... (Leave the area as expeditiously as possible...)

 

not helpful.

 

Warm it and it'll be fine. This is common problem and if it gets near freezing, it will crystallize, but no big deal, just warm it up and the crystals will break back down. It's probably unnecessary to stir, but wouldn't hurt. Stir slowly.

 

nighttime temps in the 40's the last couple of weeks, had to put on long pants. thanks PAR.

 

Ahhhh sorry near freezing, well 10 degrees or so to go - Now makes sense...

 

It will take a bit to warm a drum but as Par said it will be fine, ive done it many times with 5 gal jugs by sitting it in the sink in hot water.

 

It isn't terribly important, but can you specify what resin it is? System Three advises a lower temperature of 120F will work to clear up their epoxy resin should it crystallize and turn white.

 

150 does seem a little high. Most will find good results if the temperature is just 120. With your drum, place it in a container then fill with water straight from the hot water heater, which typically is about 125. A cheap plastic swimming pool is what I used on a drum several years ago. The pool was 10 bucks at the local discount department store. I rolled the barrel a few times and refilled the pool several times as well. I used a garden hose, straight from the drain on the bottom of my hot water heater.

Conversely, you could place it on a rack and build a fire under it, though controlling temperature would be problematic, it would be quicker. Lastly, a buddy that had several barrels like this, he surrounded the barrels with tin roofing, then capped them with the same. He then painted the whole works black and the sun kept the temperature at about 130 inside the tin box for several hours, which did the trick.

 

Although Tunnels does not like them, I am glad to have a drum heater lying around:

 

New and looked after drum heaters are fine just they have to be looked after !!, and keep things away from the outside of the drum where the heater is. put yu drum on a pallet with 18mm ply under the drum . Concrete floors are usually really cold !!!

 

I use a cabinet with a few 100 Watt light bulbs (3-5 gal pails of epoxy) temp is about 105 F could take a few days/week or so.

For faster service I using small amounts, I use a microwave oven...

temps don't need to be much below about 60 degrees to happen.
some epoxies crystallize more easily than others - often it is a sign of a good (rather pure) epoxy

paul
progressive epoxy polymers inc

 

probably going to do the resin bbq. setting the barrel up on cinder blocks over coals. slow and steady wins the race. but wait theres more...

had the idea to lay the barrel on its side, drill and insert water heater elements down low, wire through a rheostat and bobs your uncle... any problem with having the resin in direct contact with the elements? im somewhat serious about this.

or anyone in so cal with a barrel band heater i can borrow for a couple of days?

 

don't do the water heater thing. Why do you have a drum and not the means to lift/ trundle/ rack the thing? You could buy 100' of pex from Lowes and wrap the drum and plumb it to the water heater with a recirc pump, but that will set you back about $100.
Big refrigerator box and a ceramic heater sounds good to me. Like Tunnels said, insulate under the drum in winter and spring. Painter's lamp would work as well once bottom is off ground. Epoxy has a low heat of fusion and low thermal coefficient. It doesn't take that much heat. I had some stuff that would solidify at 68 degrees. Thawed it every time I used it. More importantly, you need to be able to move the drum around. Buy a drum dolly and/or cradle.

http://www.globalindustrial.com/c/material-handling/drum-barrel/drum-handling

 

Warmth not heat is what you need !!

Lots good stiff here but get serious you dont need to heat the drum you just need to warm it a few degrees !! electric single blanket and a wrap of foam sit the drium on 3/4 of ply wood on top of a pallet and iin a few hours it done !! doset cost a fortune if you have kids take one of there electric bankets and buy a new one to replace it .