California Air Tools255C 2.5 Gallon Pressure Pot for Epoxy Resin Casting, Coated Steel Tank, Portable, Blue

So.... I am a very well-researched person and when I write reviews, it's with a lot of detail so that others who are equally well-researched have something to use as they weigh out their choices.I am a resin artist and I started almost two years ago. After a year of my learning curve yielding many successful projects and a sad number of UNsuccessful projects, I realized that I had learned enough about the personalities of different resins and learned enough to have successful projects, but that BUBBLES are the bane of my existence. I'm sure you know what I mean!! Working with resin and LEARNING to work with resin is so involved: what type of resin for what type of project and what time of year and what's the temp, the humidity...etc. And BUBBLES-- especially MICRO BUBBLES drive my perfectionist nature crazy.SO!! Since I've gotten my craft show schedule in the works and intend to really make my resin art a viable income, AND because I'm a perfectionist, AND because selling my work will pay for my supplies, I decided I needed a pressure pot. Mind you, I am NOT on social media, but I DO watch a lot of youtube vids and there are some amazing resin artists out there and some have pressure pots, although many know that most people DON'T and so work without, which is a cool thing to do.But...I would dream of bubbles and get annoyed. So...I started researching pots and compressors. I think I researched and debated taking this step for about two months. Hands down, California Air Tools pressure pots came out on top. That was an easy choice. (again, check out reviews on youtube and Amazon!). I originally was going to get the 2.5 gal pot, but there were several reviews that advised getting the 5 gal pot because "If you're serious about resin work"-- kind of stuck with me. I wanted to keep costs down, but I know myself well...so...I opted for the 5 gal.I cannot, CANNOT say enough about this pot. My review of the air compressor will be forthcoming (not CA Air Tools, although that's what I intended, but I compared stats and all the stats were the same for a different brand that was less expensive) but this POT is FANTASTIC. My experience is as follows:Received the pot. Pulled it out of the box and had watched enough vids to know that it's ready to go right away. I wanted to do a test run before actually putting a resin project in. I hooked it up and got it to about 46psi. When I turned the compressor off, I leaned in and heard a slight "hiss" coming from the pot. Not good. I decompressed and recompressed about four times and each time, I heard this slight 'hiss' that seemed to be coming from the regulator apparatus. So I finally just left it "full" to see what would happen. By the next morning, it was down to just below 20 psi. I checked the regulator, I checked the gaskets, I checked everything...and finally called CA Air Tools.Customer service was great. They told me to do a soapy water test- if you don't know what that is, you put a mixture of dish soap/water all over the various outlets of the pot while it's full of air, and wherever the leak is, you'll see bubbles form. CA customer service wanted a picture or video of the leak. Well, it was a clear result-- the base of the regulator was a bubble factor. So I took a pic and emailed it to Victor, in cust service. He got back to me the next day to say that a new regulator apparatus was on the way. I received it within a week. Mind you-- it was VERY easy to replace and I chose to use pipe tape just in case...Since then, not one 'hiss' or leak. I've used my pot for 24-hour cures and even more frequently, for 72 hr cures. Over 72 hrs, the pot will lose about 7 or 8 psi but that doesn't concern me. I set my regulator at 50 for the long cures so when I demold, it's around 42, plenty of pressure to reduce bubbles.It's AMAZING to pull my projects out and have them CLEAR as water. Fantastic.I haven't put the wheels on-- I have it stationary on my craft room floor--- LEVEL is key. I also purchased a five-tier rack from an Etsy shop-- overkill, as I only use three of the shelf levels. There is no way I'm going to put one project in at a time, so a rack was going to be purchased. One thing to keep in mind about pressure pots: you have to get whatever you poured, into the pot without spilling...not easy. (which is another reason a rack is good.) The other thing to note is that reducing air bubbles sometimes creates a little 'void' at the top of your resin project, so top coating may be necessary (and worth it, for a bubble free casting!) Oh, and one other VERY important thing to note: Before I used this pressure pot, I could demold a long cure (I typically use JDiction Deep Pour resin) project after 48 hrs. With a pressure pot, I've learned to wait an extra 12-24 hrs before demolding. Depending on the environment, some bubbles might reform after 48 hrs! Hard to believe, but it happened to me! The larger projects cure better- smaller projects (like wine bottle stoppers) may pop a bubble up if the resin is still gelatinous.All in all, EXCELLENT purchase, EXCELLENT customer service, the pot is heavy, well-made, and simple to use. I have a quiet air compressor and prior to purchasing both items, I called CA Air Tools for some advice, and it was advised that I get a 1HP compressor. So that's what I did. Mind you, I do NOT know 'tools' like some people do, so you may know something different, but five gal is pretty big so I was happy to go for what the advice was. If you are on the fence or need more info, just call CA Air Tools. Cust service is very personable and informative, you can't go wrong! And to be BUBBLE FREE is fantastic!

