72chevel said:
Hope you do not mind thread jacking but I looked at this unit last Thursday. Do they use the water to cycle through the heater so the copper does not melt? I noticed most of these heaters are designed really close to the unit is that because you would add a lot of resistance adding 3 feet to it? I also saw a pipe heater from Alaska that was used for welding it got the pipe really hot, was thinking that this might be an idea for pyrolysys? Or does it take obscene amounts of power to operate?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEPEL-INDUCTION-HEATER-W-LOTS-OF-EXTRAS-/381589287744?hash=item58d87e7340:g:9NIAAOSw~OVWxzLp
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Induction-pipe-heater-/261641379014?hash=item3ceb0a9cc6:g:R0YAAOSwDN1UTpCD
The idea is to circulate cool/cold water through the induction coil. The Chinese models do have a safety feature. The solder will melt and the coil will fall off the head if it gets too hot. Not really a safety feature but that's how they deal with it.
Proper induction used in a production unit would most likely use a chiller, this is what mine uses.
The coil posted here looks more like it would be used to incinerate biological samples, it's super tiny if the measurements in one of the pictures, in mm, is correct.
There are so many other options better suited for pyrolizing material that it seems like an incredible waste to use an induction furnace on a small scale. Not only this, but if you pyrolize correctly you are igniting and burning the gases that the incineration process creates. This is far better specially if you are doing this on a small scale at home, than incurring the expense of an induction furnace, and then allowing the gases to pollute the environment, specially if neighbors live close. I don't know about you, but if my neighbor was incinerating things that gave off noxious gases that could be harmful to myself or my family, or gases that negatively affected my environment, or accumulated on the plants that I grow for food, I would raise Cain.
You might also want to keep in mind that the copper coil is not meant to heat up, this is not what makes induction work. It is used to created a magnetic field where resistivity is responsible for generating heat, or induction heat. This means you must either use a crucible that offers resistivity, or melt material that offers resistivity, or both. I am currently using a crucible that offers very little resistivity, and smelting material that offers little resistivity, this can be a problem. I use a specific crucible because it is inexpensive and the flux I am using is very agressive so cheaper crucibles actually wear better and keep costs down. I have to start at a very low power until I generate enough heat to offer more resistivity. Using induction is very different than using propane or an arc furnace. It is wonderful for melting precious metals where the crucible used offers resistivity, but not so good in a lot of other applications. You might serve your purpose better researching what the best uses for an induction furnace are prior to jumping the gun and purchasing something that might not be suitable for your needs.
Also, I would strongly suggest if you do not have a background in electrical engineering or electrical in general, to purchase a unit that already has a PLC controller. This will allow you to control your settings to obtain the best results. If you have no idea what the power you are generating at the coil is, or have the ability to adjust it accordingly, you could potentially damage the components.
Scott