Quench tank size

M

M forge

Joined
May 27, 2011
Messages
171
This may be a silly question but here it goes.

Is there a minimum size or amount a quench tank should hold. I just work in a small area of my garage and use various size bread or baking pans as my quench tank depending on the size of blade I am quenching. They hold from a quart to a half gallon. The amount of oil must have something to do with the amount or rate of cooling. Note, I use 5160 or 52100 and quench with a torch.
 
I use a $30 roasting pan for my horizontial quench tank. It holds 3 gal and heats the oil.

If I want to quench vertically, I have a soda keg. I think it holds 5 gal. I wouldn't quench in anything less than a gal. The more oil, the better the heat is dispersed.
 
If possible, being able to slice through the quench oil when hardening is the ideal; so a container that allows this to happen is ideal.
 
I have been using a couple of soda kegs. I almost got them for free. They have worked out pretty well. Each holds 5 gallons of AAA or 50 quench. Easy to move around and I don't have to worry about spilling the quenchant with the lid closed. Where the tubes went I placed a thermometer to see the temp of the oil. Idealy though I would have something similar that had a heating element and a way to circulate the oil.
 
I use a couple of the biggest ammo cans I could find(30mm, I think) for my quench tanks. One contains Parks 50 for the water hardening steels(W2, W1, 1084, 1095, etc...) and the other contains Parks AAA for the oil hardening steels(O1, L6, 5160, etc...). Right now, there's 5 gallons of oil in each ammo can and there appears to be room for another 5 gallons in each. These ammo cans work great for my purposes. No leaks and the lids clamp down tight afterwards to keep contaminants out.
 
Fred.Rowe said:
If possible, being able to slice through the quench oil when hardening is the ideal; so a container that allows this to happen is ideal.
Click to expand...

OK I guess instead of the goat trough above how about quenching while slicing though a goat? :)
 
Deloid , only if you are using a nice veggie oil ,such as the olive oil that the virgins make !

There was a rule of thumb for oil . 5 gallons per pound of steel ???
 
I just picked up one of those large electric roasters for like $30. Seems to hold 3.5gal which should work fine. Nice thing with these roasters is I can heat the oil as needed and it is perfect for storing it on my cart under the HT oven.
 
I believe Scott Mackenzie (sp?) recommends 1 gallon per pound. Though I have heard from experienced makers that the minimum should be 5 gallons.
 
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