I need to cobble together small "hot box" for transfer paper

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Ok.

I may be on to something here. I doubled my heat pad, folded over in half, and stuck a 12" bi-metal thermometer inside the folded halves. 1t's at 150° after 10 minutes or so.

So I'm thinking in a really well insulated styrene box ala Boris, with a heating pad inside, sending the paper through the tunnel first (maybe twice ala LarryK) I might be getting close to dimensionally stable papers.

The ceramic heater would provide a massive overkill for the tiny box I'm thinking of, but it is a possiblilty. And I have a couple of those to try out too.

Will update.

Thanks all!

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

And Gilligan, I have a similar space issue to you. This thing is gonna have to sit on a shelf until needed. So the bathroom fan idea is more attractive than a thingy on a cart of some sort....less attractive than a Really Handy Box with a heat pad of some unknown wattage.  I'm tripping over myself here.

[Gilligan]

And Gilligan, I have a similar space issue to you. This thing is gonna have to sit on a shelf until needed. So the bathroom fan idea is more attractive than a thingy on a cart of some sort....less attractive than a Really Handy Box with a heat pad of some unknown wattage.  I'm tripping over myself here.

Bathroom heater could be done pretty easily and wired up to a female Edison.

Also there are heat lamps that could be made onto a box pretty easily.

[Frog]

And Gilligan, I have a similar space issue to you. This thing is gonna have to sit on a shelf until needed. So the bathroom fan idea is more attractive than a thingy on a cart of some sort....less attractive than a Really Handy Box with a heat pad of some unknown wattage.  I'm tripping over myself here.

Bathroom heater could be done pretty easily and wired up to a female Edison.

Also there are heat lamps that could be made onto a box pretty easily.

As I noted, even a regular standard incandescent light bulb will heat an enclosed small area like he needs quite well. Stan's box will be even smaller than the boxes I mentioned that needed to hold a gallon or two of ink.
His would probably only need to be about 15"x15"x6" and maybe only need 15-25 watts

[Gilligan]

True dat!

[Admiral]

And Gilligan, I have a similar space issue to you. This thing is gonna have to sit on a shelf until needed. So the bathroom fan idea is more attractive than a thingy on a cart of some sort....less attractive than a Really Handy Box with a heat pad of some unknown wattage.  I'm tripping over myself here.

Bathroom heater could be done pretty easily and wired up to a female Edison.

Also there are heat lamps that could be made onto a box pretty easily.

As I noted, even a regular standard incandescent light bulb will heat an enclosed small area like he needs quite well. Stan's box will be even smaller than the boxes I mentioned that needed to hold a gallon or two of ink.
His would probably only need to be about 15"x15"x6" and maybe only need 15-25 watts

I would go this route, it's too easy and with a little ventilation it's very safe.  Incandescent bulbs are so inefficient putting out light that 97% is heat so they are great, and you choose the wattage you want.  I have seen them used with temperature controllers in fridges/freezers for fermentation temperature control as the heat source.

[Gilligan]

Uhh... You can't use incandescent bulbs... Obama! Duh!

[Frog]

I still see 'em as specialty decorator items, and don't they still use small ones in fridges and ovens?

[Gilligan]

Actually even the easy bake oven has moved away from the light bulb now.

[mimosatexas]

Just going to chime in here since I have been helping a bit with the transfer process.  I do not use a box of any kind, but I do run the papers through the dryer first.  Depending on how many colors and how long the run is, I could see the value in running them through twice, or at a higher temp or longer dwell, and using some kind of box to keep them warm.  Most of my transfer runs are small enough or simple enough that I haven't seen the need though.

[BorisB]

probably i misunderstood. To keep paper warm, styrene box is enough. To condition it, you need dryer. Same as used later on for printing/ gelling

So, Boris, you run it through the dryer like I did?

Yes, off course. Can't imagine a better way.

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

So I found ZERO insulated boxes the size I need and am considering something like this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-well-insulated-travel-cooler/?ALLSTEPS

(except without the beer)

[Frog]

I don't know where you would find one, but over the years, I have gotten products shipped in disposable foam boxes of various sizes and configurations, including the shallow type shape you are describing, something like 20x15x6

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

20x15x6 would be suitable...almost perfect. I tried Uline and they had a 20x20x12 OD with 1.5" of insulation in a cardboard shipping box. 38 and change plus freight.

I dropped my medical heating pad in an ice chest after work today with a thermometer. I'll check it after while, but the danged thing cycles off in 90 minutes.

[Frog]

back to "cobbling". Just get a sheet of foam and cut pieces to fit in a nice cardboard box.

That said, I think that many of us agree that a bigger piece of the puzzle is the initial and immediate shrinkage and its added stability you'll achieve with a trip (or two) down the belt.