Snooker putty between slates

[Danger Steve]

Hi Steve, been following your posts on this forum about table heating. I recently purchased a 12ft Conway president table. Where the table is can fluctuate in temperature. So I’ve been looking into getting Justin’s system onto my table to make it a bit more enjoyable. I’ve got hainsworth smart cloth on so with heating I’d imagine it’ll be lightning quick!
As you have built your own system do you think I should try and build my own or pay the 425 for a kit from Justin?

I wouldn’t even mind paying yourself to help me sort it out? I’m in Northern Ireland which could be a problem in terms of getting materials but I’m not totally sure!

Thanks!

Hi mate

How many bays is the table divided into underneath? Not familiar with the Conway table you have. I could build you a set and find out how much it would be to ship them over? You could make your own, I couldn’t possibly comment on how handy you are with stuff like this though? There are a few things you need to get right else you might as well just buy a set and be stress free!


Steve

[jamiemca44]

Hi mate

How many bays is the table divided into underneath? Not familiar with the Conway table you have. I could build you a set and find out how much it would be to ship them over? You could make your own, I couldn’t possibly comment on how handy you are with stuff like this though? There are a few things you need to get right else you might as well just buy a set and be stress free!


Steve

Thanks for your reply! It doesn’t seem to difficult to do, between myself and the father in law we could definitely do it. The table has 6 bays in underneath. About 108cm long by 76cm wide. Been looking at heating film online but it seems to be pretty difficult to get the right stuff! If you want to shoot me an email to discuss further? It’s jamiemca44@gmail.com! Cheers mate!

[jamiemca44]

Danger Steve would this heating film be any good? https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/prod...eating-element

[Danger Steve]

Danger Steve would this heating film be any good? https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/prod...eating-element

No.

try this one! It’s 220w instead of the 160w on your link! I’ve used this to build a couple of systems now and it heats the table great!
https://termofol.co.uk/product/heati...-width-100-cm/

The ad states it can be cut every 25cm, but you actually cut it about every 15mm! Just don’t cut through the black section! You have to have a steady hand and a sharpe knife, make sure you cut the clear plastic bit! And once you cut the sheet and attached your electrical connections you will need to place insulation tape or duct tape over the bare end where the copper strip is!

Good luck with it!

[jamiemca44]

I ended up getting some from Termofol. Really good stuff, 220w per swim. It all arrived yesterday. Getting the insulation today. I noticed that Justin uses bullet connectors to connect each panel so he only has 1 live and 1 neutral then coming from the panels, instead of 6 of each. Also have the INKBIRD thermostat along with flex cable, wagos and a plug! 😁 Hoping to start the project tonight when I’m home from work!

[jamiemca44]

Per Sqm! Lol

[jamiemca44]

No.

try this one! It’s 220w instead of the 160w on your link! I’ve used this to build a couple of systems now and it heats the table great!
https://termofol.co.uk/product/heati...-width-100-cm/

Is there anything else I need to know about fitting it?

[Danger Steve]

Is there anything else I need to know about fitting it?

See my reply above! I just said about the Thermofol so you read my mind on that

[Danger Steve]

Yeah just a live on one side and neutral on the other, make sure you get a good connect on the copper strip. I used the crocodile type connectors and slid one side in between the plastic and the copper strip. Just make sure you wrap the contact/connection points with the Butyl tape, and on the opposite end I just wrapped a piece of duct tape over the exposed copper strip.

[jamiemca44]

Danger Steve ah sorry Steve! The rest of the message didn’t load so I didn’t see it! The foil didn’t come with butyl tape but I got this one from acrewfix which I’m hoping will do the job?https://www.screwfix.com/p/self-amal...m-x-25mm/2115v I’ve also got some aluminium heat resistant tape to hold it all in place https://www.screwfix.com/p/diall-alu...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

can I use the rubber tape on the bottom of the copper also?

