stix Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 I've been using this wire (on the spool) for my electronic igniters for over 3yrs and still don't know exactly what it is. They work fine, so it's out of curiosity more than anything else, although it would be good to know exactly what it is and it may be of use to others as well. I literally stumbled across it, and almost stepped on it in the carpark at my work - it may be a part from a laser printer? It almost looks like some sort of electrical choke. The wire is about a thin as an average human hair. It's not copper because it's hard to break and has a "springiness" to it. I wouldn't have thought that it's nichrome not being silver. An inch of it lights up almost instantly with a 9v square battery - with a blinding white flash. The fact it doesn't require huge battery power is a big plus. At first I thought the spool was ceramic but it's a very hard plastic. The code on the side is: MPX-8285-61 if that means anything. Could it be tungsten - like light globe filament? Any ideas? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Does it matter? How many igs will the spool make for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stix Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Does it matter? How many igs will the spool make for you? It's hard to tell how many igs it would make because I haven't wound it off the spool - I probably should, but at a casual glance I'd guess a couple of hundred or more which is likely more than I'd ever need. No, it doesn't really matter but now that I've asked the question, it matters more than it did yesterday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Of course it matters. If nobody knows what it is, buying more, and making them is going to be hard when it runs out...B! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurritoBandito Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Check the resistance of the wire. That will help narrow it down. I know you said its not, but if it's a part of something electrical, and was wound into a coil I'd still bet on copper magnet wire. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 My guess is that the reel will make lots of igniters, and by the time you are approaching the end you should have found a source of igniters. Does the wire solder easily? is it lacquer insulated? What colour is the metal of the wire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otto Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Check the resistance of the wire. That will help narrow it down. I know you said its not, but if it's a part of something electrical, and was wound into a coil I'd still bet on copper magnet wire.I'd buy into that. Looks like there is some sort of part number on the bottom of the spool. A Google might pop something to the surface. Also the spool looks porcelain, may have been part of some hi-temp solenoid assembly (magnet wire). Those little 9v batteries can be deceptive if you keep 'em close. I put one in my pocket once with a bunch of change...... that was a "hot" idea! So hot it left a red burn mark on my thigh and when I reached in to get it out I couldn't hang on to it. Resistance over a distance tempers that pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stix Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) Thanks guys, I didn't see the part number until I photographed it, I just googled it and came up with the parts catalog: Hp Indigo 3550 Digital Press MPX-8285-01 BOBBIN. That would make sense because the place I worked for at the time had an Indigo Digital Press. So that solves where it came from. There wasn't any other information on it unless I signed up and wanted to pay - which I don't. Being a "bobbin" would suggest that it's a take-up reel from another main reel? Also, looking at the bobbin I have it's not neatly wound. Ah Ha!!...Just found a similar one http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-INDIGO-Series-I-II-Press-Corona-wire-bobbin-set-/151643157674?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item234ea2f4aa I'm still not sure what the wire is made from. I've never tried to solder it, I reckon it would just melt if I tried. I just wrap and crimp and never had a problem. I use about 10mtrs of standard speaker cable and they ignite almost instantly - much more reliable than the .3mm nichrome that I was previously using. The resistance over about an inch is around 1ohm - my multimeter is pretty basic. btw. Yes, I'm aware that I could purchase igniters on ebay (the chinese ones referred to on this forum recently) a lot less hassle but I'd prefer not to for various reasons. I like making things myself anyway. [EDIT] So after some more research this is what I found: The corona wire generates a field of positive charges. The wire is exposed to a high voltage which puts high demands on its durability and strength. Type of wire used is mainly gold plated tungsten and tungsten-rhenium. No wonder they are $US175 a set as per the link. I love the smell of burning gold in the morning Cheers. Edited April 10, 2015 by stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shunt Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Check the resistance of the wire. That will help narrow it down. I know you said its not, but if it's a part of something electrical, and was wound into a coil I'd still bet on copper magnet wire. +1 BB My guess is speaker magnet wire. In the old days the insulation for this wire was shellac, which as most of us know is a good fuel. That is why so many hotrod guitar amps back in the day caught on fire as the amplifier overpowered the speakers, and the voice coil ignited. Rock 'n Roll stars got rich from "playing amps so loud they were on fire". