induction nut/bolt heater

[Tom2]

Someone can't take a hint of sarcasm

The guy should sell them for $1000 if he can get that out of them. For a shop, $500 is probably a good price. As a hobbyist, it'd be worth it for around $100-$200 maybe, but not worth much more to me. So yes, I'll wait for a cheaper version. People will still want this one who like to buy top of the line stuff.

 

[red92s]

Yes, let's wait for the HF to rip off the intellectual property and mass produce for ten cents on the dollar.

Someone put a lot of effort into the design, I would imagine HF keeps them up at night.

I'm not bashing HF, I buy stuff from them if I have no other economical option, but they will find any and every way to snag proprietary ideas.

Induction heating isn't really a novel idea, and not at all complicated to build into nearly any form factor.

 

[lipadj46]

Induction heating isn't really a novel idea, and not at all complicated to build into nearly any form factor.

+1 we are not talking cold fusion here. If HF makes one and does not infringe any patents then all is OK. It's the American way.

 

[Strouty]

I'm not bashing HF, I buy stuff from them if I have no other economical option, but they will find any and every way to snag proprietary ideas.

I think that induction was an idea created long before the "inductor" they just put it to good use. I think HF is a good way to keep companies prices in check. All we need now is a HF pharmacy!

 

[fordbroncodave]

they sell these through carquest. i might have to get one

 

[mjozefow]

Ya, just rubs me the wrong way when someone creates something unique and the first thing someone else says is "I can't wait for someone to rip it off"

If this is old tech, then so be it. But this is the first I have heard of it. Not induction, but induction bolt heating. Miniaturization and re-application count as invention in my book. Adapting existing tech to perform a new task is not usually easy.

 

[GarettC]

Hello,

My Name is Garett Churchill--I am the owner of Fluxeon, Inc. We make the Roy induction heaters, and are working hard to get our designs to market at present.

Am I worried about HF? heavens no! We have taken steps to protect our flagship product, the Roy 1500, to be sure. If HF wants to rip us off, I'm sure they'll borrow from our open-source designs that anyone can see. Google 'Fluxeon Induction Heater Circuit Board' and you'll find our parts and kits. You can put together a powerful induction heater for under $200, or less if you are savvy!

For discussion and theory of our efforts, visit the lead engineer's site. Google 'neon john induction heating' and you'll find it.

The 1500 will be a fully computerized heater, with a multitude of capabilities and features. Our website is going to undergo a major upgrade soon, but for anyone who's interested, feel free to email me or ask questions on this list.

Glad to see the enthusiasm here!


Garett

 

[mjozefow]

Hello,

My Name is Garett Churchill--I am the owner of Fluxeon, Inc. We make the Roy induction heaters, and are working hard to get our designs to market at present.

Am I worried about HF? heavens no! We have taken steps to protect our flagship product, the Roy 1500, to be sure. If HF wants to rip us off, I'm sure they'll borrow from our open-source designs that anyone can see. Google 'Fluxeon Induction Heater Circuit Board' and you'll find our parts and kits. You can put together a powerful induction heater for under $200, or less if you are savvy!

For discussion and theory of our efforts, visit the lead engineer's site. Google 'neon john induction heating' and you'll find it.

The 1500 will be a fully computerized heater, with a multitude of capabilities and features. Our website is going to undergo a major upgrade soon, but for anyone who's interested, feel free to email me or ask questions on this list.

Glad to see the enthusiasm here!


Garett

Welcome to the GJ!

 

[mdbeck1]

Hello,

My Name is Garett Churchill--I am the owner of Fluxeon, Inc. We make the Roy induction heaters, and are working hard to get our designs to market at present.

Am I worried about HF? heavens no! We have taken steps to protect our flagship product, the Roy 1500, to be sure. If HF wants to rip us off, I'm sure they'll borrow from our open-source designs that anyone can see. Google 'Fluxeon Induction Heater Circuit Board' and you'll find our parts and kits. You can put together a powerful induction heater for under $200, or less if you are savvy!

For discussion and theory of our efforts, visit the lead engineer's site. Google 'neon john induction heating' and you'll find it.

The 1500 will be a fully computerized heater, with a multitude of capabilities and features. Our website is going to undergo a major upgrade soon, but for anyone who's interested, feel free to email me or ask questions on this list.

Glad to see the enthusiasm here!


Garett

Welcome and thanks for the links. Always nice to have a company representative here. It gives us some unique insight to your company and I'm sure the members will be happy to give you feedback about your products.

 

[mdbeck1]

freakin sweet! http://www.theinductor.com/index.php?m=41
$500 for the original one, I wonder that the new version costs.

As a kid I remember someone had a charcoal lighter made with the same type of tip. It was cool to toss it in the grill, heap on the charcoal, and 10 minutes later the charcoal was totally lit.

 

[willysrule]

we use induction heating all the time working on power generation equipment...

here a little write up from the companies we use...

Bolt Tech
Mannings USA

 

[bignate]

has anyone used it on a fuel filter???ive had 2 different GM cars come in this week that needed fuel filters and ended up getting a new fuel line front to rear because they were so rusted out im wanting to try one of these if it can take off a fuel filter id buy one just to do that cause i HATE running lines of any kind

 

[Danglerb]

Pretty sure it would take off a fuel filter, but I wouldn't want to be too close when it happened. Heat regardless of the type is going to boil any fuel and the pressure could get out of hand fast with check valves etc.

Why not try one of the penetrating oil in a freezing carrier?