Ordered and received quickly with no damage as the packaging was sturdy and well done. After unpacking I grabbed a wrench and made sure all the fittings were tight so there would be no air loss when pressurized. There was one fitting that needed to be "snugged" a bit but all the rest were tight and secure. I then wiped the rubber gasket on the lid and the rim of the tank with a damp rag to make sure there was no "debris" that would cause the gasket to not seal properly. I then placed the lid on the tank, tightened it down, pressurized to 60 psi, closed the ball valve and disconnected the air hose and waited 24 hours to see if there was a pressure drop. The next day I checked the gauge and there was no drop in pressure...at all! I had expected a slight drop but there was NONE. I then mixed some epoxy and poured a 4" tall skull mold with clear epoxy and let it cure in the pot. When I de-molded the skull I did not see any bubbles at all...it was clear as glass. This is an absolute must for anyone casting epoxy and especially for the deep pour molds that I use.

This tank holds air surprisingly well. I can fill it to 60 psi, it'll fall to 57, then keep that pressure for over 24 hours. The clamps are easy to use and not too difficult to turn, the weights good and the bottom flat, the size is accurate, and it doesn't scream when it lets out air. My resin cured perfectly and bubble free inside.

California Air Tools is where it’s at! My brother, dad and I all have multiple tanks (2.5g and 5g), compressors, and more! They make amazing products!

I did buy a wooden disk to sit in the bottom to make the bottom flat. The instructions really rather suck, so go look at YouTube videos for it. It does a nice job and is solidly built.Here is a link for the disk I bought. It is a perfect fit.https://a.co/d/dfKqaVs

This is a superior product, solid and well finished. A few reviews have complained about leakage but mine holds pressure well. I would have also given five stars if I had to teflon tape a joint or two. The instructions are the weakest point, I think they were written before CAT added an air release valve obviating pulling on the safety valve to depressurize. Plus, I'm not totally sure of how to pressurize following the written instructions. I hook up to the compressor, engage it, then close the red handled lever when the desired pressure is achieved.My use currently is very thin pours where bubbles are not much of an issue. But I pour onto a milled substrate with many tiny holes and details which gravity doesn't fill nor does trying to pack the resin with troweling. This tank does the job of forcing the resin into those details.

After trying a vac chamber, I opted to experiment with a pressure pot for resin casting. I have some electronics I want to cast & having air bubbles with high-voltages don't blend to well! So this looked like a solid option to do the job. Was packaged pretty well. I hooked it up and filled it to 40PSI as a test and left it for 24 hours. It doesn't even look like it lost a single PSI of air. Very solid! Even though I set the air pressure on my air compressor, the regulator on the pot does work fairly well, lets you dial it in. Both valves ( Safety and outlet ) work when manually activated. The super oversized wing-nuts make it really easy to tighten. I didn't go crazy tight on them either and it still held the pressure just fine. You don't need to put all your muscle on them.Only extremely minor little detail I could complain about - When you take the nuts off, the threaded rods swing down and slam the tank pretty hard. Though this didn't harm the paint or anything, I sorta with they had a little rubber pad there. But again, minor details. I just like keeping stuff essentially as new-as-possible forever-always!