Good Fishing Posted May 4, 2017 Report Share Posted May 4, 2017 What's the benefit of heating plastic in a microwave vs. on a stove? Speed? Temp control? I'm getting back into pouring after having not done it for around 20 years, so microwaving plastic is new to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walleyeking Posted May 4, 2017 Report Share Posted May 4, 2017 Its fast and easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apdriver Posted May 4, 2017 Report Share Posted May 4, 2017 Yes, fast and easy, but not always the best. Large runs, some plastic bubbles a bunch heated in microwave, re melts may not run so good through micro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good Fishing Posted May 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2017 12 minutes ago, Apdriver said: Yes, fast and easy, but not always the best. Large runs, some plastic bubbles a bunch heated in microwave, re melts may not run so good through micro. I was wondering about that. I like to melt a larger batch and pour a number of molds at once. This requires either maintaining or reheating the plastic periodically. Sounds like I may be better off sticking with the hot plate in my garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apdriver Posted May 4, 2017 Report Share Posted May 4, 2017 3 minutes ago, Good Fishing said: I was wondering about that. I like to melt a larger batch and pour a number of molds at once. This requires either maintaining or reheating the plastic periodically. Sounds like I may be better off sticking with the hot plate in my garage. Don't get me wrong, I think the micro works great on some things, just not all things. Most of us use some type bottom heater and a micro. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walleye warrior Posted May 4, 2017 Report Share Posted May 4, 2017 To expand this thought even further. Does anyone use a toaster oven to heat up or maintain heat between shooting molds? As a jig maker/powder painter, many of us have multiple toaster ovens to use. Any thoughts on if this would work or not? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braided Line Posted May 4, 2017 Report Share Posted May 4, 2017 Start low on your power setting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted May 4, 2017 Report Share Posted May 4, 2017 OK, first lets talk scale. Bottom heating has scorched more plastic and created far more bubbles then any other method I know. Been there, done that. For small batches, a microwave on a lower setting, stopping often to completely mix, is far better. Still, I have poured dozens of pounds with my old Netcraft kit from the 80's using a pan on a stove. Lower heat, mixing often, is and was the best way then. The difference is that the pan heats the plastic from the bottom up using conduction and the microwave heats the plastic from the center out using radiation. The three types of heat transfer are conduction, convection, radiation. For Large scale, tons of very sensitive heat controlled bottom pour pots out there by several companies. They prevent scorching by keeping the top temperature from getting too high, and that is what creates the bubbles (and mixing too aggressively) . Mixing is still important, etc., etc. Absolutely a microwave is great for re-melts. Better then a bottom heat that heats the small point of contact and transfers heat as the ball of scrap melts. Microwaves still start in the center of mass and extend out so it heats by radiation, not by conduction. But both methods work and adding some fresh liquid plastic and heat stabilizer will help. I COMPLETELY disagree that microwaves are not the best for re-melts. Toaster ovens will work to maintain temperature (convection). I use mine, but I was using an old analog version and I found that I preferred a newer digital version to keep the temperature controlled better. The old analog is still a good powder coat oven but I wanted better temperature control for plastic. Pouring plastic is easy, and fun, but there is a lot of misinformation out there about how to do it. Most of the manufactures of the plastic have tutorial videos on it so check them out before you get back into it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted May 4, 2017 Report Share Posted May 4, 2017 I was never a mass production guy. I always started with a microwave, then transferred to hot plates. If I got behind on orders, I just worked longer. lol No disrespect to the many who do, but quicker methods such as injection just never appealed to me. Seemed to take away from the "art" of pouring. I needed a visual on every bait as it was being made. Also, I did thousands of remelts in the microwave. Never had an issue as long as it was MY plastic and MY materials being remelted. Some companies (Zoom, Berkley, for example) you NEVER wanna remelt. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted May 4, 2017 Report Share Posted May 4, 2017 The art of pouring, sounds like a great book title. I respect that, and still hand pour most of my own, but my family and friends want me to upsize to a production guy and ....... not sure I want to take a hobby I love and turn it into a job I might hate. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 1 hour ago, Anglinarcher said: The art of pouring, sounds like a great book title. I respect that, and still hand pour most of my own, but my family and friends want me to upsize to a production guy and ....... not sure I want to take a hobby I love and turn it into a job I might hate. Yup.......when it's no longer fun, it's time to hang it up. That's why I did. As for injection, again no disrespect as most of those molds make some AMAZING looking baits with unmatched detail. I just couldn't see myself standing over a mold, pushing from top to bottom, then ultimately wondering what the bait would look like. You mix the plastic with your ingredients, and the skill pretty much stops there. BUT.......I get it. You can kick those suckers out pretty quick. I just wanted to be proud of each and every bait, and felt I couldn't achieve that with injection stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apdriver Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 If I have fresh sprues that need remelted, I agree, microwave is best. That said, I collect a bunch under my bench that stay around awhile that don't work so well in the microwave. I am quite sure it's a moisture issue as they live in pretty moist conditions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 Moisture is NOT your friend for sure. I drop mine in a plastic container and pop a top on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good Fishing Posted May 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 15 hours ago, alsworms said: Some companies (Zoom, Berkley, for example) you NEVER wanna remelt. Yuck, remelted Berkley Powerbait. I can only imagine the stink. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Young Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 If not remelted immediatley in the same pouring session & been in my old folgers coffee cans for a while under the bench I add heat stabilizer & haven't had a problem & the microwave is all i use for both injection & hand pouring. I just use the cap off of the pint bottle of stabilizer to measure & works well for me & colors stay true & i have kept some first pours out of fresh plastic to make sure they match the remelts & been good so far. May be lucky i don't know, but it works for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 2 hours ago, Good Fishing said: Yuck, remelted Berkley Powerbait. I can only imagine the stink. Yes.....and another lesson learned the hard way for yours truly. LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted May 5, 2017 Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 6 hours ago, alsworms said: Yes.....and another lesson learned the hard way for yours truly. LOL Thanks to this site, I didn't make that mistake. Someone else warned me. LOL 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Young Posted May 6, 2017 Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 19 hours ago, alsworms said: Yes.....and another lesson learned the hard way for yours truly. LOL Yep. I was gonna learn the same lesson & thankfully the folks here had already warned about it. Thats the great thing about tackleunderground: someone here has already been there done that & they are very willing to share the knowledge they gain with the experiences both good or bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMc1 Posted May 6, 2017 Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted May 6, 2017 Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 5 hours ago, DaveMc1 said: HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Okay being an old school guy, I'm even more lost now. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMc1 Posted May 6, 2017 Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 47 minutes ago, alsworms said: Okay being an old school guy, I'm even more lost now. lol Imagine being able to pour all your open pour molds without ever having to microwave the plastic and having as much plastic on hand as you want. Bucket of raw pre coloured plastic pumped through a heat exchanger and through a hand controlled nozzle at low pressures. Add a second heat exchanger/nozzle and you can pour 2 colours at a time etc. Heck, with a different fitting you could inject any hand injection mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted May 6, 2017 Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 Okay gotcha. I just wasn't sure where that plastic was headed. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMc1 Posted May 6, 2017 Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 12 minutes ago, alsworms said: Okay gotcha. I just wasn't sure where that plastic was headed. lol In the video, its just garbage plastic. Just showing that it works is all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 1 hour ago, DaveMc1 said: In the video, its just garbage plastic. Just showing that it works is all. Cool. Great set up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadfrog Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 Just thought I'd toss this in on the tail of the subject . I sometimes use a NuWave to heat and maintain temperature . If a magnet will stick to the container you can heat with it on the stove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
