Popcorn Anyone?

[Scottie-TX]

I spend 30 minutes composing a new topic, hit "POST", screen goes blank, reads "successfully processed" and POOF!
GONE. Nowhere to be found. Le's see what happens this time before I continue.
Fine. I'll continue now as "edit". SHEESH!
Let's see now. Where was I? Oh yes - I recall. Popcorn.
Well, dumpster diving a coupla weeks ago I found this discarded popper - I mean - DRIPPING with oil. I recalled someone here writing of the use of one for a parts dryer BONG. Took it home - tested - dead.
I know! A Frankie! I'll make MY Frankenstein with it. Dismantled totally, peered into the now exposed viscera and wondered; hmmmmmm. I yanked the two clips offa the switch, clipped them together - "whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrr". HEY! I gotsa parts dryer. The switch was faulty.
Reassembled and powered it again. SMOKE! I mean smoke just billowed from it. It ran for a short while and shut itself off altho pilot was still on. Is this normal? Is this how they work when popping corn - heat to a desired temp, thermally shut off and corn pops?
Anyway, with corn cup removed so heat can't build up, it does run continuously.
Now I ask; Of those who use one as a parts dryer - what kind of drying platform to make? What to fabricate to hold the parts? Perhaps a screen mesh "tray"? What did you make for yours?
The KOOL part of it that it's neat to look at even when it's not serving as a dryer!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/145/329642259_79263fd2b4.jpg

[leeinv66]

Kool Scottie, very kool. How much weight does it need to run :smile:? I dry may parts in the electric oven, but only when my wife is out :wink:.

Cheers
Pee-tah

[bangster]

Wow, very cool indeed. And much more elaborate than the one I use, which is one of those countertop "air poppers" that pops the corn with forced hot air. I th'owed away the plastic part that holds the corn, just kept the base with heating element & fan. Put the clock parts in a big wire strainer on top of the popper, and turn it on. Air hot enough to pop corn quickly dries the parts. I'm not sure how that fancy one of yours works, but it's a keeper for sure.

bangster

[FabRat28]

You might be able to make a little money on the side at fairs and such...

:biggrin:

[Scottie-TX]

"Batter dipped escape wheels"? "Piping hot crutches seasoned with Cajun pepper - anchors extra"? "Mainsprings Au Jus - hollandaise sauce extra."

[tymfxr]

There you have it folks. Scottie has finally popped his corn and you respond by amusing him. But then perhaps it's just 'hot air', which is PAR for this VENUE. :razz:

[Thyme]

Reassembled and powered it again. SMOKE! I mean smoke just billowed from it. It ran for a short while and shut itself off altho pilot was still on. Is this normal? Is this how they work when popping corn - heat to a desired temp, thermally shut off and corn pops?
Anyway, with corn cup removed so heat can't build up, it does run continuously.
Now I ask; Of those who use one as a parts dryer - what kind of drying platform to make? What to fabricate to hold the parts? Perhaps a screen mesh "tray"? What did you make for yours?

Scottie,

Did you check the thermal link? Most appliances that have heating elements have a component that acts as a fusible link. It's there to prevent fire in case of overheating. On hair dryers (for example), if it burns out, the dryer won't operate. On some corn poppers (I know 'cause I have one of those round, tabletop ones) the thermal switch might malfuction and it will shut the machine off intermittantly, or unpredictably. However, beware of bypassing a thermal switch: without it, if the unit overheats, the case might melt.
:eek:

[Bryan Prindle]

Yea,

Did this popper use oil or other? If it uses oil you would have to put something in the tub to absorb the heat or it would overheat, which would cause it to thermal.

You could just pour some water in the tub to test it. Maybe you could even make some spaghetti with meat sauce :razz:

That thing is way too cool to trash out. I bet you could make some good money selling it on e-bay. Think about it.

Anyway, for a parts dryer I use last years hair dryer which my wife has deemed "outdated." :confused: Seems like it's still blowing hot air to me? Some things I just don't get. I have a whole stack of them. Maybe, I could sell them on e-bay? :rolleyes:

Bryan

[bangster]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Of those who use one as a parts dryer - what kind of drying platform to make? What to fabricate to hold the parts? Perhaps a screen mesh "tray"? What did you make for yours? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I went to All-A-Dollar and picked up a wire mesh colander, about 9" in diameter. Works for me. Cheap AND easy.

bangster

[Scottie-TX]

DANG!
AGAIN! Second reply:
First went, "POOF" into cyberspace as the site failed to process it.
Continuing again, using "EDIT",
THYME, are you in seasoning?
THYME, thanks for the heads up on the sensor but I didn't bypass the sensor. I bypassed the manual front panel switch. The sensor is performing properly.
BP; You're a gas!
Yeah BP - this is a type that uses oil for popping. That was the cause of all that smoke - popping oil about the motor/element area. There should not be oil there. Cleaning this thing was a CHORE. Industrial detergent didn't even phase it. I had to literally bathe it with mineral spirits and follow up with a soapy bath. I didn't want the oil being blown over my clock parts!
Yeah; Me too. The ONLY reason I have a hair dryer is to dry clock parts. I have NO "bad hair" days. But perched precariously on the edge of the bathroom countertop, the parts lying on a high pile towel in danger of falling off or being blown onto the floor with the dryer on low heat and low speed - this corn popper idea just sounded perfect to me; Contained; Safe; Effective!
. . . . .and, "yep!", BONG.
That's perzackly what I'ma gonna be lookin' fer:
A screen mesh collander I can form into a tray just above the blower. NOT BEFORE Jan 5, however.

[dagwra]

I dunno Scotty. I saw a popcorn popper about half the size as yours at a Sams Club. Price? $500.!!!

[Scottie-TX]

DANG!
You haunt some high class bars!

[Bill Ward]

Yeah, Scottie, I've seen the diappearing post trick too. As I'm a slow typist, I somtimes compose my longer posts in Notepad and paste them in. Hopefully, the new system will be more stable.
When I was a kid in upstate NY, there was a guy downtown with a popcorn wagon which looked a lot like your popper: red body, gold trim, spoked wheels. My Dad said he'd been there for decades, and his father for decades before that. It popped the corn with a charcoal fire, and had a place for the operator to put his hands, to keep them warm.
In addition to the fusible link, there is a bimetallic thermal disc switch sometimes seen on such devices. It's concave, and pops to convex at a certain temperature, opening the switch. They're not usually considered resettable, but sometimes they can be pushed back into a concave shape. They're very hard to find replacements for.

[Thyme]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">In addition to the fusible link, there is a bimetallic thermal disc switch sometimes seen on such devices. It's concave, and pops to convex at a certain temperature, opening the switch. They're not usually considered resettable, but sometimes they can be pushed back into a concave shape. They're very hard to find replacements for. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's the item to which I was referring, and your description is very accurate. It is also known as a "klixon". When they malfunction they are not repairable. And yes, they are hard to find - as I said, the machine will run if you remove it from the circuit, but if it overheats you run the risk that the unit might catch fire.

[Scottie-TX]

I believe there's no risk here. When I closed the heat reservoir with the cup - heat built up rapidly with no place to go - smoke was from the residue oil - and it shut itself off. When I removed the cup, allowing heat to escape, there was no heat buildup and it worked just fine with no sign of meltdown. Yeah; I think she's perkin' jes' fine.
Now to find a screen for a parts tray when this post-Christmas frenzy subsides.