<<<<<HOT WIRE WOES>>>>

Well I read up in the archives,

Built me bow, got the variac, Scored some .22 Nichrome from Fiberglass Supply,

Read the charts, got my setup at 4A and…

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO HEAT UP??? Been waiting 30 min plus…

Patience is a virtue and I tried it… What is wrong with this picture.

Troubleshooting I did.

  1. Voltage from variac…check, Variac fine

  2. Accounted for drop due to lamp in switch… check

  3. Measured Amperage and Volts thru meter inline to hot wire…4 amps, 30 volts for 600F as per charts on previous posts

  4. Got the right wire… check…

what could it be…???

from what I have read… heat up isn’t some crazy long process, but nobody really says how long it takes…

waiting to cut XPS>>>>>

Paul.

The wire heats up immediately, within seconds. Sometimes there is a coating on the wire that needs to be scraped off where the clips connect, but I’m not sure if the nichrome has the coating. I would check your clips to make sure you’re getting contact between the wire and the clip and then the wire that connects from the variac to the clip.

Thanks for the idea.

I have checked circuit after the wire and still get the correct volts and amps…

I am running thru my calculations again but everything seems ok… but obviously isn’t.

Can’t find the hitch in my giddyup.

Problem Solved.

Took the lamp/switch out of the circuit. Bam shes hot…

Wire wouldn’t run hot with meter inline…why??

Problem solved but still curious.

Quote:

Took the lamp/switch out of the circuit. Bam shes hot…

Wire wouldn’t run hot with meter inline…why??

Your switch is either bad or miswired. Use your meter and continuity check the switch. But are you saying that you want to run the hot lead from the wall outlet though the meter before the hotwire? I’ll assume your saying this to get an amp reading? I would guess if it’s not working you’ve blown the fuse in the meter. Otherwise if you got the hot lead from the wall connected to red lead of the meter and the black lead of the meter connected to one side of the hotwire you should be working. You cannot connect the amp meter to each side of the hotwire it don’t work that way, you have to have only the hot lead from the wall, or variac, split by the meter. Also, hand held meters only have about 10amp max. So you might have blown the fuse. Fuses for my Fluke are pricey at $15 :-o Hope that explains it. Use a clamp-on amp meter instead.

Quote:

Problem Solved.

Took the lamp/switch out of the circuit. Bam shes hot…

Wire wouldn’t run hot with meter inline…why??

Problem solved but still curious.

Just checking a remote possibility–you are using an AC ammeter I presume?

Survey says… Bum Switch…

Its out of the system.

Thanks for the heads up… meter was fine. cheapo switch… ah cutting corners.

Like I figured.

But if the meter is fine why would the wire not load properly with the meter reading ACV? the fuse is fine, meter reads correct.

Wierd.

Take the lamp out!

Rely on the “variable” part of your variav instead.

Should be fine then (as long as your wire isnt nylon caoted).

Edit: Doh! That’ll teach me to finish reading the thread before I post. Everytime I don’t this happens.