Light up a matchstick?

[Asheekay]

I want to light up a matchstick using electricity. In the past (my college days), I could just wrap a piece of heating coil around the matchstick and connect it to a 9v battery. The coil would get red-hot and light up the phosphorus.

Today I tried it and it doesn't work. The piece of coil just gets moderately hot but nowhere near red-hot as the previous ones did. I even tried with a 12v battery (23A sized) and it doesn't work.

I guess I could try removing the glass cover of a small tungsten bulb and use its heating coil, but it's a bit too much hassle and it's impossible to wrap that tungsten coil around the matchstick.

Any ideas? Anything else I should try?

 

[Pommie]

Google "firework electric match" if you're in the US then skylighter do a kit.

Mike.

 

[gophert]

What's the goal? That kind of stuff has no positive practical application - only mischief or worse.

 

[Asheekay]

What's the goal? That kind of stuff has no positive practical application - only mischief or worse.

To be very explicit and direct, it's for lighting up methane balloons during picnic.

You never want to try that manually. I knew that even without trying it. I'm a chemistry nerd.

Again, in my college days, we could just use a good old 9v battery and some solder iron heating coil to get the fun of our lives. Guess they don't use wire that goes red-hot, anymore.

 

[Pommie]

Guess they don't use wire that goes red-hot, anymore.

If you buy a couple of wire wound resistors, they contain wire that will happily glow.

Mike.

 

[Asheekay]

If you buy a couple of wire wound resistors, they contain wire that will happily glow.

Mike.

I looked up nichrome wires on our local online store. They are available cheap although delivery might be later than I want them.

Wire wound resistors ... hmm ... are you talking about the common, very small, color banded resistors (which are very cheap) or something else?

 

[JimB]

Or, you could try a single strand of 0.2mm copper wire taken from simple multistrand hook-up wire.
A few turns of that around the match and connect it to a battery using thicker wire and it should be red hot very quickly.

JimB

 

[Pommie]

I looked up nichrome wires on our local online store. They are available cheap although delivery might be later than I want them.

Wire wound resistors ... hmm ... are you talking about the common, very small, color banded resistors (which are very cheap) or something else?

A link to wirewound resistors. Assuming (no idea) you'll need a few watts to make it glow, let's guess at 6W. To make the wire glow you probably want to run it at twice (or more) of it's rating. If you're using a 12V battery then you need about ½A to flow. To get 4 out of a 10W resistor such that ½A will flow means you need a resistance of 24Ω (22 nearest) per resistor. Strip the wire out and use ¼ of it per match.

Mike.
Edit, but Jim's idea will be easier and quicker to try.

 

[JimB]

It is a sunny afternoon in North East Scotland (must be first one this month), so JimB is in an experimental mood.

20cm of 0.2mm tinned copper wire,

went from this:

to this:

in less that one second when connected to the output of a 50A 12v PSU. (Just happened to have it on the bench at the time).

JimB

 

[Pommie]

50A 12v PSU

Not quite a 9V battery. Think the OP will be lucky to get anything glowing with a PP9. Probably have more luck with one of those big 6V torch batteries. Now, lead acid would manage the 50A to try that wire.

Mike.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

What he needs is resistance wire - hence the earlier mention of nichrome - however, what we always used to do at work was get some from an electric fire element. In the VERY distant past we used to repair electric fires, toasters etc, and sell elements for them. What was easiest was replacement elements for silica tube heaters - you could either buy a complete tube with element inside, or a little cardboard box with just the element inside - you simply dropped a piece of string down the old tube, and pulled the new 'spring' element through the tube.

So if we needed a piece of resistance wire (making polystyrene cutters for example) we'd get an element, and cut off the length we needed. We'd then put the rest in a spares draw for if ever needed it again.

So he might have something at home he could raid?, toaster, electric fire, hair drier? - anything with an exposed coil element.

 

[shortbus=]

To be very explicit and direct, it's for lighting up methane balloons during picnic.

You never want to try that manually.

