Project Snooker Shed!

[NonStarter]

Have I ever told you guys I love you? Well I do. Seriously, this is such a special community.

Steve, I've made a decision. If the offer is still there I would love you to get the stuff and fit it for me mate. Including a wifi thermostat, although a wifi plug will do fine. I don't drink but will make sure you're well fed and watered, naturally!

[mikee]

Table heaters work best when they are left on all the time on low ,I know of a Riley Aristocrat that has table heaters that were too hot ,the cloth felt more than warm .One day the heaters were turned off by someone by mistake and the table had gone to the extent it was not level and was playing all over the place as well as creaking ,table fitters had to come out and re Level it .constantly changing the temperature of the table can and will damage the wood and slate over time .No one in World snooker cares about this as the tv tables only have to last a max of a couple of weeks before their taken down .No one with any sense would fit a cue rack right next to a radiator,no different to table heaters on tables .

[Danger Steve]

Steve - table heaters.. What voltage did you go for mate? Not considering a DIY project but a comparison. I'm told hotwire set up takes 2-3 hours to reach the right temperature which although I understand (thick slates) it's not ideal. Wondering if yours is the same or you went for a more powerful system

220watts per meter. I think Justin uses the same.

Im not exactly sure where or how he places his thermostat probe that is connected to the controller, but I know he has his set to 40? Mine is set to 27. Of course this will be different depending on how close the probe is to the heat mat. My probe is in a gap in between two panels and touches the slate, so it reads the slate temperature (in theory)… Justin might have his probe touching the mat which will give him a higher reading meaning he’ll have to set the temperature higher. What I’m saying is his 40 and my 27 don’t actually relate as such… I just played around increasing the temperature until the cloth felt warm to the touch and that setting for me was 27 degrees C. A couple of weeks ago I was playing at Kingswinford Snooker club and I had a feel of Reanne’s Star table with a Hotwire system fitted (I think) and it was very warm/hot to the touch…. Too hot IMO. If the idea is to keep the cloth dry so it plays faster then I don’t see the point in having it melting hot?

So anyway, yes if your going from a stone cold slate to stupid hot it probably will take 2-3 hours. Personally on my table I keep it set to 22 ish when it’s not in use and turn it up to 27 about 45 minutes before I want to play and it’s just right by then. Even though when it’s not in use and it’s set to 22 the heating mat isn’t constantly running! The slate holds heat very well and takes hours to cool down so really the mat on has to keep it topped up every now and then. It only really is on constant while it’s increasing the temperature, once it’s there it turns off and only comes on as the heat needs topping up.

I hope that all makes sense and helps your decision?

[NonStarter]

Steve - table heaters.. What voltage did you go for mate? Not considering a DIY project but a comparison. I'm told hotwire set up takes 2-3 hours to reach the right temperature which although I understand (thick slates) it's not ideal. Wondering if yours is the same or you went for a more powerful system

[mikee]

I keep my room at roughly 20 degrees all year ,it’s a bit warmer in the summer but I use a dehumidifier on the worst days ,humidity is roughly around 53 all year on average .A good point to think about is that on tv arenas they fit table heaters these days as the room is massive and the temp has to be set for the audience ,home and club tables are set in small rooms which are more easy to regulate temperature so heaters probably not needed .Tv tables only went with heaters around 1997 I belive ,I think the game was better then too ,ultra fast and wearing out cloths quickly coupled with hot table heaters and crap Aramith balls have done nothing but made the game a bit easier for the pros

[Paz369]

Dont blame you ,leave it as is with that heavy slate ,even if you fit a centre muntin set ,leave the outside side ones in place as they will have been designed as structural support for that table .If you can keep the room temp pretty constant then you won’t need under table heating anyway .

Yeah I've been thinking about that, I'm not really comfortable with cutting bits off, it's a beautiful table with a nice bit of history so would rather leave it alone and like you say, get the room set at a nice temperature and all should be fine

[mikee]

Cheers for that Steve let us know how you get on with yours. I'm going to leave mine as is for a while and just enjoy it...

Dont blame you ,leave it as is with that heavy slate ,even if you fit a centre muntin set ,leave the outside side ones in place as they will have been designed as structural support for that table .If you can keep the room temp pretty constant then you won’t need under table heating anyway .

[Paz369]

You wouldn’t need to remove the slate or cloth to fit these! But you would need a multi tool with a thin wood blade to cut through the dowels on the muntins you currently have so that you can adapt them to fit the brackets. If you have just one run down the middle you can fit 6 heat panels, or put the two rows of muntins back in and have 9 smaller heat panels, just a bit more work that’s all.

Cheers for that Steve let us know how you get on with yours. I'm going to leave mine as is for a while and just enjoy it...

[Danger Steve]

You wouldn’t need to remove the slate or cloth to fit these! But you would need a multi tool with a thin wood blade to cut through the dowels on the muntins you currently have so that you can adapt them to fit the brackets. If you have just one run down the middle you can fit 6 heat panels, or put the two rows of muntins back in and have 9 smaller heat panels, just a bit more work that’s all.

[Danger Steve]

Thanks mikee and Steve for some sound advice. That's exactly what I will do. I looked for brackets earlier and the only ones I could find looks like you have to have the slates off to do it or am I missing something

Don’t buy those black looking Peradon slate support brackets off EBay or anywhere else for that matter! Absolute garbage! I’ve had two sets and they both had the captive nuts snap on the welds while tightening the bolts up (I covered this on the blog).. Funnily enough I’m actually removing mine this weekend after another one snapped the other day. I have a mate coming over who is handy at welding and we’re going to manufacture some that are actually capable of taking the massive weight. You could possibly adapt some mini joists hangers (which I might actually end up doing myself) by welding a nut to the bottom. Something like these from Screwfix

[Paz369]

the image file reviews

[Paz369]

On a side note I found something pretty cool the other day. I got 2 photos with the table showing Graham miles and Cliff Thorburn playing in the 1981 final of the tolly cobbold classic, I took both pictures out of the frames to put them in nicer ones and one of them says on the back tolly cobbold trophy 1979, after a quick search I found out that Alex Higgins beat Ray reardon in the final and when you look at the picture it's Higgins at the table and reardon on the far right. To have Alex Higgins win a tournament on my table just makes a little bit more special, was really pleased to find that. Alex Higgins made a 63 break in the decider to win 5-4 so that's now my target break... Hey if its good enough for Alex it's good enough for me

[Paz369]

Thanks mikee and Steve for some sound advice. That's exactly what I will do. I looked for brackets earlier and the only ones I could find looks like you have to have the slates off to do it or am I missing something

[mikee]

I measured the slates, they are 2.5 inches thick

I think your table will be fine then ,that’s even thicker than standard slate from 100 years or so ago ,I doubt you would get any sag with those ,but if you ever put in under table heating then it may be better to fit the adjustable bearers

[Paz369]

I measured the slates, they are 2.5 inches thick