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stix Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Thanks Shunt, but I take it you missed my last post Rock 'n Roll stars got rich from "playing amps so loud they were on fire" http://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarp/entertainment/books/2012-09/01/620-pete-townshend-03.imgcache.rev1348762309496.web.jpg [ORIGINAL IMAGE]: http://www.aarp.org/entertainment/books/info-10-2012/the-whos-pete-townshend-releases-memoir.html#slide4 I imagine that's why Pete Townshend (The Who) took to smashing his amp (and guitar) completely because he couldn't be bothered replacing the speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) I've been using this wire (on the spool) for my electronic igniters for over 3yrs and still don't know exactly what it is. They work fine, so it's out of curiosity more than anything else, although it would be good to know exactly what it is and it may be of use to others as well.I literally stumbled across it, and almost stepped on it in the carpark at my work - it may be a part from a laser printer? It almost looks like some sort of electrical choke. The wire is about a thin as an average human hair. It's not copper because it's hard to break and has a "springiness" to it. I wouldn't have thought that it's nichrome not being silver.An inch of it lights up almost instantly with a 9v square battery - with a blinding white flash. The fact it doesn't require huge battery power is a big plus. At first I thought the spool was ceramic but it's a very hard plastic. The code on the side is: MPX-8285-61 if that means anything.Could it be tungsten - like light globe filament? Any ideas?Ignitor Wire 001.jpgCheers. By the look of it, my first guess was corona wire, typically tungsten. If it burns bright white in air with white colored fumes coming off when current is run through it, I'm sure it is tungsten. Another test is to bend the wire. If it resists bending and is prone to break at a sharp angle, that correlates to my experience with tungsten wire. I worked for over a decade in the high volume copier business in the `80's and became quite familiar with corona wire. Crimping copper leads around the corona wire is probably the best way to attach leads to tungsten wire, I doubt soldering would work very well. My best work with making electric igniters used nickel-chromium alloy wire (Nichrome) in the finer gauges. I was able to solder Nichrome wire when I used phosphoric acid as a flux; the solder actually whetted the bridge wire. Very little acid was required to do the job. WSM Edited October 23, 2015 by WSM 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparx88 Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I bet your right. At first I thought magnet/ armature wind type but with the breaking it makes sense it's tungsten based it's almost for sure used for fly tying. There are a lot of places to get it int diff gauges. Without being a spammer, here's the first place I looked up, http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=2189 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stix Posted October 27, 2015 Author Share Posted October 27, 2015 Thanks for the info WSM. Yeah agreed, I believe it's definitely tungsten as it exhibits the characteristics you describe. For the main wire I use CAT5E/RJ45 (Ethernet cable). First I score the wire with the teeth of a small set of pliers - this give the tungsten wire something to grab on to. Then I wind it around a few times and crimp. I haven't had a failure yet. In another rather bizarre coincidence, I managed to get some more just today. I started a new job a few weeks ago and we have two Ingido machines. I asked the operator what he did with the old corona wire take-up spools and he gave me a brand new one!!! - oooohhhh, shiny Apparently there is around 300mtrs on this 3/4" bobbin, I think I've got enough for now but could easily get more. Anyway the point being that in my view this wire is excellent for making igniters (regardless of where it is sourced) as it only requires a small amount of power to ignite it and is very reliable. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave321 Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 what size is the wire ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stix Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 what size is the wire ? Dave, unfortunately I don't have the equipment to measure it properly. All I can say is subjective: It's around the thickness of very thin human hair and it requires are suitable background colour to see it and use it properly. I'm over 50 so no doubt my eyes are not optimum, but it's very thin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparx88 Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Thanks for the info Not a problem, though not exactly what was needed but relevant just the same. I aim to help when I can brother. Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stix Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 (edited) I bet your right. At first I thought magnet/ armature wind type but with the breaking it makes sense it's tungsten based it's almost for sure used for fly tying. There are a lot of places to get it int diff gauges. Without being a spammer, here's the first place I looked up, http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=2189 Interesting Sparx, has anyone tried this? It always amazes me the various non-related things that can be used for pyro. Edited November 2, 2015 by stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparx88 Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Called my dad up and talked to him about this since he's into fly fishing/ electronics buff, and he said he has used it in both cases. 1 of the tips he said was particularly interesting, he heated the wire to remove it's temper making it more flexable, break less and reduce it's "memory" from being spooled. Helpfull when wrapping it arounf tiny little #12 hooks. He would just unwind what was going to be used and laid it on a cookie sheet and baked it at 450 for half an hour. Sounds legit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stix Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 Called my dad up and talked to him about this since he's into fly fishing/ electronics buff, and he said he has used it in both cases. 1 of the tips he said was particularly interesting, he heated the wire to remove it's temper making it more flexable, break less and reduce it's "memory" from being spooled. Helpfull when wrapping it arounf tiny little #12 hooks. He would just unwind what was going to be used and laid it on a cookie sheet and baked it at 450 for half an hour. Sounds legit. Sounds like a great idea sparx, next time I'm making igniters I'll give the wire the baking treatment. I'm assuming at 450F (230C). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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