Recent content by Steveo42

I wound up using a small 300 watt dimmer from a halogen torchiere (the kind that cost less than the replacement bulbs), and a couple 300watt N/O momentary pushbuttons (one for preheat at full power, and one for the dimmed power) from ratshack, and with the fan removed there was enough room to...

followup, I am using the same dimmer setting and pre-heat and draw times and it is working well, except now you don't have to shut it off before putting it on the bowl. I also taped up the vents to force the incoming air around the outside of the nozzle. DO NOT LEAVE IT ON, except for preheat...

well lesson learned, I decided to try dyking the motor lead, and it is a much less angry experience, still working on technique, and it needs an led or something so I know it is on, don't leave it on, but now it is like a plug-in electric lighter and I provide all the airflow (did I mention to...

Looks like a steel wire element, good enough for me :)

Inspired by the use of fancy heat guns, I put this together, it is pretty good: The heat gun is a Milwaukee precision hot tool, like 300 watts. $20 used on ebay. It plugs into a socket controlled by a 500 watt dimmer, total cost for the box was ~$10 at lowes. It adds a lot of control, but...