Hey all.. I just have a quick question for the tech heads in here.
I have a small project that I am working on.
I have a little mini heater that I am trying to build.
The heating element is a Nichrome Ribbon turned into a coil.
It is very small.. The resistance of the nichrome unit is only 0.8 Ohms.
I have tried running it on 120 VAC.
I tried hooking a typical light dimmer up to it and slowly bringing on the power until the heater gets hot.. but instead, it just blows the wire.
What do I need to do to make it so that it doesnt keep blowing the heating wire and is in a semi-controllable range.
I am not too knowledgeable about this kind of thing but am trying to learn.
I had an idea to install a power resistor before the element, but Im not sure what size would be good.
My goal is to be able to control the power so that I can get the tiny wire glowing hot and be able to turn it down so it just stays warm. All without it burning it again hopefully.
Would a 1k ohm power resistor work? I would imagine I need a resistor that can handle at least a few amps right? Then have another potentiometer to adjust it to hotter or cooler.
Would using say 30 VAC be easier? I have a hunch that getting a transformer to drop the voltage to somewhere between 12 and 30 volts AC would be good. However, im not sure how many amps I would need the transformer to provide... 2, 10, 15 amps? Like I said its a TINY little heating element but I keep blowing it.
Also... I know most trim pots are for very low amperage... is there a specific name or type that can handle say like 10-15 amps @ 12 Volts AC?
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance!
I have a small project that I am working on.
I have a little mini heater that I am trying to build.
The heating element is a Nichrome Ribbon turned into a coil.
It is very small.. The resistance of the nichrome unit is only 0.8 Ohms.
I have tried running it on 120 VAC.
I tried hooking a typical light dimmer up to it and slowly bringing on the power until the heater gets hot.. but instead, it just blows the wire.
What do I need to do to make it so that it doesnt keep blowing the heating wire and is in a semi-controllable range.
I am not too knowledgeable about this kind of thing but am trying to learn.
I had an idea to install a power resistor before the element, but Im not sure what size would be good.
My goal is to be able to control the power so that I can get the tiny wire glowing hot and be able to turn it down so it just stays warm. All without it burning it again hopefully.
Would a 1k ohm power resistor work? I would imagine I need a resistor that can handle at least a few amps right? Then have another potentiometer to adjust it to hotter or cooler.
Would using say 30 VAC be easier? I have a hunch that getting a transformer to drop the voltage to somewhere between 12 and 30 volts AC would be good. However, im not sure how many amps I would need the transformer to provide... 2, 10, 15 amps? Like I said its a TINY little heating element but I keep blowing it.
Also... I know most trim pots are for very low amperage... is there a specific name or type that can handle say like 10-15 amps @ 12 Volts AC?
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance!