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On the USITT costumers' email list, one member recently asked some relevant questions about dye vats. She's got budget approval to buy one, and wondered whether anyone had strong feelings about wooden paddles (length, type of wood, etc), or had any experience with the Blodgett brand of steam-jacketed vats.
I decided to transcribe my response here, so it'd be Googleable for future researchers of the topic.
On wood paddles:
I have four $12 wood paddles that i use in my two steam-jacketed vats. One of them predates my tenure here so i have no idea how old it is--it has a thin crack running along the wide part of the paddle, which is why i purchased more, thinking it might break off soon. I've been here five years and counting and it hasn't broken yet. I wouldn't use it to paddle delicate fabric down into a bath, just in case it might snag something, but i do use it still on sturdier jobs.
That's the only reason i could think of to justify a costlier hardwood paddle, the lower likelihood of the wood cracking over time after repeated exposure to heat/chemicals, but it's not something on my dream list of equipment or anything. My cheapo paddles work fine, and when they do go, it's easier to find $12 to replace them than $100.
Lengthwise, all four of mine are 36" paddles, and they are fine in the 60-gal Groen.
On vats:
I can't help you on personal experience with the Blodgett brand, in that everywhere i've worked that had a functional vat had Groens or Hamiltons, or used soup tureens on giant heating elements. One shop i worked in had a Blodgett (IIRC) that someone had donated to the facility without investigating whether there was sufficient space/plumbing/ventilation, so it sat sadly in the basement because no one wanted to get rid of it, but no one knew how to find a way (physically or budgetarily) to install it either. I count this as a negative statement about the vat donor and facilities director in that case, rather than the Blodgett brand. :)
I'm going to repost this topic to my blog, since due to my posts on buying dye vats and vent hoods, sometimes it catches some relevant eyes that this email list doesn't--maybe some of the readership will chime in with Blodgett product reviews. In general, if you can find a restaurant surplus supply in your area, you might be able to get a second-hand vat in good condition from them for much less $$$ than brand-new.
Because, not only do you need to plan for the vat but also for ventilation! Which, you may have already investigated that so forgive me if i'm stating the obvious, but it is something that slips people's minds, as evidenced by my tale of the Blodgett in the basement--no plan had been made for plumbing it in/out, wiring a switchbox for it, or locating it somewhere that a vent hood could be installed. That said, you can be creative with this sort of thing, depending on where you are. I know of a shop in the Los Angeles area which has their dye vat outside under a carport roof--utilizing natural ventilation. Of course, i don't know how their neighbors might feel about that choice.
And, just in case you haven't come across them in your research, here are links to my two prior blog posts on this, which are sort of buyer guides for the theatrical dyer, to help with research and asking the right questions of vendors and facilities folks:
Dye vat sourcing: http://labricoleuse.livejournal.com/38478.html
Ventilation options: http://labricoleuse.livejournal.com/76739.html
Honestly, if you can't get both the size vat you want and a good vent system, paddles, goggles/gauntlets/etc out of your $10,000 budget, you might save a bundle but still really upgrade your dye facility by looking at 40gal or 60gal non-steam-jacketed tureens and an industrial-sized heating element. That's the route they chose at the LA Opera when they moved into a new costume facility the year before i worked there--tureen/element rather than steam-jacketed vat--and it's what they've got in the dyeshop at Parsons-Meares and at the American Repertory Theatre (or had when i worked there 2 and 6 years ago, respectively). If you want to consider that and price it out, research around about hot plates for drums and stock pots, like these:
http://www.wenesco.com/hotdrums.htm
The difference between the dyebath you get from a tureen and one you get with a steam-jacket is temperature gradation--the heat from the element makes the bath tend to be warmer the deeper it is, so your dyer just needs to be more vigilant and vigorous about stirring to circulate the bath and maintain a more uniform temperature. Which, you want to stir baths anyhow for more uniform color uptake, so that's not a huge deal, really.
