The Upgraded Boiling Barrel (by request)

[Christopher K. Hartley]

For some of you who have requested, here is my upgraded Boiling Barrel. I will take you step by step in it's components and purpose.




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1. The Boiling Barrel (orange) is a 55 gal. metal drum cut down. The cost for this item was $12.00.
2. The next item is the boiling basket, it is a heavy plastic barrel cut down and holes drilled for water flow as well as two holes opposite each other at the top for the lifting handles. It fits easily inside the metal barrel with about a four inch void for water flow

content___media_external_images_media_76.jpgThe benefit of this item is multi fold. A.) it insures that there is water flow around the edges of the barrel so pressure can not build up as Steve Russell refers to in his Boiling Protocol...
http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com...-articles.html
http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com...-protocol.html
http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com...reen-wood.html

B.) it provides for a way to pick up the bowls from the water in an efficient and safe way. The Plastic barrel was free. I made metal handles to lift it from some scrap metal I had in the shop.
content___media_external_images_media_75.jpg The plastic barrel sits inside the metal barrel on three five inch pieces of re-bar. This keeps the plastic barrel off the surface that is heated directly by flame and provides room for better water flow. The re-bar was scrap.
content___media_external_images_media_77.jpg The next item is a heavy metal grating that was cut to fit inside the plastic barrel. This provides a way to hold down the items being boiled so that they remain covered by water. The cost was $15.00 for material and cutting.
content___media_external_images_media_79.jpg The last item is the lid to cover the barrels and hold the heat reducing the time necessary to boil the water and save fuel. It also provides for safety if others are in the area. The lid was purchased from our local Feed Store. it is heavy galvanized metal and cost $30.00. I made the handle from a piece of Hop Horn and attached it with four screws
content___media_external_images_media_72.jpgI hope this has been somewhat helpful to some of you and that it provides the help you need to put your Boiling Barrel together. Have Fun!

[Tim Rinehart]

Chris...ok, now my curiosity has been bubbling over this process ...so tell me what else you do (versus others approaches perhaps) now to process stuff by boiling...and what you like about boiling, vs other techniques, i.e DNA, microwaving, BLO/Mineral Oil, detergent...etc.
PS: If you've explained this before and I'm too lazy to research ...just let me know, and I'll go looking.

[Cathy Schaewe]

Thanks for the pics - another thing to think about!

[Brian Libby]

Some more food for thought! Thanks for the info.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Tim, the links I provided to Steve Russell's site will answer almost all of your questions. I used DNA for a number of years but the results were, what I felt, less than what I . desired. I have used the soap thing as well but not satisfied. This process is coupled with brown paper bag drying and then second turning. I refer you to Steve because he is the expert in this area. He is a personal friend and has been a very successful production turner. He is also the President of LoneStar Woodturners Association, an AAW Chapter. I will share with you all I can to help.I also want for you or anyone else to get good information first hand and from those who have proved results far beyond mine.Jim King is another individual who can attest to the success and benefits of this process.

Chris...ok, now my curiosity has been bubbling over this process ...so tell me what else you do (versus others approaches perhaps) now to process stuff by boiling...and what you like about boiling, vs other techniques, i.e DNA, microwaving, BLO/Mineral Oil, detergent...etc.
PS: If you've explained this before and I'm too lazy to research ...just let me know, and I'll go looking.

[Leo Graywacz]

You could boil a lot of eggs in there.

I don't know what you use this boiling bucket for. Could you elaborate its function for me?

[Harry Robinette]

Christopher
I thank you very much ,I'm trying to decide what I want to do for drying and I think you're system is on my short list.If you would,could you give a guess as to the amount of gas to the full barrel of blanks done.Thanks again for the info.
Harry

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Harry I have not used my setup with the lid on as yet so I asked Steve to respond with his experience. Where I am located I get a lot of wind that cools the barrel so it takes longer than an area where there is little wind. Steve may respond here or if he emails me back I will share his response. If you live in the country you could use wood scraps to build a fire under it instead of using propane. I pay about $15.00 per bottle now and a boil takes somewhat less than half. Cost per bowl is determined by the number of bowls being boiled at one time.

[Tim Rinehart]

Chris, thanks for reminding me that you did include links to the process. Steve's site is chock full of well written information, and is a good read for various articles. I think I'll have to start scrounging some parts to make one of these...looks like a worthwhile effort.
Thanks again for sharing your approach and barrel construction.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Christopher
I thank you very much ,I'm trying to decide what I want to do for drying and I think you're system is on my short list.If you would,could you give a guess as to the amount of gas to the full barrel of blanks done.Thanks again for the info.
Harry

I got an email back from Steve so here is his answer..."Good question... I could not say with any certainty. It really depends on
the size of the blanks, how thick they are, type of burner you have, the
number of BTU’s it pumps out and how much you turn the burner up. Too many
variables to say one way or the other. I can say that you get quite a bit of
time out of one of the small barbeque propane tanks. Just how much, I
cannot say.
I use it until it’s empty and put on another one. I think its cheap though,
even with the cost of propane. Remember, you are only boiling at a medium
boil, not full rolling, so you’re not using that much gas with each pot. I
also run pots all day long, so once the water is heated up, I’m not wasting
gas to start from scratch with every batch. I boil all day long and cycle
the blanks and roughouts as necessary. I hope this helps." by Steve Russell