CRC Freeze Off
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KKCQUW/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[DrkMtnDew]

a friend of mine at another shop got one last friday off the Matco truck and brought it over to show off. gotta say it is a slick set up. if it weren't for the price tag i'd probably get one.

 

[gunner3773]

I bought a Mini-Ductor II Pro a few weeks ago from ToolOutfitters.net. The thing works great. Glad I bought it.

 

[csargents1546]

They work great, have one of the earlier models at work, use it to loosen the cab bolts on ford trucks.

 

[GarettC]

Hey everyone, just a quick note: we just upgraded our website in anticipation of our first major induction heater release. The Roy 1500 is a microprocessor-controlled 1500 watt induction heater. it is tuly in a class by itself in terms of power delivered to the work and duty cycle.

have a look www.fluxeon.com

Although not ready for prime-time, we have a version of our flux concentrator head that we are selling to neon guys for electrode processing. The Roy FC consists of a pistol-grip remote heating unit that can really heat things up fast. The iron shells in a neon electrode will heat up to 1300C in about 5 seconds. in 30 seconds the iron melts!

We have a little engineering to do on that one before it's ready for release. just thought you folks would be interested to hear about it.

We also are about to bring out a new release of the analog kit board, for those of you who want to save some money and DIY. The new revision has a smaller board, and several layout errors were fixed.


Feel free to send questions and comments--

Garett Churchill
Fluxeon, Inc.

 

[diesel research]

Thank you garret for continuing to check in. I have recently mentioned "needing" to use similar technology when working near loaded tankers ect ect.

Can someone clarify one thing for me? Is this iron only? Won't work on stainless or aluminum? Sometimes Ihave corroded stainless screws in stainless or aluminum base metal. A real bear to work with when the "no open flame" rule is in effect. A bear to drill out as well.

 

[IONH]

Thanks for the update Garett. I am definitely interested in a more cost effective DIY setup.

 

[0.511MeV]

Can someone clarify one thing for me? Is this iron only? Won't work on stainless or aluminum? Sometimes Ihave corroded stainless screws in stainless or aluminum base metal. A real bear to work with when the "no open flame" rule is in effect. A bear to drill out as well.

Induction heating, in general, can be used on anything electrically conductive but induction heating works best on materials that are more magnetically conductive.

 

[IONH]

Induction heating, in general, can be used on anything electrically conductive but induction heating works best on materials that are more magnetically conductive.

I would imagine that aluminum, for example, would melt much quicker than steel.

So if you have a questionably stuck valve cover bolt and you don't want to break it... heating it up to 800+ would probably increase the chances of it breaking. Just google'd and Aluminum melts at about 1200*F.

 

[0.511MeV]

I would imagine that aluminum, for example, would melt much quicker than steel.

So if you have a questionably stuck valve cover bolt and you don't want to break it... heating it up to 800+ would probably increase the chances of it breaking. Just google'd and Aluminum melts at about 1200*F.

Aluminum is very electrically conductive but not very magnetically conductive. It will be much more difficult to use induction heating, but not impossible. I'm really not an E&M guy so I'm certainly not the best person to explain this.

This link shows magnetic permeability ratios:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/tables/magprop.html

Notice that iron oxide has a value of 720, while aluminum has a value of 2.2. As a result, the iron oxide will undergo induction heating very very well compared to Al.

In summary, I wouldn't worry about overheating the Al.

 

[diesel research]

This seems like an elegant way to defeat idiots who love to red locktite greasy drive shafts. The old method with a torch isn't as pleasant with all kinds of grease fire hazard, not to mention airlines and electronics in close proximity.

Sometimes I have the option to cut certain bolts like those going through the frame, but if you aren't careful there is risk of frame damage, other collateral damage, not to mention the slag sometimes needs to be air hammered out.

If the tool was robust enough yet easy enough to wield in confined areas, I could see it getting use on a lot of bolts possibly saving some tool wear and tear?

 

[Buckgnarly]

Subscribed....living in rusty old VT, this could be a great tool.....been REALLY tempted by what's already on the market, but if there was even a slightly cheaper alternative, I'd probably have it by now.

 

[diesel research]

My guess is it won't be any cheaper, just more powerful? (talking about the 1500, not the DIY kits which are in fact cheaper)

 

[Nut Cracker]

Induction heating, in general, can be used on anything electrically conductive but induction heating works best on materials that are more magnetically conductive.

This type of induction heater say up to about 3000 W will heat magnetic materials such as steel very rapidly. Metals such as aluminium will be heated only very slightly. Typically an induction heater of this type could be used to heat nuts in an alloy wheel without heating the alloy. To heat aluminium a much more powerful unit is necessary.

 

[st@rk]

Dug up quite an old thread here, but I'm looking at induction heaters as a route to solving a problem, but not sure if they're the right tool for the job:

I've two steel studs corroded inside an aluminium block, with the engine still in the car. Access is generally good.

If I use a torch I'll be putting a concentrated heat onto the block (which I doubt will do it any good) and the stud. This would hopefully crack the hold the studs have on the block and I'd then need to cool the studs quicker than the block to get them out. The only way I can think to minimise the concentrated heat on the block is to mock-build up the engine again to get it running to generally heat the whole block up so that the differential is not so big between the concentrated area on the block and the rest of the block.

If I use an induction heater I can only heat the stud to crack its hold, but won't that do damage to the block by expanding in its cool state, forcing damage to it / the thread?

 

[Phuckin' Jim]

I've been using mine for 13 years on and off, and it still works well.
I am going to have to buy some new heating coils for it, as they are starting to wear out.