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homemade powder coat oven

40K views 23 replies 16 participants last post by  DDF693 
#1 ·
Hey I want to build a homemade powder coat oven,my father is a professional welder so he's gonna help build the frame&box I just want to know should I insulate&add a fan also how hard will it be to transfer the heating element&controls from a kitchen oven into my project?&Thanx in advance.
 
#4 ·
cutthroatkid said:
... should I insulate&add a fan also how hard will it be to transfer the heating element&controls from a kitchen oven into my project?
You have already been studying the home built ovens on the web so you are on the right track. I didn't build my own oven, but have done similar research to yours and intend to build my own in the future so I can coat larger pieces.

From what I've seen the insulation is VERY important...and the more the better. And from my own experience, I would say the fan is much less important, or not necessary at all unless you are getting into a quasi commercial operation.

Most of the home made units on the web will show how they mounted the coils and the controls. But if you are concerned about that, I've also seen some that use an entire "hot plate" type electric burner, which would require almost no wiring of your own. The other option I've seen done is to use a typical kitchen range and then build and insulated box which extends right out the front door of the oven. This configuration does have it's problems (uneven heat flow and difficulty loading your parts) but it has been done.

All in all I think you would be best off finding one of the better constructed home made units on the web and then following that example as closely as you can.
 
#5 ·
or surplus test oven

I have used commercial ovens to heat test components New they are expensive but most manufacturing is now done overseas. a lot of stuff now goes to auction or the the scrap yard. we had one with a 3 ft capacity. they had temp and timers for control .
 
#12 ·
cutthroatkid said:
Hey I want to build a homemade powder coat oven,my father is a professional welder so he's gonna help build the frame&box I just want to know should I insulate&add a fan also how hard will it be to transfer the heating element&controls from a kitchen oven into my project?&Thanx in advance.
i am also building a powder coat oven, buying my metal panels- onlinemetals.com much cheaper, yes it needs a fan and exaust a kitchen oven is good, but mine i will use wood burning and have it outside
 
#13 ·
sewtrini@yahoo.com said:
i am also building a powder coat oven, buying my metal panels- onlinemetals.com much cheaper, yes it needs a fan and exaust a kitchen oven is good, but mine i will use wood burning and have it outside
Interesting concept, can you elaborate? What type of heating appliance you will use, container for the pieces to be P.C., heat transfer? I have access to old wood stoves at times, this intrigues me. Dan
 
#14 ·
powde coat oven

first building the box approx 36" x 48 " either cold roll or hot roll sheets w/ angle iron for frame. large holes on oppisite side for venting system , cover vents with maybe dryer vent metal parts. For thermometer using a oven thermoter buy one for 4.00 at walmrt. oppisite side lower bottom drill large holes for electic fan, I have old window fan w/ speed adjustments , i will also cover and make intake vents. bellow inside the the box will be where i can slide in the hot coals tray maybe 6" deep 12" x 12"


of coarse it will be insulated so the part im baking does not get direct heat, heat will come from sides lower and upper to sort off cause a convection effect. I also plan to put side rails for racks and a swivel hook an exuast vent to avoid high pressure problems. door piano hinged double walled with insulation approx 40 " and Coal door flip down approx 7 " I estimated cost around 300.00 when completed, time to complete approx 12 hours.

Considering the cost for a large oven thousands more this my best bet, i will send pics when complete and pics of my completed projects.
 
#15 ·
I am using a ceramic kiln as I type for powdercoating.

I originally set this kiln up for heat treating metal. I have yet to experiment with it for that but it is a natural for powdercoating. It is capable of holding temps to 2400 degrees.

Old ceramic kilns can be pretty cheap. You will want to look at the coils as old kilns often need replacement coils. It is not hard to replace them and they are not that expensive.

To control the circuit, I use a microprocessor circuit...which you could do too i you have any aptitude to electronics.

First I am not using a core microprocessor but a package system which is fairly basic in operation. I have been using what is called an OOPIC but they fell off the face of the earth over night. A very common replacement would be an Arduino.

I don't know if this is in the scope of what you can or want to do but it is how I approached it.

In the programing I pick climb rate fast or slow, peak temp, hold time. I am going to modify it to use two peak and hold times.

