Came up with a cheap way to keep decal water warm...

CaptainHawk1 · Post by **CaptainHawk1** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 5:13 pm

With decals, I don't know about the rest of you, but I like my water warm to borderline hot and I always microwave my dip bowl of water before I start a decaling project. The decals, of course, slide off of the paper much easier than using room temperature water.

What invariably happens is that the water cools down quickly to room temperature and then I either have to keep going back and forth to get more warm water or I just get annoyed and don't bother and then I get more anoyed when the decals don't come off of the paper so easily. This is particularly a problem when dealing with my own inkjet printed decals or after market decals.

Well, I came up with a cheap solution to the problem.

Sitting in one of my junk drawers in the kitchen is this little warming plate used to warm up jar candles so you can get the fragrance out of the candle with out having to light the candle. If I hadn't snagged it would have wound up being re-gifted to someone else. In fact, looking at the thing, it looks like the exact same same thing that I bought for a co-worker as a Christams gift about 8 years ago that was sold as a cofee mug warmer.

Well on a hunch, I fired this bad boy up and used a little metal measuring cup that I found in the garage (I know it looks like a suace pan... it is indeed a measuring cup) and filled it with water.

It works great, the water only gets about as hot as a hot bathtub so it's safe to handle and you can keep it powered on without worrying about overheating it.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g98/C ... 000027.jpg

I have no doubt that using a metal round mixing bowl with a tapered bottom would work perfectly as well.

I believe you can get these warmers at Wal Mart or Target for around $5. I'm going to ask my wife to make sure.

BTW, this may seem obvious, but save yourself time by microwaving the water initially instead of waiting for the warmer to heat it up.

-Shawn

DX-SFX · Post by **DX-SFX** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 8:24 pm

We assume these electric heaters are water proof? Just a thought particularly if using a metal bowl.

CaptainHawk1 · Post by **CaptainHawk1** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 8:50 pm

DX-SFX wrote:We assume these electric heaters are water proof? Just a thought particularly if using a metal bowl.

No, I doubt that, but hey are pretty well sealed. They're kind of like a mini Foreman grill. I've spilled water on it (the base and the heating element) already and had no trouble. I think the only way you could really foul things up is by submerging it but I think it's safe to say that you'd probably just short it out before anything dangerous happened. Just use common sense and you should be fine.

Let me say that this is an adult tip, not meant for unsupervised children.

-Shawn

Shinnentai · Post by **Shinnentai** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 11:14 pm

I have one of those! I bought it at Michael's a few years back, as a way to keep ferric chloride based etching solutions warm. I still see them on the shelf there all the time. Never thought to use it for decal water.

YT · Post by YT » Sun Feb 04, 2007 12:00 am

What a good idea, I never would have thought of that!

Northerner · Post by **Northerner** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 7:33 pm

something else you might want to try that would be a lot safer would be
a fish tank heater. you would have to use a larger bucket like a gallon
ice cream container or something since the heater is kinda long.

they are pretty cheap and variable temp.

CaptainHawk1 · Post by **CaptainHawk1** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 7:44 pm

Northerner wrote:something else you might want to try that would be a lot safer would be
a fish tank heater. you would have to use a larger bucket like a gallon
ice cream container or something since the heater is kinda long.

they are pretty cheap and variable temp.

I'm curious as to what makes you think that the jar heater isn't safe?

-Shawn

Northerner · Post by **Northerner** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 7:49 pm

cant you get burned with one of those hot plates?

NNYGamer · Post by **NNYGamer** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:29 pm

I used the same thing over a decade ago, duel use of a coffee warmer. Takes only q few seconds with the heat they make to loosen the glue. I always wondered it it got too hot.

CaptainHawk1 · Post by **CaptainHawk1** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:13 am

Northerner wrote:cant you get burned with one of those hot plates?

I don't think so. Like I said, it warms, it doesn't "cook". It does get hot to the touch but not so much as to burn you. And to be honest it is such a small area that whatever container you put on it, it's going to cover the whole heating element.

-Shawn

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:05 pm

Excellent idea!! To hell with my plans for a fusion reactor for decal water.

Kenny

CaptainHawk1 · Post by **CaptainHawk1** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:49 am

Lt. Z0mBe wrote:Excellent idea!! To hell with my plans for a fusion reactor for decal water.

Kenny

... which was also a perfectly reasonable idea!

-Shawn