After playing with the calculations, I am getting down to some experiments and thought it would be best to start a thread on topic.
First project is a model for a solid roast that I can heat at a controlled rate. I wanted a material that is about the density of water, but would not have convection currents. This is my first attempt:
The wood is cedar and the heating pad is a Minco HR5470 that I got a few years back as a freebie. It is about 3" in diameter. My concern is that cedar is pretty light and a good insulator. I will try it anyway. It is easy to put additional TC holes closer to the edge, if needed.
Thinking that theater artists might have developed inexpensive alternatives, I found a link that used aerated plaster of Paris. The artist simply used a high foaming detergent in the water and rapid mixing. Does anyone have experience with models for meat or foamed plaster? I want it to be cheap, so RTV rubbers are probably out of the question.
For this phase of testing, I do not need to go to very high temperatures.
Regards, John
First project is a model for a solid roast that I can heat at a controlled rate. I wanted a material that is about the density of water, but would not have convection currents. This is my first attempt:
The wood is cedar and the heating pad is a Minco HR5470 that I got a few years back as a freebie. It is about 3" in diameter. My concern is that cedar is pretty light and a good insulator. I will try it anyway. It is easy to put additional TC holes closer to the edge, if needed.
Thinking that theater artists might have developed inexpensive alternatives, I found a link that used aerated plaster of Paris. The artist simply used a high foaming detergent in the water and rapid mixing. Does anyone have experience with models for meat or foamed plaster? I want it to be cheap, so RTV rubbers are probably out of the question.
For this phase of testing, I do not need to go to very high temperatures.
Regards, John