AllenOK
New member
I've been watching a few vids on youtube about building a Fluid Bed. I decided to go with the 2" PVC Union version. I finally got all the parts yesterday, and assembled it today. I drilled a hole in the cap on bottom for the air valve. I also have a section of 2" PVC in the cap of the union to give myself a little extra height to contain the powder. I'm not the best with a hacksaw cutting PVC, the end I cut wasn't square, and I have a recessed area of varying size in the paint chamber.
I've noticed that most folks say that brown paper bags are the best filter medium. I bought a couple 2-lt of Vernor's Ginger Ale for my other half from a grocery store that still has paper bags.
Ok, I cut out a circle of the paper bag for the filter, grabbed an cheap aerator that we had laying around, and assembled the beast. I plugged in the air pump, put some Harbor Freight powder paint into the chamber.
Once I opened the air valve, I didn't see any movement of the powder. I turned the valve off, and noticed that the level of the paint dropped about 1/4" in the chamber. I opened the valve again, and the powder came up again, but wasn't moving, and there weren't any volcanoes. I shut the valve, and the paint dropped a bit again. Opened the valve yet again, and got a couple small volcanoes around the edge the quickly dissipated.
Being the analytical over-thinker that I am, I figured I needed a more porous filter. Ok, a quick trip to Wally World for some cheap coffee filters is in store.
Since I was going to change filters, I needed to dump my powder back into the jar I keep it in. That's when I noticed that I still had quite a bit of powder in the recessed area where the piece of PVC doesn't fully meet the bottom. I quickly realized that is going to be rather hard to clean out.
Ok, easy fix. Get some silicone sealant, and use that to fill the gap. I was thinking about some silicone anyway, as I felt the hole for my valve was just a bit to big. I thought I could feel air coming out of that hole, and I wanted to seal it up.
While I was at the store, two things dawned on me. I'm using a cheap aerator that's designed for 5 - 15 gallon tanks. I'm thinking that pump might not be pushing enough air? Also, isn't the Harbor Freight powder a little on the heavy side as far as powder goes? I know different brands do different things in a Fluid Bed.
I have used the silicone to "glue" the valve in and seal it, as well as filled in the gap in the top chamber. Now, I'm just waiting for the stuff to cure before I try it again (probably tonight after work).
I've noticed that most folks say that brown paper bags are the best filter medium. I bought a couple 2-lt of Vernor's Ginger Ale for my other half from a grocery store that still has paper bags.
Ok, I cut out a circle of the paper bag for the filter, grabbed an cheap aerator that we had laying around, and assembled the beast. I plugged in the air pump, put some Harbor Freight powder paint into the chamber.
Once I opened the air valve, I didn't see any movement of the powder. I turned the valve off, and noticed that the level of the paint dropped about 1/4" in the chamber. I opened the valve again, and the powder came up again, but wasn't moving, and there weren't any volcanoes. I shut the valve, and the paint dropped a bit again. Opened the valve yet again, and got a couple small volcanoes around the edge the quickly dissipated.
Being the analytical over-thinker that I am, I figured I needed a more porous filter. Ok, a quick trip to Wally World for some cheap coffee filters is in store.
Since I was going to change filters, I needed to dump my powder back into the jar I keep it in. That's when I noticed that I still had quite a bit of powder in the recessed area where the piece of PVC doesn't fully meet the bottom. I quickly realized that is going to be rather hard to clean out.
Ok, easy fix. Get some silicone sealant, and use that to fill the gap. I was thinking about some silicone anyway, as I felt the hole for my valve was just a bit to big. I thought I could feel air coming out of that hole, and I wanted to seal it up.
While I was at the store, two things dawned on me. I'm using a cheap aerator that's designed for 5 - 15 gallon tanks. I'm thinking that pump might not be pushing enough air? Also, isn't the Harbor Freight powder a little on the heavy side as far as powder goes? I know different brands do different things in a Fluid Bed.
I have used the silicone to "glue" the valve in and seal it, as well as filled in the gap in the top chamber. Now, I'm just waiting for the stuff to cure before I try it again (probably tonight after work).