Mission Possible C

[Uncle Fester]

To cut down on extra experimentation. . . think RATIOS when determining NiCr wire lengths. If you're using 12V and a piece of NiCr from a 120V hair dryer, the 12:120 ratio means that a piece 1/10 as long will get the same results (heat, current draw, longevity) as the full length at 120V. Obviously, different battery voltages will mean different ratios. Since THAT amount is quite a lot of heat, a somewhat longer length will mean lower temp as well as lower current draw.

Also, use as beefy of copper wire as you can for connecting. Heck, strip the case off 12 gage house wire if you can. Delta Hat and I have sen a few where telephone wire was as hot as the nichrome-- abd, bad, bad! Use the biggest batteries as you can, and use new alkalines for competition. if D's are allowed, use D's, and NOT AA's or AAA's. NiCr draws a lot of current.

And please be careful. I've seen a few pretty painful burns over the years.