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T-Shirt Dryer

[DIY DTG]
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53K views 139 replies 24 participants last post by  NoXid  
#1 · (Edited)
For those of you who are building your DTG you have a few choices for drying your shirts. 1) You can use a T-Shirt press (Which is fine for limited runs) or 2) You can buy an expensive conveyor dryer or 3) You can use a flash dryer.

All of these are kind of heavy on the wallet. I found a video on Youtube that gave me an idea for a work flow that would be nearly as fast as a conveyor dryer using a flash dryer unit. Good flash dryers will run you in excess of 350 bucks. I'm working on a dryer that will use heat lamps, work on a timer and use forced air... This is a simple idea and you might just start on your own. This is a a bit of a teaser. I will provide directions once I have a working model but for now here is a pic of my heat lamp array. 1500 watts Enjoy!

PS... Try this at your own risk! Please be careful if you venture out on your own. Electricity can kill you! Also, you need to understand first off that AC does not work like your flashlight and other DC products. Both the White and Black wires can kill you if you don't know what you are doing.
 

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#2 ·
I think this is a highly needed avenue to travel!!! I would like to lose the heat presses for a dryer system as we add production/printers... enjoyed the conversation especially the solar power apps.. we need to talk on this aswell more... Ill have to show you some pics on an electric car i built..lol

good to see you back..
 
J
#3 ·
Hello
This is my first rodeo, but i have a question, i bought a yudo machine and, they say for me to iron my printed area to dry. Is that a good thing or do i need to go another route??
 
#5 · (Edited)
Joyce, I'm going to assume that s Yudo is a commercial DTG? You can use an iron... They are awfully slow and it is difficult to determine if you have reached the required temperature. Most DTG manufacturer's will suggest and even offer to sell you a heat press. Yudo must have suggested an iron as an inexpensive alternative... The route you take depends on your production. If you are doing very limited numbers then an iron or a heat press will do just fine. If you are using more than one DTG to increase your production level you will need to look at an alternative so that your drying does not become a bottleneck.

Hope that helps.

Bob ?;O)
 
#4 ·
Hey Jeff, Just after we talked I checked my battery array and found that 7 out of the 32 deep cell batteries had dead cells! I had to replace all 7. Talk about a day wasted. We've had really crappy weather as well... The winds blew about 20 shingles off my roof.

Today was the first day I could spend any time on my dryer. I was afraid I might blow a circuit with this but the photo is proof evident that I can handle it. I have the lamps broken down into two different arrays in parallel. I will be able to turn half of the lamps off and the other half will still be controlled by the timer. This should be a little less harsh on the electricity if necessary.

We actually have an electric car club here... I've had many a discussion with friends on this subject. I work with aeronautical engineers. You can only imagine the ideas these guys have in their heads. I look forward to speaking with you again. Let me know when you've got some spare time and we'll have to arrange another call.

Bob ?;O)
 
#14 ·
A mid-range flash dryer is about 1800 watts. This is 1500 watts. Without the forced air at close distance it should work well on plastisol as well. It might take a bit longer to get to temp but I'm optimistic that it would work. And why do you say that it is not a good solution? On what basis do you make this statement? Have you ever done this? Do you know anyone who has?

Bob
 
#17 · (Edited)
How to build a Flash Dryer Stand

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgG2Ue2eFmw[/media]

Mock Conveyor Setup

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9DMAx5ZpKc[/media]The only problem I have with this guys setup is I don't like the track and is it me or is that flash dryer about 6 inches away from the surface? I don't think that will work very well...

Bob
 
#19 ·
OK... The oven enclosure is done... I made one error and forgot to bolt the support to the back before assembly. This would have been advantageous before I put it all together but I will glue and screw it on instead. Other than that, so far... It's a go! Next I will build the heater stand...

Bob ?;O)
 

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#22 ·
Terry, that will be easier with a stand to hold it up. It's not tiny and we really need it to be testing on a flat surface with a T-shirt for accuracy. If you do a search on Youtube for heat lamps you will mostly find video logs of fires started with these babies. So, I'm very optimistic we can get some good heat out of 12 of them! I decided to replace the lamp switch with a 1000 watt dimmer. It has an off an on switch as well which will allow me to cut half the lights off and to control the temperature a bit. The timer's countdown feature will allow me to set a time for the unit to shut off so I don't burn the Ts while I'm busy.

Thanks,

Bob ?;O)
 
#24 ·
Some thoughts on this unit... It would be a simple matter to build a conveyor using a BBQ rotisserie motor and a dimmer to control the speed. This could be placed over the conveyor as the heating unit... I might just try this later.... Humm.....

The idea of having it on a stand is so that it can also be used as a flash dyer for white backgrounds while silk screening. The mount can hold the unit over the conveyor as well.


Bob ?;O)
 
#27 ·
Progress is progress even if it is slow... The earth is slow but the ox is patient! I have the bracket glued and screwed on and I added a handle to make it easier to adjust the height. It will make sense when you see it. The heater stand is making good progress. I should have it done by the end of the week.

Bob ?;O)
 

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#29 · (Edited)
colorfinger said:
Well, the stand is basically built with the exception of the support for the dryer. I need to build the platen bench first so I can determine the depth of the dryer before putting the hardware together. Getting close. Should have it lit up this weekend.