I recommend, if you go that route, getting a tureen with a stopcock/spigot at the base, so you can drain it without lifting it.
I decided to transcribe my response here, so it'd be Googleable for future researchers of the topic.
On wood paddles:
I have four $12 wood paddles that i use in my two steam-jacketed vats. One of them predates my tenure here so i have no idea how old it is--it has a thin crack running along the wide part of the paddle, which is why i purchased more, thinking it might break off soon. I've been here five years and counting and it hasn't broken yet. I wouldn't use it to paddle delicate fabric down into a bath, just in case it might snag something, but i do use it still on sturdier jobs.
That's the only reason i could think of to justify a costlier hardwood paddle, the lower likelihood of the wood cracking over time after repeated exposure to heat/chemicals, but it's not something on my dream list of equipment or anything. My cheapo paddles work fine, and when they do go, it's easier to find $12 to replace them than $100.
Lengthwise, all four of mine are 36" paddles, and they are fine in the 60-gal Groen.
On vats:
I can't help you on personal experience with the Blodgett brand, in that everywhere i've worked that had a functional vat had Groens or Hamiltons, or used soup tureens on giant heating elements. One shop i worked in had a Blodgett (IIRC) that someone had donated to the facility without investigating whether there was sufficient space/plumbing/ventilation, so it sat sadly in the basement because no one wanted to get rid of it, but no one knew how to find a way (physically or budgetarily) to install it either. I count this as a negative statement about the vat donor and facilities director in that case, rather than the Blodgett brand. :)
I'm going to repost this topic to my blog, since due to my posts on buying dye vats and vent hoods, sometimes it catches some relevant eyes that this email list doesn't--maybe some of the readership will chime in with Blodgett product reviews. In general, if you can find a restaurant surplus supply in your area, you might be able to get a second-hand vat in good condition from them for much less $$$ than brand-new.
Because, not only do you need to plan for the vat but also for ventilation! Which, you may have already investigated that so forgive me if i'm stating the obvious, but it is something that slips people's minds, as evidenced by my tale of the Blodgett in the basement--no plan had been made for plumbing it in/out, wiring a switchbox for it, or locating it somewhere that a vent hood could be installed. That said, you can be creative with this sort of thing, depending on where you are. I know of a shop in the Los Angeles area which has their dye vat outside under a carport roof--utilizing natural ventilation. Of course, i don't know how their neighbors might feel about that choice.
And, just in case you haven't come across them in your research, here are links to my two prior blog posts on this, which are sort of buyer guides for the theatrical dyer, to help with research and asking the right questions of vendors and facilities folks:
Dye vat sourcing: http://labricoleuse.livejournal.com/38478.html
Ventilation options: http://labricoleuse.livejournal.com/76739.html
Honestly, if you can't get both the size vat you want and a good vent system, paddles, goggles/gauntlets/etc out of your $10,000 budget, you might save a bundle but still really upgrade your dye facility by looking at 40gal or 60gal non-steam-jacketed tureens and an industrial-sized heating element. That's the route they chose at the LA Opera when they moved into a new costume facility the year before i worked there--tureen/element rather than steam-jacketed vat--and it's what they've got in the dyeshop at Parsons-Meares and at the American Repertory Theatre (or had when i worked there 2 and 6 years ago, respectively). If you want to consider that and price it out, research around about hot plates for drums and stock pots, like these:
http://www.wenesco.com/hotdrums.htm
The difference between the dyebath you get from a tureen and one you get with a steam-jacket is temperature gradation--the heat from the element makes the bath tend to be warmer the deeper it is, so your dyer just needs to be more vigilant and vigorous about stirring to circulate the bath and maintain a more uniform temperature. Which, you want to stir baths anyhow for more uniform color uptake, so that's not a huge deal, really.
I recommend, if you go that route, getting a tureen with a stopcock/spigot at the base, so you can drain it without lifting it.
