Inductive bolt heater question

[alia176]

I got two Hotshot units from Amazon, a 1300W and a 1500W. When I checked their power draw using a Kill A Watt meter, I noticed they draw around 350w and 500w. Is this how they're suppose to work?

In case you're curious as to why I have two heaters. They sent me the 1300w instead of a 1500w so i'll be returning the 1300w today, but I wanted to run this back to back test first!

Link to the item: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G51MZHFV?tag=ihco-20

Here's a video I took.https://photos.app.goo.gl/P2a3LPJPBADeByn5A

 

[george_tlc]

The power it draws will depend on how well the field from the coil couples to the bolt. Does the unit come with smaller diameter coils that are a more snug fit to the bolt head? As the bolt heats up, its ability to maintain the magnetic flux will drop (curie point) and power draw will drop.

Try a bigger diameter bolt head that better 'fills' the coil you have.

The big question - does the bolt get stinking hot? Obviously this will only work bolts that can have a magnetic field. Stainless will not heat as well. High iron content will heat more (and pull more power).

cheers,
george.

 

[alia176]

That makes a lot of sense George, thanks. I'll try the same test with a smaller coil and a larger bolt head. The bolt head did get red hot.

 

[ntsqd]

IME with these things the amount of bolt head exposed is crucial to their success. Button heads are almost impervious and barely get warm enough to singe skin after a long exposure. I've turned slightly larger hex heads bright red with the same tool. I would expect this aspect of their performance to also affect the power draw.

 

[alia176]

IME with these things the amount of bolt head exposed is crucial to their success. Button heads are almost impervious and barely get warm enough to singe skin after a long exposure. I've turned slightly larger hex heads bright red with the same tool. I would expect this aspect of their performance to also affect the power draw.

good points and I agree. The amount of ferrous metal exposed is important when heating them to red hot. I was able to disconnect the exhaust components by easily removing the hardware with this thing. It's worth the investment.

 

[LDRF]

Project Farm on u toob just released a review of them. It shows current draw and how gives a lot of tech data on a bunch of them

source:%20YouTubehttps://share.google/XYet1rq0BST6kvmWM

 

[LDRF]

I need to do some exhaust work on my car. I am going to use map gas, as that’s what I have. Hopefully it works well enough. The project farm review shows pretty good success using the map gas. Penetrating oil … not so much

 

[e9999]

and the numbers on reduced torque he got with the induction heaters were pretty impressive..

 

[alia176]

I need to do some exhaust work on my car. I am going to use map gas, as that’s what I have. Hopefully it works well enough. The project farm review shows pretty good success using the map gas. Penetrating oil … not so much

That's what I've been using and still do if the induction coils can't reach the bolt heads. I have to say, it's a nice tool to have for bending rods or tubing by placing the induction heat exactly where I need it. That YouTube guy is no joke with his testing! Thanks for the link.

 

[ntsqd]

Figures that the Mxmoonfree products aren't available in the US. Jungle Canada lists them, but pull their jungle part number into a US jungle page and you get a "huh?" when searched.

 

[e9999]

Maybe not the case here, but Project Farm has enough viewers that in the past whatever he came up with as tops ran out of stock or saw price increases very quickly

 

[LDRF]

I'd like a few more toys in my toolbox, but still a little too pricey if map gas works. From the .ca site in CAD. About $235 USD

 

[e9999]

I'm generally not that keen on using a powerful flame under my gas-fueled oil-lubricated plastic-laden memories-full truck, TBH, so I do like the induction heater approach a good deal

 

[LDRF]

I'm generally not that keen on using a powerful flame under my gas-fueled oil-lubricated plastic-laden memories-full truck, TBH, so I do like the induction heater approach a good deal

Good point … safety first.