Chiron - 29-3-2016 at 18:16
I'm looking into buying a heating tape that has a high temperature range so I can run a lot of different future experiments, but I'm finding the
technical details confusing.
Many heating tapes do not come with a standard 120v wall plug. Also I'm assuming that the "leads" that most specs refer to are the grounding wires.
Should I be looking into buying a special power supply for any heating tape I get? Also, most heating tapes do not have any kind of thermostat
attached (it's usually sold separately), and I'm assuming one is 100% necessary especially if dealing with higher temperatures!
Can anyone recommend some high temperature models that are pretty easy to use? Machinery specs are unfortunately not my forte.
macckone - 29-3-2016 at 18:50
Leads may or may not be terminated. Depending on voltage they are neutral and hot for 110v or positive and negative for 220v. Most do not have a
ground. If you want control the you need a controller. So you must buy or build. For 120v in lower wattages you can use a light dimmer for the
correct wattage limit, these are choppers and provide even power. For 220v you can buy infinite range controls but these dont provide continuous
power. Calculating the required wattage depends on a lot of factors, including heat of vaporization, heat loss and thermal conductivity.