induction heater for brazing ?

[knighty]

anyone used an induction heater for brazing?

lots of videos on youtube of people doing it.... could be handy, save lugging bottles around, easier to get into tight spaces, no worry about burning the surroundings etc.

couple of random youtube links...

5kw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZDKjV5SZGs

this one is 10kw...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHafYE82imc

guess it needs a pretty high power heater, I've seen 2.3kw heaters for sale - they can run from a standard UK plug... I wonder if that's too small and heat will be conducted away along the pipe quicker than it can heat it?

[Tycho]

Haven't tried it my self, but a former colleague who tried the earlier models said it was to difficult to control the temperature and apply the brazing rod.

This system looks way better, with the alloy added as a ring.

the first video looks pretty good, but the second video there is way too much heat on the bottom of that large pipe.


Looks interesting, but with what little I do of copper brazing I'll stick with oxy/acetylene for now

[Rtic]

Induction brazing is used in most manufacturing lines for refrigeration & AC systems; they are useful as you can provide consistent and fast results without the need of oxy/acetylene.

The reason you're not going to be using one on site anytime soon is because you need a lot of power for it to be effective, so need a fixed supply and bloody big heavy units. Should be noted that the smaller potable ones that you can plug in will braze, but require the copper of be coiled; the 'C' type heads loose a lot of their effectiveness and take longer, and in some case won't achieve brazing temperatures.

[nora10]

Induction brazing is used in most manufacturing lines for refrigeration & AC systems; they are useful as you can provide consistent and fast results without the need of oxy/acetylene.

The reason you're not going to be using one on site anytime soon is because you need a lot of power for it to be effective, so need a fixed supply and bloody big heavy units. Should be noted that the smaller potable ones that you can plug in will braze, but require the copper of be coiled; the 'C' type heads loose a lot of their effectiveness and take longer, and in some case won't achieve brazing temperatures.

Hi,
Thanks for the information. It's interesting to learn about the limitations and requirements of induction brazing. It seems like a powerful and efficient process for manufacturing, but the need for a fixed power supply and large units definitely limits its portability and practicality for on-site applications. It's good to know about the differences in effectiveness between the coiled copper and 'C' type heads as well.