www.TK560.com

[plasticfan]

I located a compressed natural gas tank that holds about 16.5 gallons and is .27" thick so its strong enough--but is it enough volume to do a good job?

the junkyard is asking 25 bucks for it.

Should I get it or hold off? I cant find a bloodly water heater tank anywhere near DC. If someone has one or finds one, please let me know. Im very close to buying a 100 propane tank.

PF

[jegner]

The general rule of thumb for tank sizes is something like this:

You want your pump to evac. the tank FASTER than the oven can heat a sheet of plastic to forming temp. For a 24x24 inch holding frame machine, [21.5x21.5 platen] the tank should be 23 gallons min, in order to have enough vacuum to pull, and still have enough incase of a leak. Thurston James says 30 gallon.

16 gallon might be enough to work for a smaller machine, or for a 24x24 inch machine, but you would not have much 'extra' vacuum if your seal was poor, you could loose your vacuum, and loose your pull. Best to be on the safe side.

A 30 or 40 gallon hot water tank us common to use.

[plasticfan]

alright thanks.. I simply cannot locate a water heater anywhere in the DC area. Craigslist, Freecycle etc. bubkiss

I may just go with propane.