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-   -   Warming Tray (http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=800624)

Cabledog 12-15-2013 7:06 AM

Warming Tray
 
Has anyone made a custom warming tray? I have a lot of room in the engine compartment and was thinking about making one out of light gauge sheet metal and powder coating. It seems simple enough but is there anything I should consider into the design?

brichter14 12-15-2013 7:21 AM

Axis uses plastic for theirs, i would think aluminum would be ok but steel sheets could probably get too hot.

Cabledog 12-15-2013 7:42 AM

Good idea, I have aluminum available too.

Talonsorensen 12-15-2013 9:24 AM

Malibu, new mbs have plastic warming trays

rbeckner27 12-15-2013 6:56 PM

What is a warming tray and what is it for? For those of is less educated.

gibbs114 12-15-2013 7:11 PM

Plastic tray that sits on top of the engine, I use it on my Axis all the time.

ralph 12-15-2013 7:55 PM

I have something similar on my Sanger, I call it "exhaust manifold" and hang my heater top on it all the time

brichter14 12-15-2013 8:00 PM

You know the "refreshing" feeling of putting your jacket on for your second run on those less than warm days? A warming tray makes everything all better.

bftskir 12-15-2013 8:08 PM

Drysuit

ilikebeaverandboats 12-15-2013 8:52 PM

Well lets get scientific with this! You want to chose a material that has a high thermal conductivity (transfers the most heat) and is corrosion resistant....

here are thermal conductivities for various materials... there are numerous other resources that are more specific, but for general material selection, this link will work..
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/th...ity-d_429.html

Aluminum is very high, at 205
Stainless Steel is pretty low, at 16
Steel is still pretty low, at 43

Aluminum would be your best bet as far as heat transfer is concerned.

But take care in choosing hardware... If you mate aluminum and stainless steel (common marine grade hardware) galvanic corrosion will set in and hurt the longevity of your project. I've heard various opinions on mitigating the reaction, but it seems there is no way of completely escaping the inevitable corrosion caused by the flow of those dang electrons. Various methods of insulation should be considered and investigated. Some say "you will be fine", but i don't trust anyone anyways.

Some things I would definitely determine....
How hot do you want it to get, how hot "CAN" it get (get a thermometer up in that compartment man!)...don't forget that the "fins" on a heat sink/heat exchanger can also be used to heat something up... (im imagining some sort of V8 powered jetboil camp stove.... :rolleyes: ) Heat transfer really is a beautiful thing...do some reading on Convection and Conduction as they will be the modes you deal with. Its cool info to retain anyways ;)
Can you weld? MIG or TIG? How much do you want to spend (I've always wanted an excuse to "need" Aluminum fasteners)

I glanced at this and am saving it for future reference, has some good info on designing your part if you chose aluminum, like i would want to :)
http://www.aluminiumdesign.net/desig...on-resistance/





BUT... if you dont want to have a weiner roast or fry pancakes on this thing, which would be awesome but I forsee luke warm weiners (no one wants more of those on the boat) and pancakes that get "eaten" with a straw.....instead of building a bulky clunky corrosion ridden thing-a-majig to mount on your motor....why not just build a rack and mount it to the bottom (inside of the engine compartment of the sun pad/engine cover to hold your items to be warmed? Hopefully you could utilize hardware and holes that are already there! I love when I dont have to add more holes to things....
just another idea to throw into the jumble :D

brichter14 12-16-2013 4:56 AM

Since this has been brought up i will probably try to do this for my SAN. i would say a simple wire basket that is shallow enough to fit over the engine would work. Maybe something you see in chest freezers?

Cabledog 12-16-2013 7:27 AM

Thanks for all of the input. My goals are to have a 6-8" deep removable tray that sits on the structural members between the engine compartment and the rear lockers. Similiar to what the Mailbu & MB's have. Theirs are plastic but I don't have resources available to mold plastic. I do have access aerospace grade materials (light guage steel, aluminum, and some exotic metals like titanium but that would be overkill) and manuafacturing equipment to include coatings & paints that will inhibit corrosion. My idea is to have the main tray and tabs that would hold it in place as a single piece and weld the sides in. I'm not looking to attach anything to the engine or cook anything as cool as that sounds. I was thinking more of a place to warm towels and vests for those mornng runs and store ropes, etc. I don't think a wire basket would work for my needs as wet or loose items could drip or fall onto the engine. I do have a friend that works with carbon fiber and were tossing that idea around after a couple beers. Carbon fiber would be the most asthetic, light weight, and just plain bad A$$ but as Joe points out I need to give the thermal conductivity properties consideration. it sounds like I have some research to do.

buffalow 12-16-2013 7:32 AM

In the old days, the warming tray was a 55 Gallon cooler full of boiling water. When you came in from riding in the winter you jammed your hands in feet in it :)

brichter14 12-16-2013 7:40 AM

Good call on water drips from a basket. I think a simple bent aluminum tray that gets a truck bed liner on it would be ideal

cjh1669 12-16-2013 7:43 AM

Don't use it for towels or anything you want semi dry. On my bu when someone wet would get on the sundeck it would leak into the warming tray. I just use it to hold ropes.

JEr 12-16-2013 11:05 AM

Awesome ideas guys, i have been pondering making one out of fiberglass or carbon but to make a mold for it was what i was dreading. Hadn't thought of doing it out of aluminum until now. I have access to loads of aircraft grade materials so will punch one out this winter. As far as this
"cjh1669 Don't use it for towels or anything you want semi dry. On my bu when someone wet would get on the sundeck it would leak into the warming tray. I just use it to hold ropes."
couldnt a guy make some sort of ribs or a grate to put in to keep said items above the water dripping in and then have a drain hole with drain line so water is removed.

T_A 12-16-2013 12:08 PM

I think a big problem with the malibus is the 2 piece sunpad. This puts the crease that all the water drains down right in the middle of the tray. If you have a 3 piece swimpad, I don't think water will be as much of a factor..

silvermustang35 12-16-2013 1:35 PM

I made one for my I/O back in the day. I went to Lowes and bought a washing machine drip tray pan. It was about the specs you mentioned and then got some thing metal that was probably 2 inches by .25 wide. I then bent it and the tray sat on the metal 'hooks' and kept towels warm or anything else I wanted. I'll try to find pics of what I made. Cost all of maybe 20 bucks.

silvermustang35 12-16-2013 1:56 PM

3 Attachment(s)
Not the best pics, they were taken in 2009 and that boat has been long gone since then.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-Was...067/100080446#


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