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So I went and built a Powder Coating Oven

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gixrman

20+ Year Contributor
1,997
15
Nov 13, 2002
Frederick, Maryland
Been following Justins (Detective Coatings) thread on Link and said "boy that looks like fun!" So I started out purchasing Eastwoods entry level PC gun for $99 and used an easy bake oven and put what ever I could fit in there. Started offering my DZUS fasteners PC'd
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was doing ok but the finish was inconsistent and I could only do 8-10 at a time. And I wanted more. Now Justin does a great job and I hope one day to be turning out parts that look as good as his!
I just like the personal satisfaction of doing things myself. And wanted to give this a try. I though how hard can it be? Hahahaha!!
So here we go!
Coming home from work and spotted this large filling cabinet out for the trash. Loaded it in the back of my truck and brought it home. It measured 4"x3"x2" deep. And I though this is a good base to start with. But then I started pricing materials.
The sheet metal was going to run me $240. The most expensive part of the project.
Control box from auberins auberins.com, Temperature control solutions for home and industry
Heating elements from Amazon (3000W broil elements)
Rockwool Insulation
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http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z217/gixrman/DSCN2033.jpg High temp RTV sealer from Mcmaster-Carr
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Grill paint for oven and 240v wiring, extra crap from Lowes and HD
High temp. fan from grainger.
Grand total somewhere around $600. Cheap compared to buying a built one.

It took me about a year to build this as I was trying to get to keep my DSM going (blown motor), get my side business going (overkill fabrication), and family obligations.
I lost some of the early pictures due to my desktop crashing so here we go.
In the first five pictures it shows the Rockwool panels which are an inch thick.

[The roof and floor have two inches of insulation due to voids in the cabinet design that I had to fill. the side are 1-1/2" of insulation and the door is one inch thick. The last show the placement of the K-temp probe.
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Building the fanbox and vent was not fun. I then insulated it with one inch of insulation. Its like a convection oven and keeps a steedy temp. thoughout the oven. The air blows directly across the elements.
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Next was the oven door seal also from McMaster-Carr.
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And last was the door hinges, which I built from statch and it sucked because I couldn't find anything to hold that much weight and deal with the heat. It took me almost a week to design, build and weld those hinges in place.
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I then attached a door handle and latches to secure the door. Painted everything with the high temp grill paint from Lowes.
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Got everything wired up and fired it up!
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So how does it work? pretty damn good. This is two spare fuel rails, first dirty, cleaned and blasted and then coated
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one in texture black and whats suppose to be anodized red and a intake elbow in chrome.

Used the high temp plugs from Eastwood to keep the powder out of the rail
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I learned real quick that the Eastwood gun is only good for small, one coat pieces. After that it sucks. This is were the limitations of the gun were found. You have to start out with a base coat of chrome and then the anodized red. The problem is getting the red to stick which takes more voltage than the gun will put out. Then come to find out its not so much the voltage as the ground is key! So I tried whats called a "hot coat" and applied the red as soon as I pulled it from the oven. There are some areas that its missing but the black texture turned out perfect. The last is the wiring diagram I used if anyone wants to know. It was a ton of work and a lot of prep work to get parts ready. I have a brass 16" ground rod staked in the yard for a better ground and yes it makes a big difference. I still have a lot to learn and want to get up to Justins for some lessons.
Wiring directions for the PID controller and elements
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Serious question here. Why not use a old cooking oven like so many others do?

Do you just get a better quality finish with a dedicated oven?
 
The bad thing about a cooking stove is there is no recirulation fan. With a fabricated one with fans the heat moves threw the oven making your parts come out more consistent and overall better quality finish. A cooking stove sometimes is only good for a small batch of parts . I powder coated for 18 years built a few ovens. That's a nice lookin oven very well built ! Where are you buying your powders from?
 
I just made my oven larger. I made a square piece that sits on the oven door when it is open and added another heat source. It works for now and I can do up to 17" wheels and what not. I figure when I move up from the cheap gun I have, I will get something more serious but at that point it tends to not be a hobby anymore.
 
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Pendry powders has real good prices and real fast shipping . Check them out
 
I've used a couple Eastwood colors... Not bad. But I've been using prismaticpowders.com and they have some Amazing colors and good prices. Very nice quality stuff.
 
I also made an oven, 4'x4'x6'. Fits everything besides full chassis. Lol. Little expensive to build, but beyond worth it.

I also have an Eastwood gun, bought the Dual Voltage Elite kit and soon upgrading to two professional kits. Eastwood powders are not bad at all. I prefer Powder365.
 
Great thread. Thanks for the wiring diagram.
 
hi there I know this is an old post... but I was wondering what kind of SSR units your purchased for this build? I ordered the pid but not sure what SSR will work. Thanks - Dave
 
Nice man! I want to build an oven but not a ton of time to research it. Haven't found any good solid information.
I have the eastwood DV gun. It's ok. I am selling the redline ez50 guns now. Hopefully I can sell a few more and then keep one :)
 
hello I have built an oven similar to the one above but I ran into a problem. whenever I turn the oven on and set a temp... the damn thing keeps heating past the set temp. I see that the lights on the ssr's are pulsating and then ultimately shut off but somehow my heating elements keep on trucking. I have created a small diagram in case anyone knows what is going on with my setup. Many thanks in advance. - Dave
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