mapp cannister and heating pad???

[2tumblingdragonz]

someone suggested wrapping a heating pad, an electric heating pad, around the mapp pro cannister. this sounds really scary to me so I'm asking input as I can't seem to fathom working with a bucket of water between my legs and I'd like to get some extra working time out of them buggers. but a heating pad is flammable, yes??? I think so...

I was gonna post this in the other question I raised but i didn't think people would see it tacked onto the end of that thread.

thanks, always

namaste
Rowyn

[Kevan]

I've never heard of one igniting anything.

[2tumblingdragonz]

not that the heating pad would ignite the tank unless it were to catch on fire from hot glass??? this is my concern, that flammable things are not supposed to be in our torching area. I wondered if there was something I wasn't thinking of that would fire protect the heating pad since ya'll have multitudes of experience here.

[PurpleCatJewels]

I used to wrap my canisters in a hot wet towel. I would shut the canister off between beads, go to the sink and reheat/rewet the small towel, wring it out, then wrap the canister again. Yes, sometimes the towel froze to the canister, but I did get that "extra" couple of minutes.

Besides, to use the heating pad I would have had to move the cat.

[2tumblingdragonz]

I"m still curious to see what others have to say...for me, I've thought about it and the thought of an electric device made of cloth, even if it is flame retardant(which is toxic anyway but a different discussion), with wires inside and another electric cord in my workspace-kiln and rodwarmer are enough cords to tempt flying glass to land on, is just not worth the risk for me. I was intriuged when I heard about it. I'm thinking now along the lines of something that could hold heat in, not be flammable, and not heat the tank too much--and then my head starts to spin.
I've heard that people keep hot water nearby, etc, but, for me for now, keeping a second hh on a torch ready to go and my rod warmer on which I can put my mandrel in while I quick switch torch and gas to set up #2. the devardi rod warmer gets hot enough to act like a short time holding space for the unfinished bead when the tank shuts off.
I hope this makes sense, I'm starving, gotta go eat....
thanks for taking the time to respond.

angel blessings
Rowyn

[Dale M.]

I believe the best solution was where somebody took a couple of ABS (plastic) pipe fittings ( floor ring for toilet (closet flange), short length of pipe and a cap) and put it all together and and cut hole in bench top to create a "well" filled with water (warm?) to create a "cold sink" to pull away cold from canister and keep it from freezing...

"Closet flange"

"Pipe cap"

Glue (cement)


Keep in mind diameter of MAP-PRO cylinder and pipe diameters... "Fat boy" cylinders may pose a size problem when purchasing "pipe parts"... Tall, narrow (16oz) cylinders measures about 2-7/8 out side diameter so choose pipe size accordingly (4 inch?)..

Using a heating pad around canister may stop freezing up, but may also increase pressure and cause canister to rupture (I seriously doubt it. But why take the chance) and or a increase in pressure will cause flame to vary and cause you more issues...

Torch safely...

Dale

[2tumblingdragonz]

that's the man I wanted to hear from. Thank you Dale.
The pipe set up is an interesting idea, thanks for the parts and directions. I will think how to install that when I put my permanent set up in.

the heating pad idea didn't resonate well with me for so many reasons.

I posted this not just because I was wondering, I would have just not done it, but because the heating pad idea came up in a class where people were told about this forum. this is a great place for discussion. I didn't want to be right or wrong, for clarification, I thought if I"m wondering about it so may other people and there's such good info provided on this forum. I'm sure there's other classes where the idea is presented and this gives a viable and thanks to Dale, imo a safer option. thanks to all who responded and those who will.
Namaste
Rowyn

[PurpleCatJewels]

Oh yeah, I remember the pipe and flange thing…but I had my Mega Minor by then. I'm guessing it would have to be easily fillable/drainalbe because the water inside would get pretty cold. I'm thinking the pipe and flange (was it Lorraine Chandler?) was built more to hold the canister in her mobile studio.

Yeah, maybe the heating pad should be left out of this one. A heating pad, like an electric blanket, is just a dead short…wrapped up in cloth. I have had more than one electric blanket eventually arc and spark, one almost catching on fire! Arc and spark + some kind of fuel = potential unintended kaboom!

I always say, "when in doubt, don't do it". There are plenty of people here on LE that will use a bulk hose and a BBQ tank wit their HH. Not me. Uh…uh…no way, Jose.

[blr2449]

What I found worked best for me was to buy a couple of those microwaveable heating packs you can find in places like Walgreens, WalMart, etc. The ones I use have elastic velcro straps on them, so I pop them in the micro, heat 'em up and wrap them around the bottom of mapp/propane 1# bottle. When it cools down I just pop on another one. Very, very safe

[DeevaaS]

I am pretty sure I was the one in the class using the heating pad.

The heating pad I use is plastic wrapped, not cloth, in case that makes a difference to anyone. (It comes with a cloth envelope to cover it when you are using it against your skin, which I obviously don't use.) Also, due to the bracket that holds the gas canister to the table, the heating pad is only wrapped around the bottom 1/3rd of the cannister - the part that hangs down under the table. It is pretty much protected from flying hot glass by my legs. /ouch

I have the cord taped to the underside of the table, so it is not in the way. The pad is only on when the torch is on, so I am not sure what the concern is regarding the electricity, since the gas is already fully engaged at those times.

Anyway, it works like a charm and I do not have to change my cannister until it is empty.

PS I don't think there is really the concept of "holdingthe heat in" since the cold is coming from the tank itself and not the air around it.

[PatsyEmporium]

When the map pro 1lb canister gets too cold is it possible that the flame just poofs out? Or does that mean the canister is empty? Lol my cans seem to be lasting only about 2 hours and it's not turned uP high. I shut it off after about 20 min or so and turn it back on after 10 min, do I need to let it "rest" longer to ge the chill off the canister? Or should I wrap hot towl around it? How hot? How long?
Thanks!

[Lorraine Chandler]

It works very well for me. I have four torches and use them all for various reasons. Here are the pics on how to make the holders. The water keeps the tanks from freezing. I add hot water, then stop in two hours, take abreak, add fresh hot water and I can use the whole canister in one sitting.


I also added a picture from the person I copied the idea from. I also added a pic of how can use the fat short canisters.

[Lorraine Chandler]

I put a metal plate over the hole when I want to use one of the other torches.

[Lisi]

Change to a bulk tank (propylene or other fuel similar to MAPP) and all those worries are gone. Plus your torch flame will be noticeably larger and hotter. MUCH cheaper too!