2.5 gallon pressure pot

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holisticfitness

Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
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14
Location
Baltimore, Maryland
I am looking for a 2.5 gallon pressure pot. I want to try casting. From what I have read on this forum, I do NOT want a Harbor Freight. I know to look on Ebay and have been, but I am impatient. Thanks in advance!
 
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Check the local pawn shops in your area. Many times you can find a Devillbis or Binks paint set up from a painter that has gone out of business.

Also check Craig's list. I got my quality pot from Craig's list for $40.
 
I think the deal w/ HF pots is they are not a "well built" as the big guys. I do not own one but I did look at them at my local HF and they are much lighter than, say, a binks. That said these pots are not rated at 80psi. O think the max is 50psi so it is not required fr them to be as heavy duty.

Now, all that said, I bought a pot of ebay that was a 50 psi pot and it worked well, in the beginning. But as my casting became more extreme I found 50 was not enough and I wanted an 80psi. I watch fleabay for a few months and I found a pot that was $100 pated for 80psi. I picked it up and it turned out to be a bniks pot (big score). My point, if you can wait for a good deal do it or you will likely be in the market for another pot in a few months. I still have my 50psi but it sees very little use right now. I am keeping it more for a backup at this point.
 
Some people have had issues with the harbor freight which is why they are not highly recommended here. I can't locate the post right now but I know that Curtis ( MesquiteMan ) is one person that had the Harbor Freight pressure pot come apart on him .
 
Now w/ Curtis, I feel it was a change he made to the pot that caused the failure. From what I understand on one pot Curtis used JB Weld to put some metal squares on the lid to tighten down on to so he was not damaging the lid. This worked great but on the pot that blew he used Hot Glue to hold the metal pieces. From what I know about Hot glue is you have considerable gap where the glue is. Once placed under pressure the lid pushed so hard the glue failed and there was enough gap for the metal pieces to slide out and the clamps to release. Now Curtis will tell you he did this. One thing that could have saved him is the Binks have a raised squared lip around that could have held the clamp in place and just allowed the pressure to release but the HF is a small hump and the clamps just rolled right around it.
 
Yes, my modifications to the Horrid Freight pot is what ultimately caused my failure. However, if they were built better to begin with, I would not have had to make the modifications I did. The problem I was having is that after repeated tightening of the clamps in the same place, a divot was formed in the lid that transferred through to the gasket below which would keep the pot from sealing well. The metal pads I added kept this from happening but ultimately caused my failure. A good quality pot has a heavy enough lid that repeatedly tightening in the same spot does not cause this problem. My Binks pots have been tightened in the same spot hundreds of times and has not even made any kind of dent in the lid.

That said, if you are casually casting, then the Horrid Freight pot may just do the job for you. Just remember, every time you are pressuring up your pot, you are creating a bomb in your shop. I would MUCH rather trust the quality control (as well as regulatory and liability controls) of an American company with my life than someone working in a sweatshop in Asia.
 
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Darn - that means I am still looking. I have been bitten too often buying less expensive equipment and I always seem to pay the price. I don't mind buying a used pressure pot, but I want good quality - No explosions in my future!
 
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