Connecting nichrome wire to Arduino

Thread Starter

Kadav

Joined May 11, 2018
158
Hello

If i connect a nichrome wire to arduino , will it be a short circuit ? or it will be a resistance that is connected to arduino , I need to heat the nichrome wire ....
 

AlbertHall

Joined Jun 4, 2014
12,345
Unless it is a very, very, long thin wire the arduino will see it as a short circuit.
What length and what diameter is the wire?
 

OBW0549

Joined Mar 2, 2015
3,566
If i connect a nichrome wire to arduino , will it be a short circuit ? or it will be a resistance that is connected to arduino , I need to heat the nichrome wire ....
You aren't going to heat a nichrome wire by simply connecting it to an Arduino. First, the Arduino can't supply enough current to generate any significant heat; and second, your nichrome wire will look to the Arduino as a short circuit and possibly damage it.

You need to use the Arduino to drive a power transistor or MOSFET, which will serve to switch the actual current your nichrom wire needs for heating.
 

Thread Starter

Kadav

Joined May 11, 2018
158
Unless it is a very, very, long thin wire the arduino will see it as a short circuit.
What length and what diameter is the wire?
I need to heat a100 mm diameter dish to 37 deg c at may be 5v and 2A and i am looking to find which heating element that may be suitable, but i need to design a heater my self or find one that is suitable so that i can wrap it around the dish and keep light going through it . and then control its temperature with arduino.

I came up with some type of resistive wire that i can wrap around it but which wire/heating element i should use, that's the problem...

1592580894873.png
 

AlbertHall

Joined Jun 4, 2014
12,345
Maybe you could have two holes in the lid and pipes going to an external heater/fan system.
Or is it essential that the dish is sealed?
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
I need to heat a100 mm diameter dish to 37 deg c at may be 5v and 2A and i am looking to find which heating element that may be suitable, but i need to design a heater my self or find one that is suitable so that i can wrap it around the dish and keep light going through it . and then control its temperature with arduino.

I came up with some type of resistive wire that i can wrap around it but which wire/heating element i should use, that's the problem...
Wrapping a wire around it will not give even heat. Make an incubator box with fan and heater (almost any source...light bulbs to heater elements from hair dryers or homemade) as suggested in one of your previous threads on this subject. If you want to incubate in the dark, that is easy. Connect the heat box to the incubate box with a duct. If you want a microaerophilic environment, you can add CO2 much easier (and safer) to a box incubator.

Petri dishes are designed as they are to minimize contamination (both ways -- plate to environment and environment to plate)). Holes and blowing air will defeat that purpose.
 

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,852
37˚C (98.6˚F) can be uniformly heated to that temperature using a 12 volt halogen lamp and a dimmer. Once you balance the heat you want you can then add Arduino control to it. But without knowing more about what you're attempting, we're only going to be able to guess.

With a temperature sensor connected to an Arduino you should be able to achieve and maintain a specific temperature. Sorry, Arduino isn't something I've messed with. Couldn't begin to direct you on how to achieve the goal.

Are you trying to grow a bacteria? Some other biological agent? What's the purpose of the experiment?
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
There is no such thing of "balancing the heat" as temperature of the environment is constantly changing. That is why heating AND cooling are both needed. And if ambient is near 37°C, then artificial cooling will be needed.

The TS has been working on this since June 8, 2020 in multiple threads (For just one: https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/heater-for-petri-dish.170406/). His or her peripatetic approach will get nowhere.
 
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