bigclive
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Autopsy on a failed product
🕑 Added 2024-07-12 11:10:44 +0000 UTCWhen I originally made a video about these units I was warned that it might fail, and that's probably why they were selling them off cheaply.
It has failed, and the mode of failure is intriguing. As if the resistive nature of PTC ceramic encourages accumulative surface tracking.
It's worth mentioning that the PTC heaters in glue guns and in heating valve actuators often fail the same way.
Comments
Russell Levine
Not nichrome?
Dave Frederick AKA @amorphuc
Thanks Big Clive. I wonder if a fix might be to wind a heater element with SS wire. Maybe back and fourth over a couple ceramic rods? Back in the days of winding my own coils for inhaling "certain substances" I used various gauges of SS wire for the coils, measuring the ohms and using voltage dialed in for the various airflow of the "tank" . I guess the circuitry would have to be reworked but I'm assuming that the housing is a high temperature sort of plastic?
Tomáš Kováčik
if it was not arcing internally, clean in coat it with something like nail polish and you are good to go. That residue in corners looks like stuff used to secure component in THT designs which in time start being conductive.I would check if it is conductive, if so it can be source of problem. Then the solution is simple, clean it, and assemble it? :) or check ali if you can source new ptc in correct dimentions