[Danger Steve]

Cut your 25mm insulation boards before you stick the mat to them! You’ll need to cut them individually and number them to allow for slight differences in size under the table! Make sure you leave enough of a gap so they are not too tight, should you ever want to take them out! Get yourself some joinery modesty blocks from Screwfix to hold them in place once the panels are built. Make sure you fit the panels hard upto the slate so they are touching! You might even find you need to fit a piece of timber 2”x1” down the middle of the length, just to stop the insulation board from sagging! The heat film works by transferring the heat through contact with the object your trying to heat..

When fitting the mat to the insulation panels, make sure the mat is the right way up! Also, you will need to cut a little recess into the insulation to allow for the electrical connection to sit flat with panel once it’s pushed in place up to the slate! I ran the live and neutral wire in a little slot I carved into the side of the insulation board, to keep them all tidy, just make sure you run all you cable towards the middle of the table for joining together later!

If you haven’t already got some, buy some aluminium foil tape from Screwfix to tape the edges of the film to your insulation boards!

When you come to fit the probe for the controller, do this before you fit the panel to the table! I fit my probe above one of cross members of the table frame ( the ones supporting the middle legs), there should be a small gap between the timber and the slate! Position the probe centrally above the timber and jam it hard up to the slate with a wedge of your insulation board! Then finally got the last panel!

Setting up the inkbird controller to your WiFi can be a faff, you might have to YouTube it if you get stuck.

Any queries give me a shout!

Don’t forget to post up some photos of your progress!

[Danger Steve]

Danger Steve ah sorry Steve! The rest of the message didn’t load so I didn’t see it! The foil didn’t come with butyl tape but I got this one from acrewfix which I’m hoping will do the job?https://www.screwfix.com/p/self-amal...m-x-25mm/2115v I’ve also got some aluminium heat resistant tape to hold it all in place https://www.screwfix.com/p/diall-alu...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

can I use the rubber tape on the bottom of the copper also?

Yeah that tape should be fine!

Id just wrap a small piece of duct tape around the opposite cut end! Else the thick black tape will protrude from the mat and hold it away from the slate creating a cold spot! On the end with the electrical connection, just make sure anything metal is covered with that tape from Screwfix! You’ll have to then carefully craft a slot into the inslulation board for the build-up of connection and tape to push into once the panels are fitted! It will all make sense when you start making the panels!

[jamiemca44]

That is fine mate, thank you very much for your help! I think I may run into one issue! Wedges! Should be fine I hope! There’s a few in the middle of the table but they aren’t thick at all!

[jamiemca44]

https://ibb.co/bRWXxKX
https://ibb.co/W0ny8r7
https://ibb.co/W01hDTs
https://ibb.co/Q6gG1Zt
https://ibb.co/PzxQcbb

[Danger Steve]

Lastly, once everything is fitted and you’re ‘up and running’, don’t be tempted to crank the heating straight up to 28degrees! I’d suggest instead getting there over the space of a few days slowly! The slates have never been artificially heated before and could go a bit crazy if they suddenly jump from 15 degrees to over 28! Maybe set it to 22 one day, then 25, then 28. This is the temperature I now keep my table permanently set to! I never turn it off. So to start with, the first couple of days you probably won’t even notice the heat when you feel the cloth with your hand, but once it gets to 28 it should feel slightly warm to the touch!

I can’t remember if you said your table has adjustable muntin brackets fitted? You’ll probably want to get some installed if not! My table sagged very slightly in the middle after I started heating the slate! Not straight away, but I noticed it after a few months! So if you can, do this first and be safe than sorry!

Final top tip! Make sure you have a plug with a fly lead of cable connected up with your Wago’s on the end, once you’ve built a panel, connect it to your fly lead and plug it in to test the mat is getting warm before you install them!

Also, keep all this Top Secret info to yourself! Don’t want Justin on my back saying that I’m giving away his trade secrets on how to build table heaters 🤣🤣