Heat build-up with epoxy pour

Q: In the church finial post, Paul Marlowe mentioned dissipating the heat buildup when you pour epoxy.  I tried to do a pour for a turned porch base or pedestal, and the pour almost caught fire.  It was smoking and the epoxy cracked so that the work was ruined.  I did the mixing exactly.  I was doing too big of a pour and I did eventually figure it out from trial and error using small pours.  I would like to know if is there a formula for volumes that will tell just how big a pour can be done safely.
-Chicago

September 01, 2007
A: Chicago,
There is no precise formula that I know of.  A guide you should consider is not to exceed applying epoxy more than 1" thick, unless there is a perimeter of thick wood around it, wood imbedded into it (inserts) or sand & stone used as a filler.  The sand & stone method is described in the technical data sheet for the #600 epoxy.  These techniques allow you to apply epoxy much thicker because the heat that is generated during the curing process will be absorbed by these fillers and/or the wood mass.  

Remember not to allow large volumes of mixed epoxy to sit alone without the proper use of one or more of these heat absorbing materials.  With this knowledge and a patient, professional approach to all epoxy applications, this problem should never occur.  To pour in small lifts as you mentioned is also an option.
-Paul Marlowe
Conserv Epoxy LLC Owner