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I recently bought one of LMIs small heating blankets to try for special bends and wanted to know if a 1000 watt dimmer would work to control the heat. How important is the timer as well?
Thanks,
Wade

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Wade
Nashua, NH
http://www.wadefx.com

Hi Wade

I have controls I got from John Hall, The timer is useful as a safety feature to avoid leaving the system on by accident. I also find it useful as I can set the temp control and timer to hold the temprature and just leave it too it. It then allows me to just leave it to heat and enter its cooling cycle, while I get on with something else.

On the dimmer switch how much current does the Blanket draw ?RussellR38632.5863541667

Thanks Russell,
The blanket is one of the 12 inch ones. I believe its no more than 400 watts.

Wade

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Wade
Nashua, NH
http://www.wadefx.com

Can't see why the dimmer wouldn't work, as it is rated high enough.

Maybe John Hall can chip in, as his knowledge is much greater on this subject.

Yes...you want both Timer AND Dimmer to keep the blanket from burning itself up. Read LMI's warranty details...gotta run a dimmer to be warranted.
I use a rotary dimmer switch on my side bender, containing 3-300 watt bulds, along with the timer. This allows me to really heat up the metal slats quickly, then throttle back for the wood bending process. I have never had a problem with the common rotary house lighting switch with those wattages, so your blanket should work just fine on the same set-up.

with a blanket that size a standard 600 watt residential light dimmer and timer would be sufficient, and much cheaper, than the commercial 1000 watt units. they fit in a standard double box for a tidy instalation.

I use a router speed controller that I got from John Hall. It works great, it has a three way switch. Off, full on and variable, plus a dial to set the variable temp. I use full on to heat it up quick and then switch to variable for my preset temp to bend. If your gonna walk away and are prone to start up some other activity like I am, you better have a timer or .

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I got a 1000W dimmer to go with the 900W blanket I bought years ago, and it works great. I don't use a timer, and so far....

Knock wood...

Alan....I'll buy you a timer! I would sure hate to see that old barn going up in a blaze! Yikes!

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I have the same unit John has with the full and variable control, with my attention span I need the timer

Thanks guys!
I figured I could put something together myself since I work with wires, motors, lights, bells and whistles all the time here at the science museum.
Is the timer a standard device or is it special in some way?

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Wade
Nashua, NH
http://www.wadefx.com

You can get a timer at lowes. They have 15 minute mechanical times that are about $20.
john hall

Mine does a full hour, but I only set it to 30 minutes. ADHD you know.
What were we talking about?

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I wired mine into a switch with a big red light on it. Light is on and you are in business. Light is off...well I still unplug it when finished just to be sure.
Turn the phone and radio off as well when working in order to avoid distractions.

Thanks again guys,

Hey Don, I'll gladly pitch in to get Alan that timer. Better yet, I'll pick it up, I'm going to get one for myself anyways. We need Alan to continue his work without having to worry about things like rebuilding his barn.

Robbie, I like the light idea!

Wade

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Wade
Nashua, NH
http://www.wadefx.com

[QUOTE=Alan Carruth] I got a 1000W dimmer to go with the 900W blanket I bought years ago, and it works great. I don't use a timer, and so far....

Knock wood...

Yeah...and the Flying Wallenda's USED to walk across the Grand Canyon without a net!

I actually borrowed the light idea from Kent Everett years ago.

hey robbie, what happens if the bulb in the red light blows while you have the blanket on?

the hd/lowes dimmers and timers are both adequate for this size blanket, but not for a full side bending blanket. there you need the big commercial dimmers/timers or the router speed controller. they are often available from harbor freight for $10 or so.crazymanmichael38632.7902893519

[QUOTE=crazymanmichael] hey robbie, what happens if the bulb in the red light blows while you have the blanket on?

Then I would have a problem.

I have 2-5watt PSI blankets that I run through a 1200 watt dimmer and a timer. The heavy duty dimmer was only around 40 bucks or so from the local Locke's electrical supply.

I wouldn't run it at all without a timer. I went off and left some bindings in the bender once, for 2 days! When I came back they were nicely charred and I was lucky that the puny blanket I had at the time didn't get things hot enough to burn down the shop.

40 bucks seemed like a small investment after that experience.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

This isn't really on topic, but it is close enough...   

here is a little contraption I built. It keeps everything nice and compact. It is a direct rip off from another that I saw (... sorry, I forget who...)

I generally use 2 blankets. The left controls run the left recepticle and the right controls run the right recepticle.

I used 1000W dimmers.

The final thing I want to do is add a couple of shelves to the bottom of it so I can store all of my bending forms below.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Wow, Brock    THAT is a nice set-up!!

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Holy cow!! Does it make julian fries as well!?!

Yeah, it might be a bit over the top... :-)

I have a few ideas about hot-rodding the actual bender too.... maybe as I get time I will work those into the mix.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Nice one Brock,
That picture explains a lot.
Thanks for sharing!

Wade

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Wade
Nashua, NH
http://www.wadefx.com