Vacuum infusion in cold weather then hot.

Going to do a vacuum infusion project and am thinking about doing it in a 45-50F degree garage. When the cloth is all wet and looks good move it inside my house that can be 65-100. I figure this will give me even more time in case of a mistake. Thoughts?

Make sure your resin is thin enough to FLOW at that temperature. My guess is it will thicken up quite a bit. Try it and let us know… :slight_smile:

for my experience, 45-50°F is too cold, resin doesn’t flow.
I heat my garage at about 15-18°C (59-64°F), I consider this the lower temperature to infuse. When cold I heat molds in the oven, then I do infusion…I heat them even at 50°C (122°F) for small mold.
You can do infusion at home with a longer catalyst

You really need to tailor your temperature to the resin system you are using, consult the data sheets to find the optimum temperature which combines both flowing ability and cure rates.

I do most of my infusion at 30°C (86°F) which means my moulds, resin and hardeners cloth reinforcments all are heated to the same temperature prior to infusion. I have had the best consistent results doing so.

Example of how temperature changes the viscosity and cure rate with the system I use

[FONT=HelveticaNeue-Bold][SIZE=1]15°C 845 [FONT=HelveticaNeue-Bold][SIZE=1][FONT=HelveticaNeue-Bold][SIZE=1]Viscosity (cP) hrs to cure [FONT=HelveticaNeue-Light][SIZE=1][FONT=HelveticaNeue-Light][SIZE=1]102:00[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=HelveticaNeue-Bold][SIZE=1][FONT=HelveticaNeue-Light][SIZE=1]
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]20°C 565 [FONT=HelveticaNeue-Bold][SIZE=1]Viscosity (cP) hrs to cure 36[/SIZE][/FONT]
25°C 378 [FONT=HelveticaNeue-Bold][SIZE=1]Viscosity (cP) hrs to cure 13[/SIZE][/FONT]
30°C 251 [FONT=HelveticaNeue-Bold][SIZE=1]Viscosity (cP) hrs to cure 4.4[/SIZE][/FONT]
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

Not only viscosity increases but also surface tension. This creates issues with fiber wet out.

If possible, infuse at slightly elevated temperatures. If the infusion time is too long, adjust the cure time of the resin, or adjust the infusion strategy.

Thanks for the replys. Looks like this is not a great idea and found a hardener with my epoxy that gives me two hours, so now I will not have to move it.

Your house will be 100f? OUCH.
Moving to a new hardener that will cure in 2 hr still means normal room temp. If your garage is colder, it will still take a long time to cure. It also still might be too thick to infuse in the first place. You can add heat blankets to your mold, and mix your resin at room temp, indoors.

Also think about what it’s going to be like to move the part in a vacuum bag with hoses attached. Snag the bag on a sharp corner of your door frame and you’ve got a problem.