Making a homemade electric lighter

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the construction of a homemade electric lighter, focusing on the materials and circuitry required for effective operation. Participants explore the choice of heating elements, temperature control mechanisms, and battery options.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires whether nichrome is the best material for the heating element and asks about the appropriate gauge for a 1.5-2 inch wire length.
  • There is a question about the circuitry needed to maintain a constant temperature of at least 500 Fahrenheit and how to control the power output.
  • Another participant suggests that using batteries for heating would be inefficient and recommends rechargeable batteries.
  • One participant mentions that fine nichrome wire can be sourced from old hair dryers and suggests experimenting with different wire lengths.
  • There is a discussion about the difficulty of soldering nichrome wire to terminals and the need for a good thermal insulator.
  • Another participant notes that electric jug element wire is easier to solder than toaster element wire and raises the possibility of using high-temperature solder.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various opinions on the materials and methods for constructing the lighter, with no consensus on the best approach or specific components. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the optimal design and materials.

Contextual Notes

Participants have not fully explored the implications of using different battery types or the specific requirements for maintaining temperature control, leaving some assumptions unaddressed.

theonecalledU
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I'm trying to make an electric lighter ( like this http://imgur.com/a/wg8q7) using the framework of this guide.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-battery-powered-soldering-iron/?ALLSTEPS
except mine will have a few more feature and the soldering tip will be replaced with nichrome most likely.

there's is just a few things that I am stuck on

-First, Is nichrome the best material to use as the heating element?
Assuming we do use a wire heating element the length of the wire will be 1.5-2 inches long, what would be the best gauge? any other details about it?

-Second, I need the heating element to stay at a constant temp of at least 500 Fahrenheit
What type of circuitry would I need to accomplish this, what if i wanted to to be able to control the amount of power?

-Third, what would be the best batteries to use for this? I was hoping to be able to use 4xAAA or 3AA
 
Last edited:
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What are you intending to light with the device?
 
cigarettes and pipes
 
PF has a very strong policy on dangerous activities. Smoking tobacco is addictive and very dangerous. It will probably kill you.

Now after that caveat, back on the engineering subject of an electrical igniter.

The use of batteries to produce such heat would be very inefficient and so you would need to use rechargeable batteries.

You could get some fine nichrome wire from something like an old hair drier. You will only need a short length, maybe only about 1% of the length used in the drier. See what wire you can find and do some experiments.

Nichrome heater wire is a bit like stainless steel. It will be a challenge to attach it to terminals and hold the hot wire in place. You will need to back the heater coil with a good thermal insulator.
 
Electric jug element wire is very easy to solder to, if you can still get it. Toaster element wire is very difficult to solder to. In any case, the heated wire is likely to melt the solder. Perhaps a high temp solder might be a proposition?
 
How to Make an Electric Hot Wire Lighter :
 

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