Enamelled Magnet Wire
Enamelled Magnet Wire
Find out more about the wire used to wind coils for generators and alternators
general | shopping
The two key components of any
alternator or
generator are
Magnets and
magnet wire. Suitable magnets are now very easy to find and their prices have tumbled in recent years: See our article on
buying Neodymium magnets here. However the wire used to make the stator
coils (pictured above) in the alternator is not easy to find and the increasing cost of copper has sent its price skywards.
What is Magnet Wire
Magnet wire is copper wire which has been coated (or enamelled) with a very thin layer of insulating material - e.g. varnish. This means that when it is would into coils, the individual coils do not short-circuit one another where they touch. In order to make an electrical contact with
magnet wire it is necessary to either scrape or burn off the coating to expose the copper wire inside.
Scavenging Magnet Wire
With new
magnet wire being so expensive, it is not surprising that many people have turned to alternative sources of wire. Old
microwave ovens and
power transformers are fantastic sources of magnet wire, and they can often be found in skips or for a couple of pounds at car boot sales. The microwave
cooling fan motor alone contains around 30 metres of thin magnet wire.
The large
transformer in a microwave (pictured above) has a decent quantity of much thicker gauge magnet wire as well as yet more thin wire.
Microwave ovens also contain a couple of useful magnets in the 'magnetron'.
Article Last Modified: 14:34, 5th Apr 2007Comment on this Article
If you have any comments on this article, please email them to
neil@reuk.co.uk.
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