So I've come across an old 500mL replacement heating mantle element for a now defunct unit, and I'm wondering what the best way to make a base for the
unit is? I don't have any machine shop tools other than a drill press, so I'm fairly limited in what I can do.
The mantle itself is like an upside-down pith helmet with a metal ring on the outside. The inner portion of the circle contains the element, while the
outer portion has a tighter weave of the fabric, and is more rigid.
My question is what kind of enclosure would be suitable to house this mantle? A steel mixing bowl comes to mind, although it isn't in the right
shape....User - 12-2-2010 at 11:14
Maybe a bit simple but why not.
How about building a simple wooden frame around it.
Bit of the same construction as with bigger mantels.
Wood has a very high resistance to solvents acids and bases.
Gets ugly but imo beauty must not be such a high priority.
How about some rockwool insolation under it.
[Edited on 12-2-2010 by User]aonomus - 12-2-2010 at 11:40
I was thinking about using the mixing bowl as the main housing, and building a wood box around it, and adding clean fiberglass insulation (not the
pink stuff, just pure fiberglass meant for use in the lab) into the bowl under the mantle.User - 12-2-2010 at 11:52
If you have acces to a welding device you could just weld some legs under the bowl.
That must look sexy
Dunno if isolation is really nessecary, I know i just proposed it but maybe its not even worth the trouble.watson.fawkes - 12-2-2010 at 12:11
I was thinking about using the mixing bowl as the main housing, and building a wood box around it, and adding clean fiberglass insulation (not the
pink stuff, just pure fiberglass meant for use in the lab) into the bowl under the mantle.
Perlite, sand,
and cement make a decent insulating refractory, and for this application, you don't even need to be very refractory. An advantage of a plastic
material like this is that you can ram it up in any shape you want, into a shell container of pretty arbitrary material.Magpie - 12-2-2010 at 12:48
The Glas-Col mantles that I use have no support. I support them with an iron ring cross-hatched with 2 strips of fiberglass cloth. These are
available from places like VWR and Fisher. Panache - 16-2-2010 at 02:44
Don't bother with a housing. Wire the mantle safely, then simply hold it around your 500ml rb with the use of two small springs overlapping above the
rb. this allows you to place it directly onto a magnetic stirrer. If you really want a housing i'll send you one of a few i have 'dehoused' to perform
what i just mentioned.
The only disadvantage i have really noticed is i am not able to use my mantles as rb holders anymore, i have to be organised and get out a cork ringaonomus - 16-2-2010 at 04:25
Shipping from Australia -> Canada would practically be the cost of a mantle unit. Thanks for the offer though.
I tried fiddling with a ring clamp I had, close but not quite - I'll have to get a larger one. Another concern is that because the wires are just
loose, abrasions could ruin them or repeated bending at one point could cause a stress crack. I'll just have to treat it gently and it should do fine.
