[Irish]

Now Al ... That's a good question and I don't have the answers! I looked on the back, bottom, top and even sides of my unit and there are no stickers, labels or engraved information ....

I have also been searching through the paper info that came with this unit and again I don't see any spec sheets. Mike may have picked it up if there was one with the unit. ?!?

So, I do believe that I will slip out of here, mosie over to Colwood and just ask them :0

May I have your permission to copy your posting to add to my inquiry?

Susan

Oh - I am no techno-electro geek. All I know is that it doesn't dim the lights on the table when when I turn it up to setting 9. But I haven't taken the set to go all the way to 10 yet.

[AlArchie]

Sure, go ahead with adding my posting....and here's my reason for wanting to know this info. I've built a pretty good unit, but after a year or so I've fried two transformers. OK, so now I'm tired of this and will be looking for a pro-built unit. On mine I know the input/output, but not the draw from the pens, and I want to make sure I don't overburden a unit I purchase from whichever maufacture I choose. Make sense?

Al

[Irish]

Al,

I slipped over to Colwood and sent them an email. Now, I could have phoned to see if I could have gotten you a faster answer. But not being a techno-electro geek I would have had no idea what they were talking about ... And you sure don't want me trying to write it down on a scrap paper then come here trying to interrupt my own phone notes.

Grin!!!!

So if and when I get a reply I can just 'copy and paste' exactly what they said with no 'idjit mis-interruptations' in between.

Susan

[BobD]

Frank Russell, in the first Power Carving Manual, did a great job of testing and explaining the electronics of woodburners. I'm trying to get a digital copy of his article to post here.

Bob

[Irish]

Originally Posted by BobD

Frank Russell, in the first Power Carving Manual, did a great job of testing and explaining the electronics of woodburners. I'm trying to get a digital copy of his article to post here.

Bob

Ahh! A techno geek to the rescue ... no, look up in the sky ... is it a bird ?... is it a plane? ... NO! It's our Fearless Leader

Susan

(Please, if you don't know where that quote came from please don't ask because the answer would just makes me feel older then dirt.)

[BobD]

Is that Captian Caveman???

BTW...I found the file.

Bob

[Pyrographer]

Someone asked about the ability to switch pens and brands of burners. Now, this is just my personal experience over the years but this is what I found. I've had very good luck switching most brands of pens onto Colwood, Nibsburner, Optima and Razertip when used with a replacement cord (usually available from Razertip or Optima) rather than using an adaptor on the existing cord.

I did find that switching those brands of pens and using them on Burnmaster and Detailmaster did tend to heat the pens more so perhaps over time it would impact on the pens. I believe (again I'm not a techno geek) that both of these burners are a bit more powerful than all the other brands and the pens just weren't made to work with with these units so I don't feel comfortable using the pens on these burners. It seems that the Detailmaster pens work on both burners better than the other brands of pens.

Again, this is just my experience using them, not necessarily technical expertise.

As for the composition (synthetic) strops, this is what I have been using for years and it's wonderful. Like Susan said you can wash it in the sink and it just keeps on ticking. Like my favorite pen, I've had my small bottle of aluminum oxide for about 6 years and it's still half full. You use just the tiniest pinch to polish so it does last for years.

BTW Susan, thank you for taking so much time with this tutorial, I know that it is really helping a lot of people, including me, and it's not often that someone like yourself who is obviously very busy outside of this message board takes so much time to do something like this.

Thanks,
Nedra

[Woodartist]

Well Al, the problem looking at the electrical plate is that it won't directly translate to the heat at the tip. Transformer efficiency enters into the equation as other parameters, however it would be interesting to see what the various manufacturers claim. Wattage is like the old "number of transistors" rating used years ago in radios. The more transistors, the better the radio must be So transistors were being used as diodes to "up" the component count. So the burners recognize most people don't really understand wattage and therefore seem to shoot for the highest.

My Optima never did have an electrical plate ( think they are required as UL), so I can't give you that info. I did take it apart and measure voltage/current draw, etc. when I first got it.....I'll look for the data.

There is also an online article about the "wattage" myth.

As I mentioned in a previously thread, the burners are very low tech and not much different than a toaster. Simple to build your own. In fact the designs could be better but then the cost would be higher.............

[BobD]

There is also an online article about the "wattage" myth.

That online article is the same as the one I posted above; it's just Frank's article in a different format.

Bob

[Irish]

Nedra, Thank you! There is some great info in your shared experiences!

Susan