Resin Addict Forum

So my life was made a little more safe today when I opened up new new pressure pot from CA Technologies. The actual purchase was made from a company in Wisconsin, USA called , I believe it has been mentioned on RA previously.

1) The first thing that stands out is the heavy duty nature of the pot and the way it is constructed. The way the large wingnuts clamp down over the lid means there is no marring or pocking of the lid surface whatsoever. That was a serious issue on the pots from Harbor Freight that directly affected the life of the pot. The material is about 2-3 times heavier than a pot from HF.



2) The heavy wingnuts are super secure, but do take longer to tighten down properly. The ball joint on the left, labeled as an "out", was included and already installed on the lid. There is also an 80psi safety valve installed and a separate screw-type pressure release valve.



3) There is no paint tube to remove and that is a 2-way diverter installed on the inside of the lid. By itself, the lid feels almost as heavy as the entire pot from HF.



4) One of the best features of this pot is that the paint liner is removed before they ship it. This gives a nice, flat bottom to allow for maximum use of the pot's volume.



Also included are 4 heavy casters with all the required hardware to attach them. About the only thing I can find to be critical of is that removal of the giant hook in the middle of the lid would not prove an easy task. It's not in the way but I just don't like it there.

Cost? $305USD...3 times the cost of the Harbor Freight pot we all know. Worth it? Absolutely! The nature of the lid clamps on the HF pots give them a life of about a year or so, assuming you use them regularly. I can see this pot lasting at least 10 years or more.

Hope this review will give some folks a reason to pause and consider investing a little more into your pots.

-Steve

Thanks for the review Steve!

While one can always make do with budget and/or repurposed tools, there's nothing quite like a purpose built, high quality, professional tool! It's obviously out of the budget of a beginner caster, but for the serious user $305 isn't excessive for what you're getting. Do you know if it's made in the US?

Talking about issues with cheap gear, my compressor has sprung a leak around the pressure control switch so I'm going to have to fix that over the weekend...

Great review!!!

That looks alot like My pot but double the price..... Here is Mine:



NOw I did have to put time and some money to convert it so Its going to be a bit of a "premium" item that is ready to roll.....


Overall I think this is a good deal considering. And Also your luck with some others I would say "YES SPEND THE MONEY" because that looks like a safe pot for you to use!!!

@Zac: I'm pretty sure it's manufactured here in the states.

@Monkey: That's a good price but it's max working pressure is only 45psi, I usually run things closer to 60.

Yea I just changed the blow off valve and run it to 60-70....

OK here is my pot!! At $30 an hour (my real work overtime amount) it was cheaper to make this VS buying the $305 pot But NOT BY MUCH.....






now you cant tell but the bottom is semi round. here is how I solved that and made more room in my pot.





Any questions just ask!!

Looks quite simillar, you even built a wooden double shelf like I did, top job! Only noticeable difference is that yours has the paint liner in it, but that's not a big deal. Thank's Monk!

Great !

Well it seems to be the same built in general.
The bigest difference seems to be in the lid. The way things are attached to it.

In the CA technologie, the standart seems to be BSP for the hosing.
Is the standart BSP or NPT in the Grizzly pot ?

As for the shelf, I am buiding an horizontal setting of mine. I'll post pictures in the near future...

I think you need to share WHY you had to get a new pot.


You have all the luck dude.

LOL...yeah it's in my other thread, right at the top of the page. The HF lid "burbed" and warped under pressure...while I was standing over it.

Lol...well freewill is an awesome thing flowolf. After a few close calls, I've decided to play it safe and protect things like...my face and groin