Bob ?;O)
Click to expand...
Really looking forward to the dryer bob, Im picking up were i left off on the auto pretreat machine that we left on the wayside due to the printer builds.. the pretreater coupled with a dryer will let use pick up some speed for sure this will offset the slight loss on the 1400/'s... would like to impliment your dryer plan and crank it as high as i can without cooking the shirt:D to speed up cure times.. should be some fun testing... may even get to see a fire or two:D

I have a thermo plastic oven that has these lamps like your building but the plastic oven is much to big for t-shirts.. its a bought unit and i see this thing on a regular basis and it never crossed my mind that it could be a t-shirt dryer like your building!!..

great idea its going to be very interesting!! I think your on to something!!
 
#30 ·
Jeff, sounds like the thermo plastic oven will fit the bill alright. I've heard different things and will have to test them. I believe that DTG printed shirts only need to reach 250. With forced air this should work like a charm... My only concern is that being off the grid might prevent this system from reaching its full potential.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with on the pre-treatment machine. I remember seeing you post the spray nozzles...

Blessings!

Bob ?;O)
 
#31 ·
colorfinger said:
Jeff, sounds like the thermo plastic oven will fit the bill alright. I've heard different things and will have to test them. I believe that DTG printed shirts only need to reach 250. With forced air this should work like a charm... My only concern is that being off the grid might prevent this system from reaching its full potential.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with on the pre-treatment machine. I remember seeing you post the spray nozzles...

Blessings!

Bob ?;O)
Click to expand...
Oh no.. Im not using my plastic oven for a t-shirt dryer:D its much to big!!!


waiting on your final testing of your unit.. plan on implementing your plan for a dryer.. the plastic oven was just a reference i use this thing alot and never thought of it in that respect..lol

it has the bulb deal like yours!!:p kinda looks like a giant pizza oven..lol
 
A
#33 ·
Did you figure out all the electrical mumbo jumbo when you wired those lights? I wonder what ohm's law comes up with. Another question, how did you arrive at this style heat lamp? I've seen the red lamps like this and wonder what the hottest lamp could be?

So if yours works well, I wanna hook one up myself, because I'm dreading dropping 2 grand on a decent dryer. I priced a new belt for a 5'-6' table between 30"-36" wide and got prices around $300-350. Add that rotisserie motor and other parts for setup ~$100. We can still be pretty thrifty right?
 
#34 ·
2500hd said:
Did you figure out all the electrical mumbo jumbo when you wired those lights? I wonder what ohm's law comes up with. Another question, how did you arrive at this style heat lamp? I've seen the red lamps like this and wonder what the hottest lamp could be?

So if yours works well, I wanna hook one up myself, because I'm dreading dropping 2 grand on a decent dryer. I priced a new belt for a 5'-6' table between 30"-36" wide and got prices around $300-350. Add that rotisserie motor and other parts for setup ~$100. We can still be pretty thrifty right?
Click to expand...
Ohms Law? Didn't bother to do any math. I just need to know a couple of things here. 1) What is my breaker rated for and 2) can the switches handle the wattage. Too many amps will blow the breaker. The wattage is easy to figure.

The photo on Amazon had the red lamps but they sent me the white. Amazon posted the wrong pic. I could send them back but these will generate heat as well... I will likely replace them with red when they go but reds are more expensive.

I found a rotisserie motor for $18.00 on Amazon (I'm pretty remote and like to order things online). The sides would be stainless steel struts $17.00..

Superstrut 1-5/8 in. x 10 ft. Metal Framing Channel - ZB14HS10PG at The Home Depot

I would make the frame of wood but the rollers would have to be as long as the dryer. So you would need about six rollers. I would make the belt of cloth wire or look for something that could take the heat. The fiberglass belts are rather expensive I would believe....

Just thinking out loud.

Bob ?;O)
 
#37 ·
I cut square holes through the thermal shield for the lamps to plug in. I have a hole drilled in the top of the unit and will place a hose in the top of this. The hose is attached to a cheap hand held leaf blower that I bought on Amazon... $27.00. The air will blow over the lamps through the remaining space directly onto the Tees. I think it will work real well.

I could use a small gasoline generator. My propane generator eats me out of house and home. But as summer approaches I will have plenty of sun and that means electricity in abundance my friend. So, I remain hopeful.

Man, I'm almost tempted to abandon the whole platen bench and go for the conveyor. I think it would be cheap to build. The only setback would be having to purchase new rollers. I have 13" rollers but those are too short...

Thanks,

Bob
 
#40 ·
Well, It's actually more like a flash dryer but larger. You'll see this weekend. I'm really thinking hard how to build a conveyor using what I have this weekend. I like this idea better than the platen bench....

But, looking at that box, wouldn't it be kind of cool if the DTG could spit the T out directly into a box like this? Not practical but that would be cool automation.

Bob ?;O)
 
#41 ·
Guys my understanding is that the shirt, for white underbase and color over would have to reach 350F for approx 3 min to dry and CURE the ink.
CMYK only is 1 min at 350F, you can use 330-350. Without that I am not sure the binders will activate.
 
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#42 ·
Randy, It varies from Ink to Ink... Some will have to be brought all the way up to 350... Absolutely if we are talking plastisol ink. Now I'm talking water based textile inks. That's about 4 inches away for 2-3 minutes 250-350 degrees depending on the ink... You will have to check the manufacturer's recommendation. Everything changes when you add forced air because it causes the liquids to evaporate quicker.

I'm not absolutely sure what it takes for DTG ink but I do believe I read somewhere that the magic number was 250...

Bob ?;O)
 
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