Simple homebuilt Pyro unit

[Paul Williams]

Several people seem to be buying or thinking about woodburning units lately. I carved decoys for many years and built this burner unit about 15 years ago. It has had a lot of hours of use, and been trouble free. Although when I opened it for the photos I noticed signs that the transformer has run a little hot in the past.

It can be as simple as a ceiling fan motor speed control hooked to a stepdown transformer hooked to your burning pen. I like the pilot light if for no other reason than to remind me to turn it off when done. The fuse is probably a good idea as is the radio shack box to mount everything in. The size of the transformer is not too critical, as the input will be controlled by the fan control. I think anywhere between 6 and 12 volt output should be OK. The higher the amperage rating the better. If you are want a 150 watt unit you should be looking for a rating of 1.5 amp or higher. Mine is labled as 6.3 volt output. It came out of the junk drawer so that is about all I know about it.

I labled the knob with nine positions. I usually burn around number 6. At 8 it will cause any of my commercial tips to glow red hot. I only use the highest position to clean residue from the tip. I have pens form several manufactures and they all work OK.

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[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking unit Paul. Nicely done. I bought mine as I just don't have time to build, turn and do my clock repair work.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Paul,
Great tip on installing a pilot light in line with the dimmer. After all, if you use a dimmer as your on off switch, you can only be sure the unit is off by unplugging it. I bought a switch with an indicator light to wire in line with the dimmer. That way I can leave the dimmer set once I find a temperature that works for me.
faust

[Chris Burgess]

Amazing. This looks like a great rout for someone wanting to try but not wanting to drop sevearl hundred on one just to find out it is not for you.

[Jeff Nicol]

The secret is out! You can make one for about $10, the tranformers are available at Surplus center and other places. This is what mine is and that is what is in all the ones you buy from anyone else. The only difference is that some of the commercially available have electonic controls for the heat controls. I am playing with a couple of different types of conrollers that come after the transformer. The reason the transformer will get hot is due to the varing of the 110V power in to the transformer, so when the power is low the resistance in the coils is high causing heat because they are made to take the full 110V and step it down to the output voltage. I use a 12v(AC) output at 3amps on mine and it has a ton of burning capacity.

Great minds think alike!

Jeff

[Randy Gleckler]

So... having never looked for one before. Can you tell me more where I might find a step down transformer and what I'm looking for. The rest of the components look straight forward.

[David Warkentin]

Lowes, Home Depot or an electrical supply. Wouldn't a transformer for a door bell work? Not sure about that.

[Jeff Nicol]

David, The doorbell transformers are most all times 24V DC as they have a rectifier built into the metal box around the trasformer. You need one that has AC output and not DC as the DC ones that I have tried just don't get hot enough. I am sure there are some that will do it, but the AC transformers work better. Here is one at SC

https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=15-1076&catname=electric

Jeff

[Jack Gaskins]

I think this would make a great article for the Creek Press on how to make one of the units.............Maybe someone like,,,,oh I dont know,,,,,,,,,JEFF Nicol!

[Steve Sawyer]

Here is one at SC

https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=15-1076&catname=electric

I ordered one of those, but in the meantime I borrowed a friend's RazerTip burner, and was surprised to see its rating as 120vac in, 2.2vac out @ 10 amp. I've always been really weak on electrical theory, so I have no idea how the one you point to from Surplus Center differs in use from the one in the RazerTip unit, but it seems that the output voltage difference is huge - 2.2v vs 12v. Does the lower amperage (3 vs 10) have a bearing on the utility of that transformer?

[Dennis Ford]

I have a home-made unit that is somewhat similar. I used a transformer salvaged from a small UPS (uninterriptble power supply), its output is 8 volts with 115v input. I found that 5 or 6 volts is plenty (most of the time even less).

[charlie knighton]

I think this would make a great article for the Creek Press on how to make one of the units.............Maybe someone like,,,,oh I dont know,,,,,,,,,JEFF Nicol!

plus 1 on the request

[ray hampton]

if you want a hottest tip then buy a transformer that will deliver high amps

[Steve Sawyer]

Well, the 10 amp/2.2v unit I've been playing with gets hotter than I would probably ever use it. I'm still not sure how a 12v/3A unit will compare...

[Donny Lawson]

I bought mine but would really be interested in knowing more about building my own homemade one. I second the motion for the Creek Press.

[ray hampton]

Well, the 10 amp/2.2v unit I've been playing with gets hotter than I would probably ever use it. I'm still not sure how a 12v/3A unit will compare...

I would compare the 12v /3A unit to a small 1/4 hp motor and the 10 amp unit to a 1 1/4 hp motor
the 12 v unit will take longer to do the burning

[Jeff Nicol]

The main thing that gives you the "HEAT" is the amperage of the output voltage. On a lot of the little transformers that we all have laying around from phones, fish locators, toys, radios, or other portable devices have low output amperage. Most have onlyh miliamps of output. So with the surplus center transformer you get bigger windings for more amperage, so if the output is 12V at 1-3 amps you will have the capacity to burn. If the output is less voltage the amperage should be higher to get the same amount of burning capacity. I have tried a 24V dc transformer for a piece of telephone equipment, but even with 3 amps of output power at 24v was only enough to get the nichrome wire warm so I guess DC voltage is not the answer.

I am still so darn busy that I have not gotten to finish my thoughts on the way I vary the power output, I could use a rheostat, just have to get the right one to handle everything. I think to much, so I will have to take a picture of the stuff and post it soon.


Jeff