Thermostatically controlled lube heater

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  • Last Post 14 January 2016
CB posted this 23 November 2008

Has anyone ever given any thought to making up some kind of thermostat control for a lube heater?

I had given some consideration to making one up using an old electric skillet temp control, but I fear the range would be much too high.

I am thinking of something that has good control between the range of 90 to 140 degrees..

My lyman heater gets much too warm and turns the lube into almost liquid if you leave it on. I have controlled it so far by changing the size of the aluminum block it is mounted in and by unplugging it.

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JetMech posted this 23 November 2008

Jeff,

FWIW, I don't think it will be a problem. That temp control, on it's highest setting, will only allow the heater to reach it's highest normal temp it would reach without the control wired in. As you adjust it lower, it should limit current flow reducing the heater temp. Think of it as a flood gate for water. Fully open, it allows the normal current flow that you would see if it wasn't there. Shut the gate half way, and the result is half the current flow.

But then, I'm not an electrician. But I'm sure there are guys here who are. It's a good question. I've been thinking about a heater for mine, since my loading room is unheated and even standard lubes don't flow well at 50 degrees, but I don't want the lube to liquify.

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hunterspistol posted this 23 November 2008

Yes I have, I have one of those Lymans with the pin heater. I have the bench sitting where my left hand is about 2 feet from the wall outlet when I use it. So, when it gets too hot, I just reach over and unplug it. A guy could do this with an extension cord but, I'm already set up for it.

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hunterspistol posted this 23 November 2008

PS: I thought you had one for sale, just wanting to check the price! I'd buy one.

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CB posted this 29 November 2008

I bought one for my STar back when having a heater meant using a hair dryer.

;}

 

Jerry

 

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Gee Wizz01 posted this 30 November 2008

I have been toying with the idea of using an old iron,  I have one that works, but the housing is cracked, (I have my wife's permission to use it).  I just haven't figured out how to use it yet.  One thought was to mount the sizer on  a large piece of aluminum plate, large enough to set the iron on.  The heat would just transfer through the plate to the sizer.  I like the iron idea, because the temperature ranges from lukewarm to about 250 deg F.

G

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jhalcott posted this 30 November 2008

 GEEWIZZ! that idea is working for ME. I use an old iron sitting on a piece of aluminum about 1/4” thick. It extends under the lubrisizer and warms up the whole machine. It is appreciated on those cold winter days and nights when the basement gets rather cold. It really makes the lubing/sizing go much easier . Plus IF I ever need to iron a shirt,it's already plugged in!

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CB posted this 30 November 2008

If you want to stay warm on these cold winter days, get an electric heat gun. I think HF sells them for about $10 when on sale. Plus they will really get you warm. Much better and quicker than a blow dryer

From past experiences being a “junkologist” does lead to many innovations. But remember some times you end up with junk.

Find your kitchen thermometer that your other half or you may have used on the Turkey a few days ago, and try to keep the temp in about the 150 degree range to start with. Some lube will flow under pressure at 120 degrees or so. So start from the cold end the range and slowly work you way up, becuase you are working with both heat and pressure with a luber sizer. Plus give the stuff some time to flow, say maybe a couple or three minutes.

Good Luck,

Jerry

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trap shooter posted this 30 November 2008

midway usa use to what your talking about you may find one on ebay

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CB posted this 30 November 2008

Good Idea Jerry! I have a master heat gun, bought it years ago and it still works well. I use it out in the garage when I make lube to heat the molds to get a stubborn stick out or to help soften the lube that might stick to the mold when I clean them. When I aint using it to do either of those I have it hangin on a hook to keep me warm.

Being I make my own lube, I need to know at what temp it will flow. I am making some experimental batches to try and solve a problem and prove out a theory.

A friend has one that he had made when he worked for Uncle Henry's company in Dbn, MI.. The electronics lab made it for him, he took me I could remove the cover and look at it. I hope I will be able to see the marking on the components so I can duplicate it.

If I get it figured out and functional, I will post a schematic for the guys here.

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454PB posted this 04 December 2008

I built a home made heater for my Star sizer, using the element out of an old coffee maker. The element is 900 watts, which heats it up quickly, but is too much for extended use. For a while, I simply plugged it into a switchable power strip, but then on a boring day, I made up a rheostat. Nothing more complicated than a dollar store 6 foot extension cord, cut one leg of the wire, and inserted a light dimmer switch. After experimenting a little, I found the “sweet spot” on the dimmer switch and marked it with a sharpie.

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hunterspistol posted this 04 December 2008

That's not a bad thought, either. Hmm...

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BigD posted this 08 December 2008

Since it's been so 'brisk” here in Fairbanks, and my lube area is maintained at 55 degrees, I tried to make a oil pan heater work. You know, those little rubber heating pads you adhere to the bottom of your oil pan, tranny, or whatever you don't want to freeze on your truck? Anyway, the only one I found that would fit between the holes on my Lube a matic was a 100 watt one.  I can not leave it on for more than a minute or two or I get a big mess. Although I am not an electrician, I think I could wire a light dimmer switch into the cord and make it work. As it stands now, I plug it in for about a minute, unplug, and lube however many I can until it gets too stiff, then repeat.

