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questionguy wrote:

penclspinner wrote:

questionguy wrote:Hey, I am thinking of using this task using the bimetallic strip, but am having some trouble heating it up. Does anyone know what the best battery is and whats a good way to use the strip, such as setting off a mousetrap?

You could use a candle to heat up the strip, that works pretty well.

In the past we have used the strip to complete a circuit (metal-metal contact).

For connecting the circuit, if I am using one of the small strips you found in the outdoor thermometers, would I want to stretch it out completely, or leave a part of it curled?

I don't think a thermometer coil would work if you un-coiled it. I'm pretty sure that the "bimetallic coil" is a misnomer. Looking at the behavior of my coil (which is the first coil here: http://scioly.org/wiki/Bimetallic_strip), I am pretty sure it is not bimetallic at all, but rather a single metal that has been coiled. As the metal is heated, it expands, and as a coil expands, it twists (and expands outward). So, it may be possible to coil your own metal ribbon to avoid buying and gutting a thermometer, and I would NOT recommend uncurling all of your bimetallic coil.

So, having this information coming from a past task, I assume that you guys have had success with the bimetallic strip.
What would you guys advise heating it up, or cooling it down, and do you know how far it would uncurl or curl.

yousmellchinese123 wrote:So, having this information coming from a past task, I assume that you guys have had success with the bimetallic strip.
What would you guys advise heating it up, or cooling it down, and do you know how far it would uncurl or curl.

Either heating or cooling is fine, just have to make sure that your next task doesn't require something with a huge input force; the bimetallic strip bending does not exert much force.

As to how far it would curl/uncurl, the only way to find out would be to heat the strip up and see.

How would u start the reaction with the bimetallic strip? Would you be able to use a battery and nichrome wire???

elmono wrote:How would u start the reaction with the bimetallic strip? Would you be able to use a battery and nichrome wire???

that would work just fine. microswitch works great as a trigger

penclspinner wrote: Either heating or cooling is fine, just have to make sure that your next task doesn't require something with a huge input force; the bimetallic strip bending does not exert much force.

As to how far it would curl/uncurl, the only way to find out would be to heat the strip up and see.

Mmmm, the rules say decrease the temperature to cause next action.
So, you could heat it, then cut the heat and allow it to decrease in temp, but that adds complication, and time, and with added time comes added variability in time.

Balsa Man wrote:

penclspinner wrote: Either heating or cooling is fine, just have to make sure that your next task doesn't require something with a huge input force; the bimetallic strip bending does not exert much force.

As to how far it would curl/uncurl, the only way to find out would be to heat the strip up and see.

Mmmm, the rules say decrease the temperature to cause next action.
So, you could heat it, then cut the heat and allow it to decrease in temp, but that adds complication, and time, and with added time comes added variability in time.

Do you think that allowing something to decrease in temperature rather than actively cooling it counts as "decreas[ing] an objects temperature"?

I have found that using a heat only thermostat from Honeywell works well. I just purchased the cheapest one and I connected two leads to the electrical connections and it will close a curciut. <http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-YCT30A1 ... B002PNE00Q> this is the link for the model i purchased.

jsorrell414 wrote:

Balsa Man wrote:

penclspinner wrote: Either heating or cooling is fine, just have to make sure that your next task doesn't require something with a huge input force; the bimetallic strip bending does not exert much force.

As to how far it would curl/uncurl, the only way to find out would be to heat the strip up and see.

Mmmm, the rules say decrease the temperature to cause next action.
So, you could heat it, then cut the heat and allow it to decrease in temp, but that adds complication, and time, and with added time comes added variability in time.

Do you think that allowing something to decrease in temperature rather than actively cooling it counts as "decreas[ing] an objects temperature"?

yes, any method of removing heat from the object should count

noahb1110 wrote:I have found that using a heat only thermostat from Honeywell works well. I just purchased the cheapest one and I connected two leads to the electrical connections and it will close a curciut. <http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-YCT30A1 ... B002PNE00Q> this is the link for the model i purchased.

So for the thermostat idea, how does it work? Do you have to apply heat using nichrome wire or something else?