DIY Induction Heater Builds and References

[maremaresing]

Thank you both very much for the fast replies. I've read this thread many times and some things are still confusing when working with the induction fields.

I have a spare coil but I think I'll get more wire and play around with configuration. If the coils don't heat each other, I'd like to wind them all within a 10mm length to concentrate the power. Noted that I need to start with 33" long of 12 AWG Copper Magnet Wire.

Wouldn't the field be heating that button next to it, too?! Is all this sapping heat from the fusion head and causing issues? I wish I could just make a tiny faraday cage for the induction coil.

I'm going to solder a new coil down now that I've learned some things. I'll get it coming off the other side of the board so I don't pass by the chokes. An ABS enclosure is on the way, even though I'm very sad to part with the cool alum enclosure.

 

[TommyDee]

The strongest part of the field will be the center of the coil 10mm is a bit short but worth a try. I wound the outer part of the coil around the inner simply to use up the extra length of wire.

 

[maremaresing]

https://imgur.com/1vWRSSP

It's done and works well!!! My first well packaged and built induction heater, and it heats my Fusion 2.0!!! It's so minimal and stress free and clean on my desk, I love it.

-Used a spare coil and did a proper fresh 10 coil design, wrapped tight around a tube and bent into proper solder positions.
-Made new shorter glass, instead of burying the tip as deep as possible like before. I think this lets some radiant heat out the top.
-Made the coil wide enough to fit orings between the glass and coil, so the airgap can protect the coil from melting. I believe the fusion tip was contributing to the heat damage I saw before, since the glass is so thin.
-Attached the new coil in a place where it wouldn't affect or pass by any electronics.

The result is "heating lower band with torch til click" heating when it clicks in the induction heater, at about 40 seconds. I like heating past the click but even adding 10 sec after the click isn't quite giving me the monster hits a torch gives going past 3 seconds. I'll probably shave the heat spacer so the tip sits deeper for a longer heat, but I'm gonna test a bunch first.

Lots of empty space in there, so I may go battery powered in the future. I just like the form factor. It could be half as high easy, though. So maybe I'll find an enclosure like that and build another one lolol.

 

[maremaresing]

Still enjoying the induction heater, but of course I yearn for more power. It just doesn't provide the fast heavy one heat extraction that a torch does. While this seems to be the behavior of induction heaters in general, and it certainly fully extracts nicely, I've been thinking of improvements.

To get more induction power my options are:
-More powerful board. The poor 120w zvs is certainly doing it's best with heating the Fusion, and I'm probably asking for the maximum it can do.
-More coils (can't because I ran out of coil length getting 10 winds)
-Tighter coils (I'm running mine about 20mm ID, to accommodate the glass and heat shielding. I could reduce this to 18mm, but don't know how much that would help)

I'm also looking at 20A boards, but even a cheap power brick that outputs 20A is around $50. (an unenclosed unit is around $20) So it gets expensive quickly and at what point should I just be using a torch or wait for more powerful reasonably priced IH units to hit the market. Going battery could probably get me the power needed, without a pricey power brick.

Side question- how do induction coils like this even work if they are unshielded? Some of the more powerful ones use this style:

https://imgur.com/fo2VyX1

 

[TommyDee]

Still enjoying the induction heater, but of course I yearn for more power. It just doesn't provide the fast heavy one heat extraction that a torch does. While this seems to be the behavior of induction heaters in general, and it certainly fully extracts nicely, I've been thinking of improvements.

To get more induction power my options are:
-More powerful board. The poor 120w zvs is certainly doing it's best with heating the Fusion, and I'm probably asking for the maximum it can do.
-More coils (can't because I ran out of coil length getting 10 winds)
-Tighter coils (I'm running mine about 20mm ID, to accommodate the glass and heat shielding. I could reduce this to 18mm, but don't know how much that would help)

I'm also looking at 20A boards, but even a cheap power brick that outputs 20A is around $50. (an unenclosed unit is around $20) So it gets expensive quickly and at what point should I just be using a torch or wait for more powerful reasonably priced IH units to hit the market. Going battery could probably get me the power needed, without a pricey power brick.

Side question- how do induction coils like this even work if they are unshielded? Some of the more powerful ones use this style:

https://imgur.com/fo2VyX1

More power just turns into more condensation in the condenser. I was running around 90 watts and made the remark that my vape seemed to be disappearing. Sure enough, a runny blonde syrup developed quickly in the condenser that is normally a deep dark crimson red over a much longer period.

 

[CreatureGlass]

Never a dull moment in my shop.

This also extends from the other site. We're at a zero'ing in phase. I'm working on 'small' and mellow portable.

If you want new tech, check out variable input voltage to dial in your 'oven'. Enjoying near on-demand IH draws. No butane so no reason not to draw while cooking. If you can tame the IH, you can probably keep up with the IH. or at least get you in a modulation range.

What's the other sites name?

 

[TommyDee]

What's the other sites name?

The origins of this thread: https://fuckcombustion.com/threads/vapcap-diy-induction-heating-bits-n-pieces.49663/