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Dale53 posted this 16 January 2009

BigD has the right idea. I have the Lyman FLAT heater that is drilled and tapped for Lyman, RCBS, and Star lubers. It gets too hot without regulation. I happened to have a Dremel tool speed control. It is simply a rheostat in a box with an adustment knob. It works perfectly. You can set it where experience will quickly tell you is the “sweet spot".

You can also go to Lowe's Home Improvements, Home Depot or your local hardware store, buy a square outlet box and using a light dimmer switch and a separate plug make yourself an outfit for very little money. That's what I would do if I didn't already have the Dremel tool speed control.

You just plug in the heater to the dimmer control then plug the outfit in the nearest wall outlet. The Lyman heater is low amperage so will not overheat the dimmer switch.

Good luck! Dale53

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BigD posted this 16 January 2009

It was successful. I used a ceiling fan switch, which has a push on/off power button and the same button rotates. I had an outlet box laying around to mount it in.The heating pad (75w) now runs from almost 0 to full bore. Playing around with small amounts of lube in the Luber Sizer, I have been able to use Alox to Lyman Moly without issue. Total cost $21. Now that it's not -50 anymore, I'll have to get some more cast up.

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mtgrs737 posted this 22 January 2009

Jeff, I have one of the Lyman flat plate heaters and it also gets too hot. I made a temperture control for it out of a 4” square electrical box and a light dimmer switch, all stuff you can get at the hardware store. It works great and I don't think I have more than $20 in it. Harbor Freight also sells a speed control unit that will work as a heater control, it looks like an extension cord with a small box and knob on it.

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CB posted this 22 January 2009

I got one of the HF speed controllers, I will have to give that a try.

I thought about using that a couple of times recently, but it had been so darn cold I havent had the nerve to go out in the garage to get it out of the tool cabinet.

We are supposed to get a warm up to 32 degrees today and I was gonna cast for a while, I will have to remember to dig it out.

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Largom posted this 22 January 2009

          Made my own lube heater using the controller and heating element from a small slow cooker. The heating element was a small coiled wire with a fiberglass jacket.

Using a 3/16 ball nosed mill I cut a track in a piece of 3/8 Alum. for the wire then added a 1/8 Alum. plate on top after inserting wire in tracks. I had to modify the controller by grinding the stop for the low setting, was way too hot.

I made the Alum. plate same size as Lyman's but only put the heating element between the mounting holes for lube/sizer.

I can now control my heat from room temp.to as hot as I want. By turning heat up it does not take long to heat up lube/sizer then I turn it down to the “sweet” spot where it will maintain a constant Temp.

              LARRY

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CB posted this 11 February 2009

I took a look at the drawing for the Star heater and I got a brilliant idea..

Electric Hot Water Tank Thermostat...

Sure enough it looks very close to the one depicted in the Star Drawing.

When to Home Depot this morning and picked one up, $8.47, what a deal. I think the range is 90 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. I doubt that 110v will be a problem since all this does is break one leg of the 220v. Bend me up a nice little cover on the brake and make a extension for the temp control, a knob with a pointer and engrave the lines and temps and I should be good to go..

It will take a little larger hunk of aluminum than what I have, but who hates going to the scrap yard to see what treasures await..

I am thinking that perhaps 2 of the Lyman little stick heaters may be needed, I am using some darn hard lube for the commercial purposes.

Heck I may put in a shut off switch for one of the heaters for when I actually have a little time or something else to do while the thing heats up..

I love it when a plan comes together!

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R.Clem posted this 21 February 2009

Years back, Midway Lubricator Heaters were on the market. at the time I was using a hard lube that didn't do very well if the temp got below 90, made sizing and lubing a few hundred bullets the type of chore no one wanted to do. So I bought one of these heaters and have never looked back. It appears that it is a piece of 1/4” x 5” x 10 5/8” aluminum plate with various tapped holes for attaching the lubrisizer (I believe the add said it would handle all manufactured at that time, including the Saeco) Any way, after reading this topic, I decided to have a look inside to see what was there. A small round heating coil held to the aluminum plate by means of a of a steel plate with a hole in the center and a 1/4” bolt, one wire from the power cord goes to one side of the heating coil, the other wire goes to a bi metal switch, which is adjustable by means of a screw driver slot,another wire come from the switch to the other end of the heating coil. The coil, I am guessing is in the range of 200 or so watts, I did a search on the internet for the switch and found some pictures, but no place to buy. The picture, I hope shows the heater element and switch with the wiring. This is so simple I can't believe we haven't already figured it out.

Went looking on Google Images for the thermostat. Found something that looks real close, it goes into a control for an electric frying pan. The ad said it would fit other small appliances, crokpots and such. I am still looking for an element, but my grandson seems to think that gutting an old crokpot for the parts and attaching them to an aluminum plate with something on the bottom to keep from burning the bench top would be all that is needed.

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jhrosier posted this 21 February 2009

Jeff, I have a 52W heater on my lube-sizer. (It will go up to over 150 degrees at full power.) I bought a cheap lamp dimmer for about $10 at Lowes to control it. It is not finely adjustable but I monitor the temp with a thermometer on the sizer body and tweak the dimmer a bit to get the temperature that works with my lube and environment. I also put a 7W bulb in the circuit just to remind me to turn off the heater.

Jack

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