We used to put them in a paper bag. Twist the paper bag shut and light the twisted part of the bag. Worked good, but we also used acetylene/oxygen mixture from a cutting torch that wasn't burning at the time to fill the balloons.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

Another option would be something like a gas cooker ignition module, that will work from even 1.5V
The sparks they produce are extremely intense - they may burn through the gas bag, or would certainly ignite a matchhead placed between the wires.

eg This type of thing - just search "high voltage module" on ebay.

Step-up Boost Power Module High-voltage Generator Converter DC 3v-6v to 400kV | eBay

Input current: 2 A- 5 A. Input power cord length: 100 mm (the red line is positive). red line:”+” green line “-”. Wiring: Red and green power connection. Technical support is NOT included. Add to Favourites.

www.ebay.co.uk

Big Clive did a video demonstrating one, in a rather dodgy way:

With 1.5V supplied, the ones I have sound exactly like the ignition "tick" from my gas cooker, which also uses a 1.5V D cell - I'm pretty sure that is what they are supposed to be for, originally at least..

Changing the voltage changes the spark repetition rate, not its energy.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

I used to do it too. The available current and the wire size is what's going to cause it to glow.
You can look at fusing currents: https://www.powerstream.com/wire-fusing-currents.htm
and here: https://www.powerstream.com/wire-fusing-currents.htm

The amount of current needed will be between these limits or maybe 200-300% of the lower limit.

 

[gophert]

Just use a twist-tie with a steel or stainless steel wire center (or plain stainless steel wire (26 to 30 gauge). Coil it around your match without shorts between turns. Connect to copper wire by twisting/crimping, gator clip or (if mild steel wire, solder).

 

[Asheekay]

So he might have something at home he could raid?, toaster, electric fire, hair drier? - anything with an exposed coil element.

With precisely that thought, I had purchased the heating coil/element of a solder iron.

The cut piece (~1 cm) gets hot to the touch, but doesn't glow red with a 12v, 23A battery. It does glow a bit with the 12v 2amps power supply output though. Motorcycle battery does the job too.

I don't want to sound like a perfectionist prick, but just for the sake of transportation and mobility, a motorcycle battery (lead acid) is quite heavy and has the danger of a leakage and spill if transported roughly in a car trunk.

0.2 mm copper wire idea sounds good. I'm wondering the piece will get oxidized quickly into cupric oxide (CuO) with a single use, requiring a change after every balloon ignition. Doable, but hassle-y.

Another option would be something like a gas cooker ignition module, that will work from even 1.5V
The sparks they produce are extremely intense - they may burn through the gas bag, or would certainly ignite a matchhead placed between the wires.

To my dismay, I have found that placing a matchstick inside the terminals of an active/arcing taser does not light up the match.

Yes, it definitely will ignite a methane-air mixture of placed inside the balloon, but the resulting gas explosion will also kill the module.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

To my dismay, I have found that placing a matchstick inside the terminals of an active/arcing taser does not light up the match.

I am amazed, I just had to try it myself - but the same results with the little HV module; the sparks wrap around the match head but have no effect..

Can't you extend the high voltage wires somewhat so the module is clear of the gas bag & use sparks??

 

[Asheekay]

I am amazed, I just had to try it myself - but the same results with the little HV module; the sparks wrap around the match head but have no effect..

Can't you extend the high voltage wires somewhat so the module is clear of the gas bag & use sparks??

Yes, can be done indeed.

Quite a hassle though, keeping them sufficiently apart (so that they don't arc at their closest point midway instead of at the terminals) all the way for at least 12 inches or so.

I mean ... I could just prepare simple igniting fuses by harvesting the phosphorus from match heads and sticking it on paper strips.

The reason I asked about electric method was that I wanted a cool way to do it. James Bond-ish. Just using my smartphone and using the WiFi based remote relay to ignite match heads from 30-40 ft and giving a good show to the kids.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

Just had an idea for a source of very fine nichrome - vape suppliers?
I believe it's used to make the replacement elements.

I'd also suggest using a battery with a fairly high current capability. like an 18650 lithium cell.
Small dry cells (less than D size) may not give enough current.

 

[JimB]

0.2 mm copper wire idea sounds good. I'm wondering the piece will get oxidized quickly into cupric oxide (CuO) with a single use,

I had envisaged that the wire/match assembly was a single use device, rather than multiple uses with several matches.

JimB