I have a 55g drum I am experimenting with. I put the part in the drum and spray it. I am thinking of a low volume fan/filter in the side to keep the airflow going through.

Pick my temp, pick my time, drop in the part.

It is real easy for assembly because I can turn on the kiln, sand blast a part, clean it, coat it, fire it and within an hour or so be putting the part back on the car.







 
#17 ·
You do need vents. Some powder coatings give off materials during curing that need to be vented out. Commercial ovens turn the air over several times an hour. The dampers need to be max 85 percent. Another words a closed oven will be a problem. The vapors coming off some powders are hazardous.
 
#18 ·
russ69coupe said:
What are the internal dimensions of that kiln?
Thanks,
Russ
I will measure tomorrow.

Today I did an accelerator, an MGB brake/clutch assembly bracket and a box (non car related) which was about 12x10x8.

Anything big I take to the professional powdercoater down the road but this is convenient for small-medium sized stuff.
 
#19 ·
I measured my kiln and it is 17.5" octagon 18.5" deep. There are much larger kilns though. Automated ceramic kilns are getting pretty popular in the ceramic industry and non automated kilns are going pretty cheap. Used ceramic stuff in general is pretty cheap.

The nice thing about a kiln is it warms fairly quickly and you can do some higher temp coatings. I can fit exhaust from my MGB in this...It has a Chevy V6. That is about as large as I could put in here. I am going to make a stand to support things which sits in the bottom.







 
#23 ·
I have built my own powdercoat ovens for years. I even took some of my ideas and put them on a dvd I sold on ebay. In the dvd I showed how you could build a 3' wide by 4' tall by 6' long oven for under 500.00. I sold a bunch of the dvd's for 29.95. Then I noticed several guys using my design and building and selling them on ebay. So rather than fight it I just let it drop. So I will tell you all what I do. First I build a perimeter frame from 1" sq. tubing and build 2-1/2 doors and hinges to mount them on either side. of one end. I build runners to fill in the gaps from 1/2" sq. tubing almost like you would build a wall in a house. Except that I put them flush with the outside. I paint everything with high temp exhaust paint to keep it from rusting. Then I use 3 sheets of 20 ga. sheet metal to line the inside. and I flange the ends with a roller but you can use a pair of flanging pliers or put it up against a edge and just beat it over to a 90 deg. flange about 1/2". I cut the pieces about 1/2" smaller than the inside for expansion. when I put the pieces in I seal the edges with furnace cement. and this will sound weird but I only use one screw per panel. I then wrap the whole thing with 1" thick ceramic wool insulation. I cover the outside with corragated sheet metal like you would use on a barn. I buy 3-220 volt heating elements for commercial ovens, I get them on ebay for the most part. When I am on ebay I look for a electric oven thermostat and a #1 magnetic motor starter. I mount these on the side of the box and place the heat sensor at the 3/4 from the bottom on the side about half way back from the front. I put a vent in at the top that is only a 1" hole but I mount a 3" roof flange with it centered right over the hole. I then use 3" double wall vent pipe to the out side. I don't use a fan but I do put a heat deflector over the heat elements that are mounted to the bottom. For this I use a piece of 1/8th inch steel and cut it so that it is a inch smaller than the bottom of the oven and mount it with stand off's so it's a 1" above the elements. I add some things for conveniance like doors that open with a step down lever and then spring back so your hands are free. I also built a T shaped track at the top center. And some small rollers with hooks so you can slide a part in thats hanging. I have also built a rack on wheels that has a track just like it that ties into the track on top of the oven and you can slide some large items in and out with out touching them. I wire the elements to the output side of the magnetic starter and then use the temp control to turn the elements on and off. I wire up a idiot light to tell me when the elements are on. So when the light goes out it is at temp. I also rig up a timer so that it will shut it off when it gets done. I have run these ovens for many years and it cost about twice what it costs to run a household oven. I have added some picts of a oven I built for a friend of mine just to put ceramic coating on exhaust's. He builds custom kit cars and has a walk in oven for parts coating. And I have a pict of a motorcycle frame too just to show that this works. I have looked long and hard for the DVD master that I made and cannot find it anywhere. But this is not hard to do and I would be more than willing to help someone out. I always thought this would be great for a club to share expenses. Thanks Bill
 

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