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Question from Homeowner

Rich W
Rich W Member Posts: 175
in THE MAIN WALL
What's the wattage of the element?

What's the speed of the air flowing over the element?

How close is the paper to the element?

What type of paper,thickness,moisture content?

Are you out there Mr.Bradbury?

Comments

  • Wayco Wayne_2
    Wayco Wayne_2 Member Posts: 2,479
    HO first asked me

    what the temperature of an electric element was in the air stream of an electric furnace. Also he wanted to know the ignition point of a piece of paper. Apparently this has to do with a technicality in the plot of a movie he saw. He's an engineer for a living and he (and a drinking buddy I'm guessing) were trying to prove or disprove something they saw in the movie. He sez the ignition point of paper should be 451 F. Any one venture the answer to his questions? WW

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  • rjbphd
    rjbphd Member Posts: 5
    unable to read

    Unable to read the book as its got burnt at 451 *
  • rjbphd
    rjbphd Member Posts: 5
    unable to read

    Unable to read the book as its got burnt at 451 *
  • Ron Gillen_4
    Ron Gillen_4 Member Posts: 3
    Ignition Temp

    The ignition temperature of dry paper is 451F or 233C. Electric elements are pretty warm I think.
  • Ron Gillen_4
    Ron Gillen_4 Member Posts: 3
    Duct Heaters

    They are pretty warm. Nailor duct heaters run 800-1200F.
  • Mike T., Swampeast MO
    Mike T., Swampeast MO Member Posts: 6,928


    Electric heating elements can get VERY hot--easily hot enough to self-destruct unless something is not removing at least the amount of heat intended by the design of the element.

    And yes, the flash point of typical paper is right around 451F.

    A toaster heating element for instance is designed to give off its heat mainly by radiation and I can assure you they're hot enough to instantly ignite paper if you put it in contact with the element. (One of those strange things that precocious boys discover when parents aren't around...)

    The heating elements in an electric kiln (they are very similar to those in an electric furnace) easily operate at well over 2,000F. Again however, they deliver their heat primarily via radiation.

    In an electric furnace the elements are GREATLY cooled via forced convection. While I can't say this for certain (and I WON'T test) I highly suspect that the elements in an electric furnace are not hot enough to ignite paper. They might get hot enough during the initial heat-up before the fan kicks in, but something tells me you could even put paper on top of the elements and it would do nothing more than char before the fan kicked in.

    Once the fan is running, you could likely remove the filter and insert even toilet paper in the return and get nothing more than little pieces of fluff from the supply.
  • joel_19
    joel_19 Member Posts: 931
    extra crispy

    We work in a condo complex where somehow the instruction manual for the heat pump got left inside the compartment it lit up and blew burning pieces of paper out the supply ducts giving new meaning to the words Schorched Air!!!

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