PSA: that $340 induction forge heater was the best money I ever lit on fire

Bought an induction heater about 8 months ago for $340 after my propane setup kept freezing up in the garage during January here in Duluth. I was sure I got scammed because the coils looked cheap and the manual was translated badly. First week I hated it, the heat is so fast that I burned a set of tongs and scorched a 1084 blank before I even got my hammer off the rack. But once I figured out the timing, I went from 20 minutes of waiting on a heat to about 90 seconds, and my small shop finally feels like a real shop instead of a waiting room. The part nobody warns you about is that it only heats what fits in the coil, so big stock still goes in the coal forge, and the thing pulls enough amps that I had to run a 240 line out back. For knife work and small stuff it paid for itself in saved propane inside 4 months, no joke. Just make sure your breaker can handle it and keep a fire extinguisher closer than you think you need. Anyone else running induction and did you have to rewire half your shop too?

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emmaallen2d ago

Man, yes to the rewiring part. I ran a dedicated 240 line too because mine kept tripping the breaker on the shared circuit, and that was a whole weekend of work I did not plan on. The speed thing is no joke either. I melted the tip off a pair of cheap tongs the first week because I got lazy and left them in the coil. Once you learn the timing though it is hard to go back to standing around waiting.

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