[Shop-talk] Is there an electrical engineer in the house?

[Scott]

Yeah, I've looked at food warmers (and cookers), those are the principle 
I want to copy. That or an electric blanket.

So I guess I could ask the question: I want to make my own miniature 
electric blanket from wire (I don't want to buy something and cut it 
down), I want to keep it at a constant temperature, and I want to 
permanently affix it to a small plate of aluminum.

Can anyone give me primer on how to do such a thing? What gauge wire to 
use, should I weave it in a mat, and what sort of switches and 
thermostats should I use?

Or should I just hunt down an EE textbook and start reading?

Thanks.

On 4/11/2013 11:27 PM, skip albright wrote:
>
> a lot of fields, not to many concrete plans...
>
>
> restaurant supply co
>
>
> greenhouse supply co
>
>
> they wont have the parts, but you can get ideas on how they keep 
> things warm
>
>
>  maybe lab supply companies?
>
>
>  how does a crockpot work?
>
>
> we used to sell stick on,  oil pan engine warmers, might be some help 
> in that field.
>
>
> Skip
>
>
> On 4/11/2013 10:58 PM, Scott wrote:
>> I would like to build several warmer 'pots' for SWMBO.
>>
>> They'll be made from 1/8 inch aluminum sheet, and they'll about 3x6x3 
>> inches each. They'll have a lid, so they're more like boxes, I suppose.
>>
>> They'll be used to keep fluid warmed to about 100 degrees.
>>
>> I'd like to use an electric heating element with a thermostat 
>> permanently set to that temperature, and it could go on the exterior 
>> bottom surface of the box.
>>
>> The only thing I don't know how to do is the wire grid and 
>> thermostat, switches, etc. What should I use to attach the wire to 
>> the box, that sort of thing.
>>
>> EE1101 was a long time ago, so I thought I'd ask you guys. Is this 
>> something that can be done? I don't mind if it takes a fair amount of 
>> work, I want these to be nice, and lasting. I just don't know where 
>> to start looking for the stuff, what to Google, etc.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Scott