Zapper newbie looking for wire-welding help - anyone?

[Nubiwan]

I think I am having trouble using a wire-welder with the 'silver' wire I got from a Michael's craft store locally.

First I built my own 'welder' using a flash camera which achieved a usable weld about 1 out of 10 attempts. So, I upgraded to the res/non-res welder on Instructables.com - same result. So - I gave up building and bought a Zapper.

I still have VERY poor luck in joining wires and achieving a solid weld.

It occurred to me today that the silver plated wire might be the problem - what do you think? When I do join the silver and Kanthal, I have to be extremely cautious not to break the weld while coiling. My best efforts are between 30 and 40 volts. At anything over 45 volts the Zapper V2 melts/breaks the silver with a loud pop.
I have tried 28 thru 32 gauge Kanthal. The silver wire is approx the same size as the 32 ga Kanthal.

Does nickel work any better than 'silver'?
What do You use?
Where do you get it?

Thanks again, Doug.

 

[grayscale]

Curious, haven't done this myself, but was a welder for the better part of 15 years. Is Kanthal ferrous or non-ferrous? Do you know what the base alloy is?
It is possible that nickel may work better is it is better suited for joining dissimilar metals.

Hmm, after a little searching it appears Kanthal is a trademark, or brand/household name, for a family of iron-chromium-aluminium (FeCrAl) alloys used in a wide range of resistance and high-temperature applications, such as heating elements. Considering those base alloys, it would be difficult, at best, to join period. Although it appears that everyone uses silver NR. I think though the best process would be a simple fusion of straight Kanthal, though this would require considerably more expensive equipment than most people would be interested in.

 

[LucentShadow]

I use nickel to nichrome 80. Works well, and makes strong joints whether lapping or end-to-end. My welder is my own design, so I can't give any specifics on settings.

I don't remember where I got the nickel, sorry. Can usually find such things on ebay, if no place else. Perhaps crafting stores in the jewelry-making area.

I've seen others complain that silver does not work well, so it may certainly be worth trying another metal. I wonder if stainless steel might work well with Kanthal, but I'd bet that nickel would work fine.

 

[SissySpike]

You can get nickle NR wire on ebay. While its cool and all to weld to your wire twisting it together is pretty darn easy and your fingers dont cost nuthin! ;-)

 

[crxess]

Yes, most people use Nickel wire to do welded connections.

Silver should work, assuming it is Dead Soft. anything less will likely shear.

 

[Nubiwan]

Yes, most people use Nickel wire to do welded connections.

Silver should work, assuming it is Dead Soft. anything less will likely shear.

Got some nickel from Clouds of Vapor - works perfectly! Thanks Folks.

 

[DeadbeatJeff]

You can get nickle NR wire on ebay. While its cool and all to weld to your wire twisting it together is pretty darn easy and your fingers dont cost nuthin! ;-)

But does it work well to just twist the connections? i don't see why it wouldn't

 

[David1975]

I found this diagram on line, some trouble translating Thai to English so I'm not 100% sure I added the descriptions correctly. R1 had both descriptions so I assume it depends on the LED you use? I don't see why it wouldn't work, but anyone here got some know how to weigh in?

 

[bussdriver]

I weld almost all my wires unless they are used strictly in a short-lead rda. But, I never had any success at such a low voltage. I built one of the camera welders, but to get a good weld I'm always above 100 volts, depending on wire size. When welding 32 gauge Kanthal, I usually use about 120 to 130 volts. Welding 28 gauge to 28 gauge, I find it works best around 150 to 160 volts.

Never used dead soft silver wire, though. I just get my NR at Hobby Lobby in the beading section. Don't know what the alloy is, but it seems to work OK.

 

[chesty]

I bought NR-R-NR from fasttech, a few bucks for 100, I haven't had much experience with them, maybe used them 5 times, but I've replaced 2 coils in the last few days because the resistance slowly got higher until it was unvapeable, one of the joints failed.

 

[David1975]

I weld almost all my wires unless they are used strictly in a short-lead RDA. But, I never had any success at such a low voltage. I built one of the camera welders, but to get a good weld I'm always above 100 volts, depending on wire size. When welding 32 gauge Kanthal, I usually use about 120 to 130 volts. Welding 28 gauge to 28 gauge, I find it works best around 150 to 160 volts.

Never used dead soft silver wire, though. I just get my NR at Hobby Lobby in the beading section. Don't know what the alloy is, but it seems to work OK.

Ya, if it needs that much, I wouldn't expect this would work. I haven't yet needed to weld the 2 wires together.... I was looking into this mainly as an option for a reliable PT3 dual coil rebuild, as the non-resistance wire from the top coil should not interfere (short out) against the bottom coil. I didn't realize the voltage needed. Would you have a good link for the camera welder? All I could find was one from the UK but the guy didn't have much DIY recording experience..... Kinda helps if you record what your wishing to show people, and not just the back of your hand doing it :-/ LOL Although.... I do have a MIG welder out in the garage