Has anyone got any experience of, or comment to make , about the hand held induction heaters that are being offered to the motor trade as a safer alternative to O/A for freeing seized components etc.
I've never seen one used to heat nuts n bolts but see them a lot in aerospace factories used to heat parts for interference fitting
Know 2 people who have them 1 Snapon the other a branded make it looks identical. They both swear by them. Here is a DIY Simple DIY Induction Heater - RMCybernetics https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=induction+heaters+for+sale&client=firefox-b&tbm=isch&imgil=UHsjjh8VMxxe_M%3A%3BNQfQ-ju8CMPXgM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fkiaind.en.made-in-china.com%252Fproduct%252FfvmJbEAGqBWN%252FChina-Factory-Direct-Sale-Mini-Induction-Heater.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=UHsjjh8VMxxe_M%3A%2CNQfQ-ju8CMPXgM%2C_&usg=__1Ya3n9lOz6D9JIJE0clbQw4Q8oQ=&biw=1280&bih=705&ved=0ahUKEwiNiKKY29DNAhXGI8AKHSgeAhsQyjcIWg&ei=eZF1V83nL8bHgAaovIjYAQ#imgrc=xHjL435_2wCr5M: So Dem
I bet you can get quite a large field from stick welding or mig welding at 100 plus amps. I guess you would be careful if fitted with a pace maker, they tend to switch around 20kHz or higher so above hearing ranges. But they are very similar to mains powered induction plates used for cooking on. Or the more industrial units used for induction bed hardening of lathe ways etc. Adrian.
Thanks for the replies. From what I've seen most of the versions on the market are similar to the Snap-on one in that the coil has to encompass or be wrapped around a protruding object. What I am hoping to find is one that can replace O/A in heating up 5/16 and 3/8 diameter counter sunk screws in gang mower blades which may themselves be 5/16 to 3/8 thick and screwed to substantial cast or fabricated carrier (sole) plates . I may have tracked one down being marketed by Pro-Align under the iHeat brand name - waiting for details but suspect that it will be out of our price range. http://www.pro-align.co.uk/2016/05/...asiiheat-range-a-better-way-to-accurate-heat/
You might do far better on csk screws using a carbon rod and a buzz box ac transformer welder. Earth on the carrier, press the carbon rod on the screw head and the heat will be conducted to where you want it.
Sykes Pickavant do one that comes with multiple ends and you can even buy flexible ones that you can wrap around things. They have a great video of one being to remove the lower suspension bolts on a Discovery 3, if they have never been replaced before then they are usual seized solid and the normal way to get out is a reciprocating saw. With induction kit they were able to heat the bolt to red glow, they did this from both ends. With a air hammer/chisel with cupped end they drifted the bolt out. http://sykes-pickavant.com/products/workshop-equipment/heating/1802
found this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1000W-ZVS...253554?hash=item2caa642fb2:g:wkQAAOSwQjNW-V~q no need to make it from scratch the snap on one is way out of my price range!
The coil on that one looks smaller than the liquid cooled one linked to earlier, too small ? I did think about them the first time someone here posted about induction heaters a year or so ago but I lost interest / forgot about them until this thread. I probably wont do anything again this time but the liquid cooled one would give me an excuse to build a tig cooler.
yep i think the £5 is way too small! I am going to order one of the bigger £30 units from china to play with
Do you have to water cool the copper coil?, we used HF induction heating for various processes in car industry and water cooled the copper coils/bars.
