Resistor wires

Resistance wires

Resistance wires are made of substances that are resistant to high temperatures. These are so-called resistance materials characterized by a high degree of specific resistance, which changes depending on the increase in the amount of heat in the environment. Resistance materials include primarily metals: iron, copper, nickel, chromium and aluminum alloys, but also other substances (e.g. ceramic silt). Such properties allow the use of wires made of resistance materials in many situations, including as heating elements or part of resistors. The most popular resistance wires in electronics made of kanthal (an alloy of iron and chromium with the addition of nickel and cobalt) have a temperature resistance of up to 1400°C, which makes them perfect, for example, as an element of heaters in electronic cigarettes or in cutting devices using high temperature, as well as in many other applications.

The use of resistance wires

Resistance wires are most often used as heating elements in heaters in devices that use high temperatures - in stoves, heaters, kettles, dishwashers, e-cigarettes and washing machines. Resistance wire is also often found in equipment intended for thermal cutting and welding, for example in fabric or Styrofoam cutting machines. An extremely common application is the use of resistance wire as an element of resistors - due to the high value of specific resistance and the small change in resistance with increasing temperature, it is possible to obtain very effective resistors. Another possible use of resistance wire is so-called thermocouples, i.e. thermoelectric cells, which are used primarily as temperature sensors.

How to choose the right resistance wire?

Depending on the application, the selected type of resistance wire may have different properties. It is worth paying attention to the minimum and maximum operating temperature, melting point and the material from which the product is made (among the models intended for use in electronics, the most popular is kantal - an alloy of iron and chromium enriched with the addition of nickel and cobalt). A very important factor is the AWG value (from the name of the American Wire Gauge system), i.e. the standardized wire diameter, which is a feature that determines the maximum current flowing through the wire. In addition to AWG, the wire diameter is also given in millimeters. When shopping, it is also a good idea to pay attention to the length of the resistance wire, which will allow you to choose the most attractively priced option. However, the most important feature of a resistance wire is its resistance value. It is given in ohms per meter of length.

What resistance wires can you find in this section?

In this category, we offer a wide selection of Kanthal A1 resistance wires. Products of various lengths (from 9.1 m to 30.5 m) and diameters (from 0.16 mm to 0.81 mm) are available. The resistance value of the resistance wires that you will find in this section is from 2.85 Ω to 56 Ω per meter of length. All variants are wound on small spools, making their use and storage very convenient. We invite you to check out the full offer of resistance wires available on our website, as well as other products that you can find in other Botland categories.