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Thread: Battery charger wood burner

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    North central Pa Tioga Co.
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    701

    Battery charger wood burner

    Hi all looking for detailed instructions on how to build one. There is some info on web ,and here. I can not find a good details on this. any help out there?

    Thanks! George

  2. #2
    neil
    _____________________________________

    The wooden Potter

  3. #3
    Before you go any further, check out this video

    I wish I had found this months ago when I was trying to do the same thing. This one is very specific about which items to buy and how to properly convert the charger. Very simple and understandable even for people like me for whom knowledge of electrical stuff ends at "plug it in".
    David DeCristoforo

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Erie, Pa.
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    For those who have made the home-made versions. Can you use the regular pens such as the burnmaster pens with these units?
    Paul Singer
    Jet 1642EVS 2hp

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    North central Pa Tioga Co.
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    Paul check out David vidio it is very good. Now I need the pen vidio. Thanks for all the help! G

  6. #6
    For those who have made the home-made versions. Can you use the regular pens such as the burnmaster pens with these units
    Paul, Probably but I made my own pen as well.
    neil
    _____________________________________

    The wooden Potter

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    Hammond, IN
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    I would not us my pens with this. It has almost 4 times the power of the burnmaster. You would most likely burn them out. They have an internal resistance of 2 or 3 ohms depending on the brand of pen. A burnmaster can burn other brand pens up if used at too high a setting
    Owner: Silver Knight Studios
    Vice President Illiana Woodturners

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    Erie, Pa.
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    Neil: Where did you purchase the nichrome wire and what gauge did you use?
    Paul Singer
    Jet 1642EVS 2hp

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Hammond, IN
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    Paul, you can order Nichrome wire on amazon. I bought a couple of rolls about 6 months ago and they were around $17.00 per roll. The rolls are not large, but will last a very long time. I would recommend a minimum of 18 gauge. If you have 20 - 22 gauge wire you can twist them together.
    Owner: Silver Knight Studios
    Vice President Illiana Woodturners

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Erie, Pa.
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    Jeff: Thanks for the info. I am collecting the parts to make this and hope to not electrocute myself. Found a Diehard charger at K-Mart on sale for $29.95 so I am on my way.

    Thanks again.
    Paul Singer
    Jet 1642EVS 2hp

  11. #11
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    North central Pa Tioga Co.
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    Paul keep me informed! I ordered a charger on line I have most everything else. Good luck! G

  12. #12
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    Nov 2009
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    Erie, Pa.
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    George I will be glad to keep you informed. I ordered some nichrome wire which is suppose to be here Saturday. I will then try and put it together then.
    Paul Singer
    Jet 1642EVS 2hp

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Erie, Pa.
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    This is an update for George that I promised. First disclaimer is I wanted to keep the charger unmodified because it has a 3 yr warranty and I did not want to void that. You could make this much simpler if you did not care about the warranty. This is built from plans already posted in this thread with only physical changes to suit my needs.

    Here is the complete unit.
    IMG_1045.JPG

    Close-up of the control unit. I used parts I had laying around. Its only function is to vary the input voltage to the charger.

    IMG_1044.JPG

    Here is the pen I made.
    IMG_1047.JPG

    And here is the pen under 10 amps of power.
    IMG_1050.JPG
    And here is a tip I made by pounding the tip flat to be similar to the skew tip available for purchase.
    IMG_1053.JPGIMG_1054.JPG

    The unit works good and is very controllable. The only strange thing i have found is when you first turn it on you have to turn it up to about 10 amps before the needle will move on the amp gauge. Then you can back it down to where you want it. I appears to have all the power I will need. hope this helps George and I used 18 gauge nichrome wire. I will probably try different gauges down the road but 18 seems to be a good all around gauge.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Paul Singer
    Jet 1642EVS 2hp

  14. #14
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    Paul looks great! I see you can still use the charger for batteries ! I ordered a charger and will build it this week, I am dedicating the charger for this. I will take some pic. when done. G

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    George can't wait to see your creation. I am dedicating this charger for the burner also but wanted to keep the warranty intact. Was not really sure how this would hold up in this configuration. I may take it apart and change the leads to get rid of the clamps. i can see through the vents that they are on spade lugs so they could be put back if I had problems. I have also noticed that if I turn it all the way up it will peg the meter beyond the 12 amp mark which I will avoid doing . Not sure how that would effect it's longevity. Plus there is no real need to go higher than 10 amps.
    Paul Singer
    Jet 1642EVS 2hp

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