[TheForge] Ice in the Slack Tub

[Ralph Sproul]

Cheer up Jonathan, I waited 40 years for a shop with heat.........then I put
up this real nice propane ceiling furnace three years ago, and now it's too
expensive to run it!   :-(

I've used those cattle trough heaters as well to keep the quench tank from
freezing - but near here two barns have burned down last winter due to them.
When the cords get stiff, and that protective wire that comes on some of
them rots off and the connection where it goes into the heating element
looks funky - ditch it - why burn down your shop keeping a quench tank in
tact.

Ralph

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Jonathan Nedbor
Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2005 11:29 AM
To: theforge at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [TheForge] Ice in the Slack Tub



I actually look forward to my slack tub freezeing. I like the fact that I
can drop hot tools on the top of the ice and not have to fish them out from
the bottom. Just have to be careful to not let them melt in and then freeze
as they get wedged in pretty tight. I also like to use snow and ice - solid
water - to cool specific parts of a piece of work. I don't sprinkle my coal
fire with water at all, so I am not in need of the water to control the size
etc. I have stock tank heaters that I can use if I need liquid water, but do
not usually bother with them. I can easily melt an area with a hot piece of
stock. Surprisingly, the ice has not caused any trouble with the barrel
halves. It gets cold enough here that the whole tub is frozen. I am looking
forward to the day I have a shop with heat!

Jonathan Nedbor


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