Hot Box alternative

[ben_mtl]

Hi all,

I was looking to build a hot box so my bases would absorb wax a bit more/deeper but I only have limited founds right now. I was wondering if I could achieve the same results by waxing my skis and let them sit bases up with one of my heat blankets on top... At least I could add some space blanket to contain heat and parchment paper to prevent wax for "contaminating" my blankets.

What do you think ?

[EricW]

I'm one of those people that says wax every time you go out and you won't have to worry about it. Unless you're competing/training on a professional level, I seriously doubt it's worth the effort or money. However, if you're really bent on it, here one you could probably build for a couple hundred bucks.


http://www.skinet.com/skiing/how-to/diy ... -a-wax-box

[ben_mtl]

I'm no racer at all but can't always wax my skis before each session..
I'm also the kind of person who takes great care of his skis and like to wax them quite often.
I usually go night skiing during the week, meaning I go directly after work and only come back home very late... repeat the next day.
I wanted to try the hotbox so I don't need to wax my skis too often (only once or twice a week would be OK).

The thing here is not to build a now equipment but to use what I already have. If I can let my skis sit with a heat blanket on top of them while I'm working in the workshop and it does the trick, then why not ?

[EricW]

Yeah, I only get to go a few times a year lately so I have lots of time to wax and tune.

[skidesmond]

Try this, I hot wax my skis w/ cheap paraffin wax. Iron it on good, then scrape it off before it gets too cool. I do this 2-3 times in a row. (don't over heat the ski) This will help clean the base of the ski and the paraffin wax will help condition the base. On the last round I scrape as much off as possible and rub the wax out. Then I'll hot wax again using the ski wax of the day (red, yellow, blue or whatever you use), I use yellow most of time. Let the ski/wax cool back to room temp. Lightly scrape off the high spots, then brush it out with a plastic or brass brush.

I'll do this a few times a season on my every day skis and rub a bar of yellow wax over the base or wipe on some paste fluorocarbon wax.

[White Thrash Wednesday]

Here is some interesting (scientific) stuff about the topic of waxing, just go to the conclusion part, the thesis is in English:

http://www.avhandlingar.se/om/Leonid+Kuzmin/

The wax company Swix wasn´t to happy when this report came out I guess... It seems as just scraping the base with a scraping iron(?) ,"sickel" in swedish, is the best method for glide, since a surface with low topology gives the best result. Wax binds dirt-> more friction. So I think skidesmond is right, the wax helps to clean the base from dirt and it is this that improves glide not actually the wax itself, alhtoght it provides for a "smoother" running surface. It also gives you a thought... Most bases are sintered to be poruos to absorb wax. Does this mean that a cheaper non-sintered base provide better glide if only scraped with a scraping iron since it is less porous-> lower topology->lower friction and better glide?

My 0.02€

[hafte]

here's another discussion a few years back about waxing. It leads to the same article in English a bit more directly.

http://www.skibuilders.com/phpBB2/viewt ... ght=waxing

http://epubl.ltu.se/1402-1757/2006/03/L ... 603-SE.pdf

Personally after reading this and through total lack of waxing for the last 4 years on the 5-6 pairs of skis I have in use, I'm not likely to waste the money or time waxing anymore. That is if I take the ski to a shop to have them ground. Since I have been too cheap the last few years I flat file the ski myself, scrape off the fuzzies, and wax the piss out of them once to get them moving(typical hot wax methods). The wax seems to fill the rough surface of filing, and the snow crystals tend to clean up the rest after a few runs. I never wax again. The only time I have issues is in the spring when I go from shaded snow to sunny snow I get a bit of freeze up… sometimes. This year I didn’t even clean up the skis I used last season. Just pulled them out and went skiing. They were a bit sticky part of the first day, but everyone was a bit sticky that day, and after 9 days no issue at all.

YMMV

Hafte

[skidesmond]

I've read a lot about wax and ski tuning, watched many videos (SWIX), talked to experts, etc. Conclusion? Confusion!

I've read that wax does nothing for the modern ski, and I'd have to disagree. I heard that base grinding makes the ski faster because it imparts a texture to the base to cause friction to create a thin layer of water to make the ski faster. That one I have a hard time believing. Friction to make you go faster? The fact that base is now flat and has smooth texture is believable.

After I have the base grind I don't really see the need again unless I really mess up the base. A good scrapping, cleaning, and wax every 3-4 times out seems to be sufficient for me.

As for brushing the wax out... I saw a Swix video where they did that. Suppose to impart texture to the wax, ie like a base grind imparts a texture to the base. I've always rubbed the wax out before till it was shiny and smooth. Both methods work fine.

Now if I was a prof racer and needed the extra .001 of a second I might choose 1 method over the other.

I'll read this article too. Thanks.

[skidesmond]

I sloughed through the paper. It raised many of the same questions I had about the effects of stone grinding and waxing. Of course my questions stem from reading/research that contradict each other instead of experimenting ( who has that much time?)

It seems to boil down to a clean, hard, flat, smooth surface is the best. Achieving that is the goal.

Interesting the mention of Teflon (PTFE). I recall hearing that Teflon on Teflon is like ice on ice as far as "slipperiness". When can we expect Teflon bases?

Good read.

[OAC]

Try this, I hot wax my skis w/ cheap paraffin wax. Iron it on good, then scrape it off before it gets too cool. I do this 2-3 times in a row. (don't over heat the ski) This will help clean the base of the ski and the paraffin wax will help condition the base. On the last round I scrape as much off as possible and rub the wax out. Then I'll hot wax again using the ski wax of the day (red, yellow, blue or whatever you use), I use yellow most of time. Let the ski/wax cool back to room temp. Lightly scrape off the high spots, then brush it out with a plastic or brass brush.

I'll do this a few times a season on my every day skis and rub a bar of yellow wax over the base or wipe on some paste fluorocarbon wax.

This is the method/procedure!
I don't do it nowadays, but remember doing it in my "race days"! It was the drill and worked very well.
(Used mostly yellow ToKo, which was somehow the most common wax in the box. Probably the reason why I didn't made it to the World Cup! Have to blame it on something... )

[jvangelder]

I thought about Teflon as a snowboard base, i had some scraps at my normal job and realized just how low a coefficient of friction it has. Only down side is its VERY susceptible to damage. The small scrape a rock does to a uhmwpe base would cut right into the lowest laminate layer if your base was Teflon

If that wasn't ever an issue however...

-Jacob

[SHIF]

There is some great ski waxing info and videos on this website: http://www.hertelskiwax.com/

They offer a Teflon (fluorocarbon) wax formula for racing among other wax formulations.

I've used their products (Super Hot Sauce) for well over fifteen years with great success.

-S

[skidesmond]

There is some great ski waxing info and videos on this website: http://www.hertelskiwax.com/

They offer a Teflon (fluorocarbon) wax formula for racing among other wax formulations.

I've used their products (Super Hot Sauce) for well over fifteen years with great success.

-S

Checked out their website and videos. I use the same green pads to polish the base, available at the grocery store. They do work great... at least I'm doing something right. In the video I heard the word surfactant..... Ah! A secret ingredient maybe? So I looked it up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfactant and what ever they are using as a surfactant (teflon) seems to work.

Good info. Thanks Shif!

[dbtahoe]

Low budget? A couple of pieces of rigid foam insulation, some computer fans and a portable heater.

I built several hotboxes over the past few years. My latest uses a basic PID controller, safety power cutoff switch and a TXT alarm if it heats up past a preset value. I can also check it from my iphone.

http://www.weatherdirect.com/TX60.aspx? ... 2147981961

I really only use it for race skis.