HamsterJam
Let’s take it apart to see what’s inside….
I ring too
- we don’t have rope heaters though.
Rope Warming
- Thread starter Woodchip Wilbur
- Start date
Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:
- we don’t have rope heaters though.
I was pretty sure there'd be another ringer here!! You may well not need rope warmers (or driers) - but we proudly hold the prize for "The Coldest Ringing Chamber in Yorkshire"!I ring too
Mind you, as we all came out of lockdown, and with all of the talk of build-up of CO2 and aerosols, we suddenly became a very popular venue for meetings!
HamsterJam
Let’s take it apart to see what’s inside….
You could try looking at cabinet or enclosure heaters. Unfortunately not cheap but can be had in more compact sizes than tube heaters.
https://uk.farnell.com/pentagon/ach60-60w-230v/heater-anti-condensation-60w/dp/3183208
https://uk.farnell.com/pentagon/ach60-60w-230v/heater-anti-condensation-60w/dp/3183208
Popping up on my Black Friday Deals this morning is a "personal desktop heater". It's 500W, ceramic and with a thermostat and fan. It will fit in the space at the bottom of my tube, it has overheating and tilt protection - and is under £20.
As Jane Eyre didn't quite say, "Reader, I bought it!".
As Jane Eyre didn't quite say, "Reader, I bought it!".
All I meant there is to fit the resistors vertically up the enclosure. I just noticed it's wooden, so it would have to be replaced by a proper fire enclosure. Still reasonably easy to do, but I see you bought a ceramic heater.
I used to have a gay mate who was a campanologist. Lovely fella, he'd won prizes for it believe it or not, and we used to quite often have a pint in The Local. His name was D.R.Love a name I thought I thought I should probably have instead of Chris. Imagine the opportunite for playful banter when using your credit card. Entirely wasted on him.
I used to casually irritate him by asking him if he was ringing*insert homosexual campanology bell jokes here*any time in the near future. It amused my simple mind at least
Mind you he once got me to sing 'There'll be Blue over the White cliffs of Dover' by Dame Vera Lynn and a good part of 'Non, je ne regrette rien' by Edith Piaf OUT LOUD IN. THE. PUB. by pretending he had never heard of them.
The pri**k.
He got me there no doubt about that one.
I had that horrible moment of realisation he was taking the p*ss and half the pub had heard me at the EXACT moment I suddenly realised it had gone really, really quiet... Took a while to live that one down.
Hope the heater works ok.
I used to casually irritate him by asking him if he was ringing*insert homosexual campanology bell jokes here*any time in the near future. It amused my simple mind at least
Mind you he once got me to sing 'There'll be Blue over the White cliffs of Dover' by Dame Vera Lynn and a good part of 'Non, je ne regrette rien' by Edith Piaf OUT LOUD IN. THE. PUB. by pretending he had never heard of them.
The pri**k.
He got me there no doubt about that one.
I had that horrible moment of realisation he was taking the p*ss and half the pub had heard me at the EXACT moment I suddenly realised it had gone really, really quiet... Took a while to live that one down.
Hope the heater works ok.
Last edited:
Something like this might do the trick.
You need to bolt it to some form of heatsink to help transfer the heat from the device to the air as it doesn't have enough surface area on its own.
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/chassis-mount-resistors/1852285
I wouldn't worry about the rating being higher than your bulbs. I doubts that much science went into the original design, just a bit of trial and error.
An aluminium resistor should never wear out provided you have enough airflow so that it doesn't overheat.
You need to bolt it to some form of heatsink to help transfer the heat from the device to the air as it doesn't have enough surface area on its own.
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/chassis-mount-resistors/1852285
I wouldn't worry about the rating being higher than your bulbs. I doubts that much science went into the original design, just a bit of trial and error.
An aluminium resistor should never wear out provided you have enough airflow so that it doesn't overheat.
What about that foam pipe insulation ?, you know the type, its silver grey tube with a slit up one side. You could put it on and slide it up,get to the end(I think they're 6' lengths, then add another which in turn pushes the first one further up, till you either cover the entire rope, which I dont think is practical due to the height of some towers, or just the lower ends the bell ringers hold.
Or someone walks up the tower, unhooks the rope, drops it down to be stored somewhere warmer, then repeats the process in reverse. Has to be better than heating an entire tower with the price of energy soaring as it is.
Or someone walks up the tower, unhooks the rope, drops it down to be stored somewhere warmer, then repeats the process in reverse. Has to be better than heating an entire tower with the price of energy soaring as it is.
Foam pipe insulation would simply prevent the ropes from drying. They would take a long time to put on and off too.
Taking a rope off takes around 10 minutes plus the time to climb the 56 spiral steps and unlock the belfry door and clamber onto the frame. Putting it on and adjusting it for height (an inch or two is critical) takes more like 20 min as the rope is fed down through 3 floors and a rope guide. Now multiply that by 8 for the 8 bells and think of doing that two, sometimes three times a week.
It ain't gonna happen!
Last edited:
Auldfart2010
Established Member
The second paragraph in this article might interest you @WoodchipWilbur Mud on the dog, blood on the ropes
I have a keen interest in all things sharp and the use of ropes. As a pre-teen I once snook into the bell tower in the Dronfied Parish Church and rang one of the bells. I then ran like The Devil was chasing me. I also like flying buttresses and stonework too. Oh the list goes on.
I have a keen interest in all things sharp and the use of ropes. As a pre-teen I once snook into the bell tower in the Dronfied Parish Church and rang one of the bells. I then ran like The Devil was chasing me. I also like flying buttresses and stonework too. Oh the list goes on.
Tris
What am I doing here?
Would a fermentation heater do the job?
https://www.biggerjugs.co.uk/produc...meter-for-use-with-all-fermenters-and-carboys
There are others but the 7 year old in me couldn't resist the website name
https://www.biggerjugs.co.uk/produc...meter-for-use-with-all-fermenters-and-carboys
There are others but the 7 year old in me couldn't resist the website name
The whole thing was interesting!
She suggests a piano heater. In this particular installation, I suspect that what I see on the net will be less than ideal because it is a long and thin unit - and I think I need a short and fat one to fit in the bottom of the "tube".
Same again, Tris. The pad is fine but the format less so. Laid flat, it is going to block the flow of air - and there isn't the height to put a 300mm pad on the side.
To refer back to my original post (from November last year!):
The heater needs to fit into the small chamber at the bottom, below the metal grid that keeps the ropes themselves away from the heat source. Note that it already works well. It doesn't "heat an entire tower with the price of energy soaring as it is". Not noticeably, anyway!
On the subject of bell ropes (which we weren't but was part of the subject of the blog that Auldfart pointed to.) I actually make bell ropes in a small way - and know most of the ropewalks about the country. "No One" nowadays gets a rope that is hemp or flax all the way up! (I'm sure that some do - but they are rare.) Almost all ropes are made of pre-stretched terylene (or the newer, higher-tech Dyneema) which is machine-spliced onto a natural fibre (flax nowadays) woollen sallie and tail end. You wouldn't want to be handling a man-made tail end.
These are excellent, often used in lift shafts and motor rooms to keep the damp at bay, I use them in mushroom sheds, 40W version on solar, lots of different makes, sizes and powers available. With the thermostat they won't get too hot, I don't know what the temperature limit for bell rope is but ours you can hold to warm your hands so I would think they were OK touching the rope. Don't know if that negates the rebuild. Don't send me the bill if I'm wrong.
