Alternative Cheaper Table Heating idea?

[BigfellaPhil]

Hi,

I've never played on a heated table, however, I'm looking at different (cheaper) options to heat my own Table, at the moment and I was wondering if two 'King Size Electric Bed Blankets' would be able to do the job...? obviously I'd need to find a way to get them to stay up under the slates but that shouldn't be a problem... The main reason I thought of Electric Blankets is the dimensions are pretty close to a snooket Table already so there would be no need to adapt them and obviously they have the thermostat built in and dont get mega hot like a heater would... anyone any other ideas?

[Staezione]

This is how i did it, just buy isolated electric floor heating wire. In total cost me about 150 Euro's. for the thermostat i used this one: http://www.sestos-hk.com/english/pro...how.asp?id=495 - comes very cheap on ebay (15 dollar more or less). Works like a dream.
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[BigfellaPhil]

That's great! Thanks, Staezione, I've just checked that Thermostat out, your right it is very cheap, Happy Days!

[sealer]

That's great! Thanks, Staezione, I've just checked that Thermostat out, your right it is very cheap, Happy Days!

Please don't do it this way. You will burn with the house.

[Staezione]

Please don't do it this way. You will burn with the house.

I'll have it for 7 years now. Safest setup there is in conjunction with the solid state relais. Don't talk bollocks.

[BigfellaPhil]

lol, I'm a Firefighter, so, however, I do it, it'll be done with safety in mind...

[islotey]

This sounds like a great idea. Do you attach the heating wire directly to the slate? I would appreciate some pictures if you have some ...

Thanks

[Geoff Large]

Too much Heat placed too close to the slate will eventually distort it .

and before you all say B)))))KS , I have been fitting tables dismantling and setting up for over 40 years and I have seen many tables with distorted slates due to excessive heat over a period of time
it may not distort for a year or so but eventually it will distort and the level will become effected .

modern slate is even worse than the good welsh slate for distorting .

as the density of modern Chinese Italian and Portuguese and Brazilian slate is more porous .

Slate when formed is crushed fall out dust and muck which becomes under great pressure to form a shale solid , but a solid that is porous , unlike marble which is solid and none porous .

if you where to drop and break a slate you will see that it breaks by coming apart in shale like substance ,
this break at the shale is the week point and heat will try and force the slate apart at this point even when it is a solid .

Back ground heat from say a heater placed at ;least 1 foot away and on back ground heat setting not full wack is the best way .

Welsh slate of good thickness can withstand the heat distortion much better and these older tables can put up with the heat much better , but they also can not be trusted not to distort if too much heat is placed underneath them .
A local table to me had a convector heater underneath the black spot for a couple of years , that table now has the two end slates distorted .
and a ball runs off from black spot to middle bag from both sides on a diagonal shot .
the whole table to get correct again will have to have the slate re floated level again .
this is now not as easy to get done in the UK as it was in the 1980s and 90s . as firms like Enbild of Liverpool and Karnehm and Hillman who used to offer a re floating service have now gone .
also the slates had to go to them to be re floated as you cannot do it in situ as you need 12 foot at each end of the table to re float slates .

if a table is indoors and in room with central heating then you have to ask why heat in the first place .
my recommendation to most people is if you must heat under the table then small oil filled radiator under each section of frame work , there are three sections if you look under the table from end leg to middle legs , then the middle leg section , then the other middle to end leg section .
and only put them on say 2 hours before you play and turn them off after play .

As a Billiard fitter who has seen damaged tables through heat distortion , that is my advice , take it or leave it , it's not my table at the end of the day .

[islotey]

Thanks Geoff - I'm using 3 small oil-filled radiators placed under the table at the moment so maybe I'll just stick with them. I do leave the heaters on all the time at a low setting but they have thermostats built-in. I need to have heating in some form as the table is in the basement and it stays pretty cool there especially in winter. ...

[perpetualboredom]

I have 4 tiny oil filled radiators and they do the job of speeding up the table, it doesn't need to be warm to the touch like the tube heaters are.

Geoff - Could the slate not be supported in the centre to correct the roll off you mention? Reason I ash is that I have the end slate (D end), which runs slightly cushion to centre at both sides - I was was going to see if the centre could be raised a little at the next recover, there's nothing to adjust in the centre, so the idea was just to use a prop if it might have the desited effect?

[Geoff Large]

I have 4 tiny oil filled radiators and they do the job of speeding up the table, it doesn't need to be warm to the touch like the tube heaters are.

Geoff - Could the slate not be supported in the centre to correct the roll off you mention? Reason I ash is that I have the end slate (D end), which runs slightly cushion to centre at both sides - I was was going to see if the centre could be raised a little at the next recover, there's nothing to adjust in the centre, so the idea was just to use a prop if it might have the desited effect?

Yes you need adjustable slate muntin brackets , cut out the old fixed muntins and fit brackets and cut down original muntins and refit , don't forget to place a washer or metal where the bolt bites into the wood .

You can make them out of joist hangers like this , cut excess top tabs off and weld a nut to them .
you can only fit these if you have space above the cross members for the top tab to slide into under the slate and on top of the cross member .
older tables will require slates off to fit if no space there .

http://gclbilliards.com/adjustable-muntins-retro-fit/

But the roll off I mentioned is because of heat displacement of shale in the slate bed , forcing upwards and not a slate dipping issue which i think is what you have

[inevermissblue]

Hi Geoff. If you really discourage the use of tubeheaters. Do you have any examples of radiators to use? I.e. size, heater settings and or temperatures? Cheers. As I'm in the process of heating a table very soon.

[Shockerz]

I've been looking at table roll off for a while as the guys at the club want table heaters fitted but I was told by a table fitter to avoid it as we only have 3 slate supports under the table and the slate is more susceptible to warping with heat and also the supports may well do as well.

Looking at Geoff's supports on his website link they look like a great idea.

Geoff - Is this the sort of thing you would do to stop the slate dropping any more or would you be able to tighten they to counteract warping that has already occurred?

[inevermissblue]

I recently got our club to agree to getting the best table heated. I was going to go down the tube heater road, as I have done this before with good results in terms of added speed etc. Although having heard the negative comments about long term damage. I have decided to try oil filled radiators.
I purchased 3 mini ones which are approximately 800w each. In order to get them closer to the slate I have utilised the old light canopy and place that under the table. With the rads spread out across the top section.
I monitored the slate temperatures.
At room temperature the slate read 13.5°c. This was with central heating off. Surprisingly, the temperature doesn't improve after ironing. So then I switched on all the heaters and after 30 mins the slate reached 24°c and after 1 hour they climbed upto 38.1°c.
Is this a decent temperature? Or should it be more? As there is a noticeable improvement. I am yet to compare this to when the central heating is on. To montior the slate with heating on/off. The heaters are set to virtually maximum by the way.

Im wondering what others have done in terms of positioning their radiators?

Or what size they used or wattage?

[DeanH]

I believe they try for table bed cloth of around 20°C, hence the heaters under the pro tables appear to be 40°C to allow for loss through the air, through the tables construct and the slates.
The point of heating the table is to reduce the dampness in the cloth and the rails.

if the slate was 38C was that the underside? what was it on the playing surface? if it was 38 on top - hot to the touch!

love to hear table fitters advice