Induction Torch
- Thread starter Stevo555
- Start date
It depends on how handy you are. E8bay is full of 1000Watt induction circuit boards with coil. There are youtube videos of people even melting metal with them. They are in the 50 buck range BUT you must supply the DC voltage to run it. Output heat depends on votage and if allowed to go below 12 volts they can self destruct. You need to supply like 20 amps. I was thinking of trying to make one myself. You could also possibly hack an induction tabletop cooking burner like they sell on late night TV. The 120AC power supply is already there and I have seen them at well under a ehundred bucks. You would have to replace the hot plate coil with one better shaped for nuts and bolts. They are also1000 watts like the expensive ones. I am surprised that there have not been any "bolt buster" knock offs yet from HF or Ali Express.
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Professur
Well-known member
I know several people who've built their own. Here's the thing. It's easy to screw up. Screw ups with electricity tends to end badly. Home brew ones tend to be much less portable than the Bolt Buster, and much less effective. The guys that make it did their homework and built it well.
When you factor in the price of an O/A torch, tanks and gas, add to that greater portability and the fact that it can be used around a gas tank without immediate danger ... it's price is pretty damn fair. It only seems expensive because it's so well made.
When you factor in the price of an O/A torch, tanks and gas, add to that greater portability and the fact that it can be used around a gas tank without immediate danger ... it's price is pretty damn fair. It only seems expensive because it's so well made.
sberry
Banned
I can see those being a great "shop supplied" tool in a busy place especially for less trained people with a torch. Fast and safe. Never used one though, don't recall how much one cost but if a guy has to invest much in parts it might make sense to buy one and get past it.
Looked at the units including the home built. I need to heat up a housing holding a 3inch bearing. None of the small units would work the bigger commercial ones were in multiple thousand dollars.
I bought a A/O set with tanks cart and victor torches with rosebud tip for 600 from my welding supplier.
I bought a A/O set with tanks cart and victor torches with rosebud tip for 600 from my welding supplier.
Professur
Well-known member
FYI, most of the parts list can be recovered from a junked UPS. Given that the price of replacing the battery in one is most of the cost of buying a new one ... junked ones are fairly easy to find.
True but as one guy pointed out, by the time you make a PC board and do the r and d, it is not worth the price. The Chinese ones are like 30 bucks and a little more with a cooling fan. The guy has a you tube video and he made one and later bought one. Conclusion: buy it. You cannot compete with Hong Kong. In fact, there are so many pre made circuit modules out there that it pays to check before making anything. HF gives away multimeters that are more complex.
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Professur
Well-known member
Actually, I only mentioned it because I literally just junked a blown up UPS here at the lab and found pretty much the entire parts list 
oly caps, chokes, mosfets transformer, and a bunch of heavy gauge wire. The timing was such I had to share the discovery.
oly caps, chokes, mosfets transformer, and a bunch of heavy gauge wire. The timing was such I had to share the discovery.God job. I guess I am just lazy and I don't have an old UPS laying around. You are quite right there isn't much there if you have the parts. Now for the big question. Have you successfully used it to loosen frozen bolts?Actually, I only mentioned it because I literally just junked a blown up UPS here at the lab and found pretty much the entire parts list
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Professur
Well-known member
Oh, lord no ... I don't have time to build the darn thing.