How to Build an Induction Heater (500W)

Video of the induction heater melting stuff will be out next!

This is how to build a powerful water cooled 500W induction heater capable of getting iron and graphite to a bright orange heat and easily melting aluminum in mere minutes.

List of materials:
IRFP250N MOSFETs (2)
UF4007 fast diodes (2)
14 turn 14AWG yellow PC ATX PSU core inductors/chokes (2)
1/4W 10K resistors (2)
5 turn 1/4" copper tubing work coil (1)
~490 ohm 2W resistors (two 1Kohm 1W in parallel) (2)
330nF 440VAC MKP 3381 film capacitors (6)
1N4742A 12V 1W zener diodes (2)
50mm diameter 5mm thick semicircle copper slab heat sinks for MOSFETs, soldered to the tubing that connects to the work coil (2)
Current shunt ammeter (few feet of 6AWG wire; not strictly necessary but important for monitoring current draw) (1)
12V motorcycle lead acid batteries for power, in series for 24V (2)

This project turned out to be far more powerful than I had imagined. In my limited experience, the keys to success with these moderately high-powered induction heater projects are:
- Following someone else's schematics closely for component selection
- Doing EXTENSIVE research to confirm when deviations from schematics will work and when they won't
- Using heavy duty cooling (LOTS of water cooling and large pieces of copper) to effectively manage heat
- Keeping connections short and thick (helps with high frequency and high current)
- I really can't overstate the importance of doing hours of research. Find designs that are confirmed to work, and try to replicate as exactly as possible what they look like.

Overall, this project has been an immensely educational experience, both in physical design of high power devices and in electronics theory. 10/10, would recommend :)

First soundtrack:
"I Can Feel it Coming" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Second soundtrack:
"Andreas Theme" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Видео How to Build an Induction Heater (500W) канала The Plutonium Bunny