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Thread: Heating Metals Quickly With Electricity

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    Default Heating Metals Quickly With Electricity

    Hi, i'm new here and not exactly sure if this is the right place to post this, but here goes. I'm not very good at this kind of stuff either.

    What i'm looking at is this:


    and possibly some other heating elements here:


    What i want to do is figure out the quickest way to heat a 30cm, 15mm thick rod of this stuff. What kind of amperage and voltages would be needed to do this? And could i do it with a battery pack of any sort?

    Sorry if i don't make much sense, or if this is the wrong place to post. Ask me any questions if you need any clarification.

    Thanks in advance



Look Here ->
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    Look how much power it takes to (heat and) blow the tiny piece of wire in a fuse then mentally imagine the amount of power it will take to heat the foot-long and (bit over) half-inch rod you want to heat.

    The power required will be very high and will depend on the time allowed for heating and the required rod temperature.

    Perhaps GOOGLE 'induction heating' as an industrial process - it is one method and is rather complex.

    If you explain what you are actually trying to do there may be alternatives.

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    Premium Member rob916's Avatar
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    Huuuuge current.
    What happens if I press alt + F4?

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    I have a roll of nichrome wire in my hands now, I was playing with it just before reading this thread.

    You're going to need a LOT of current to heat that rod that big and even then... what your trying to do woull be much better done with a jack screw.

    I'm up for a challange this morning... lets work out how much power is required to heat this bugger. All the data you need is on the wiki page you linked too.

    300mm x 15mm
    7.5^2 x 3.14 = ~177mm^2
    =52988mm^3 or 53cm^3 or 0.000053m^3
    0.000053x8400=0.4452kg = 445 grams

    0.4452 x 450 = 200 Joules per deg C
    1 Joule = 1 watt second.
    To heat your rod from 15 deg C to 100 deg C requires ...
    85 x 200 = 17029 Watts per Second. ( I hope you have 3 phase !)

    A car jack with a cordless electric drill will do this job with some power to spare.

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    Hmm, this sounds like far too much power to be practical. Perhaps if a small wire of this was coated with some form of ceramic, forming a rod of the same dimensions, would it be possible to heat this faster and with less energy?

    I believe this is how certain kitchen stoves work, and grills? Correct me if i'm wrong.

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    What are your trying to achieve ?
    We may be able to provide you with the solution you seek.

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    or something similiar. Doesn't have to be as practical.


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    Senior Member mickc's Avatar
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    What appears to be a small 12v RayOVac Lantern battery is attached to the underside
    i think jaycar have these

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    Quote Originally Posted by mickc View Post
    What appears to be a small 12v RayOVac Lantern battery is attached to the underside
    i think jaycar have these

    Hahaha, i lol'd real hard. :P. Lol, but in all seriousness, i'd like to do this.

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    Quote Originally Posted by trash View Post
    A car jack with a cordless electric drill will do this job with some power to spare.
    What can you do with this setup Trash?

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    Junior Member TZB's Avatar
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    As a side note, I once dropped a dipstick (from an old Humber 80) down across the terminals of the starter motor solenoid. Man that turned red hot in an instant.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TZB View Post
    As a side note, I once dropped a dipstick (from an old Humber 80) down across the terminals of the starter motor solenoid. Man that turned red hot in an instant.

    Sounds like the kind of effect i want ;P but idk if i can be carrying around that kind of equipment.

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    you would need 1000amps or more and the cable supplying this would need to be larger than the rod
    not something you can carry around

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    even with an oxy, it takes 15 seconds or so to heat a rod of that size to a nice cherry glow - at least.

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    Quote Originally Posted by PostScriptum View Post
    What can you do with this setup Trash?
    I may have mis-interpreted what you were trying to do.
    Nichrome is shape memory alloy and I thought you might be trying to move something big a very short distance. Something a car jack is very good at doing easily.

    But it looks like you just want to heat something. Nothing beats brute force chemical heating by burning something. If you're trying to do it electrically then it either has to be through primary (I^2)R power loss or mutual induction into a conductor to which the I2R rule applys.

    I like to burn things ... so MAPP gas is my friend. ]

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    Hmm, well thanks for your help guys. I prob look like a bit of a fool now :P. I think i'll move onto easier projects >_>

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    Look into induction heating.
    If I want too,I can, I will

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    We used to join coils of 20mm wire that feed a heading machine with induction heating, easy to do with 3 phase.
    What happens if I press alt + F4?

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