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| Portable Baptistries |
| The portable baptistry is perfect for smaller churches, churches with
limited area for a full size baptism pool or for churches that meet in a
facility where it is impractical to install a permanent baptistry. We have a
fiberglass box style portable baptism pool, a wood frame style portable
baptistry and a portable baptistry with a built-in wood cabinet that can double
as a communion table or altar.
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Portable baptism describes the use of a portable baptismal pool for use in
baptizing candidates. Some frequently discussed points about portable
baptistries are covered here. How To Fill Your Portable Baptistry You typically
fill the baptistry with water from a garden hose either from outside or attached
to your hot water heater or even an indoor kitchen faucet with an adaptor. We
recommend that you move the baptistry into place and then fill it. Most portable
baptistries weigh around 250 pounds and hold about 100-150 gallons of water.
Water weighs about 8.3 pounds per gallon so figure on your full baptism
pool weighing as much as 1000 to 1500 pounds and you can see that you don't
want to be rolling a portable baptism pool around that is full of water.
Portable baptistries do not typically contain a drain, it is easy to use the
same hose that you filled it with to drain it out. You can either create a
syphon or use a small manual hand pump from a hardware store connected to the
hose to empty the baptistry. You will want to empty the baptistry after each use
for sanitary reasons, stagnant water will develop bacteria fairly quickly unless
treated with pool chemicals and these chemicals aren't really that good for your
baptistries finish. The fiberglass interior will also hold up longer if it not
exposed to water constantly, if you have ever seen blistering on the bottom of a
fiberglass boat you will understand what can happen if you leave water in your
portable baptistry pool without ever draining it. Sure, you can
occasionally leave water in the baptistry from one Sunday to the next and maybe
add a very small amount of chlorine to the water to keep it from developing
bacteria but we would not recommend this as regular practice. What's the best
Way to finish off the baptistry ? Depending on the look you want and how much of
a project you are willing to tackle there are a couple of good ways to finish
the baptistry exterior. One option is to use table skirting and velcro. You can
order table skirting in a variety of colors with velcro tape sewn into the back
of it. By applying velcro tape to the exterior of your baptistry, you can then
simply "hang" the skirting across the front, sides and rear if necessary to make
an attractive presentation that is easily removed. Another option is to make a
cabinet from furniture grade plywood. Some baptistries, like our model 9533 come
with a factory installed wood 2 x 4 frame that you can easily attach panels and
trim to give your portable baptistry a custom finished look. Other models are
available with factory made wood cabinets and accesory tops so your unit can
double as a communion table or even a pulpit. What about wheels for moving the
baptistry ? We recommend that if you are going to be moving the baptistry often,
you invest in a custom metal frame with heavy duty pneumatic wheels rated to
hold at least 500 pounds each, that way your baptistry can be rolled into place,
filled, drained and rolled back out of the sanctuary without having to lift it
at any part of the process. We would caution against moving the baptistry when
filled simply because of the weight involved but it could be moved short
distances if proper precautions are observed. While we can sell you a metal
frame, we recommend utilizing a local metal fabrication shop or welding shop to
make your frame as the cost will be less and shipping will not be an issue. We
do not have the frames on our web site so please call for more information. How
should we heat the water ? Ideally, you can either fill the baptistry with warm
water from a regular water heater (using the hose method above) or you can use
one of our Immersion Heaters. Immersion heaters are available in either 120v or
240v plug in models. The 240v will heat 60 GPH with a 40 degree rise in
temperature. the 120v will heat 15 GPH so while the 240v will heat a portable
baptistry in about 2 hours or less, the 120v model will require about 6-9 hours.
We suggest attaching the heater to a 2x4 that simply lays across the top of the
baptistry and is removed before use. Be sure to use a GFI protected outlet with
your immersion heater and as with any baptistry, remember to take precautions to
prevent small children from playing in or near the baptistry.
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Southeast Church Supply
PO Box 915
Point Clear, AL 36564
United States
Ph: 800-942-7327
Fax: 800-780-2568
e-mail: sales@churchproducts.com
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