Information sheet 2.

2
Fundamentals of a Flat Iron

Electric Flat iron is an important domestic appliance. We use iron to press

clothes. Ironing removes wrinkles in fabric and it requires heat. When the fabric is
heated, it becomes soft and mobile and then by applying pressure it can be given
preferred orientation which is retained when the fabric is cool. Electric flat irons
operate with 220 volt AC and are available with usual power rating between 450 watt
and 2.0 kilowatt. The common working temperature is around 100*C and safety
devices are provided in some models to prevent temperature rise beyond 200*C or
250*C. Small irons of power rating as low as 300 watts are also available. Now a
days numerous models from various manufacturers are available. Modern electric
irons have attractive features like beautiful look, light weight; multiple adjustable
temperature levels to suit different fabrics, non stick coated sole plate, thermal fuse
for safety etc.

Principles of a Heating Element?

A typical heating element is usually a coil,

ribbon (straight or corrugated), or strip of wire
that gives off heat much like a lamp filament.
When an electric current flows through it, it
glows red hot and converts the electrical energy
passing through it into heat, which it radiates out
in all directions.

Heating elements are typically either

nickel-based or iron-based. The nickel-based ones are
usually nichrome, an alloy (a mixture of metals and
sometimes other chemical elements) that consists of
about 80 percent nickel and 20 percent chromium (other
compositions of nichrome are available, but the 80–20
mix is the most common). There are various good
reasons why nichrome is the most popular material for
heating elements: it has a high melting point (about
1400°C or 2550°F), doesn't oxidize (even at high
temperatures), doesn't expand too much when it heats up, and has a reasonable
(not too low, not too high, and reasonably constant) resistance (it increases only by
about 10 percent between room temperature and its maximum operating
temperature).

Date Developed: Document No. EPAS-2016-001

Electronic Product Assembling and September 2016
Servicing NC II
Issued by:
Date Revised:

Developed by: Page 1 of 4

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Types of heating elements

There are lots of different kinds of

heating elements. Sometimes the nichrome
is used bare, as it is; other times it's
embedded in a ceramic material to make it
more robust and durable (ceramics are
great at coping with high temperatures and
don't mind lots of heating and cooling). The
size and shape of a heating element is
largely governed by the dimensions of the
appliance it has to fit inside and the area
over which it needs to produce heat. Hair
curling tongs have short, coiled elements because they need to produce heat over a
thin tube around which hair can be wrapped. Electric radiators have long bar
elements because they need to throw heat out across the wide area of a room.
Electric stoves have coiled heating elements just the right size to heat cooking pots
and pans (often stove elements are covered by metal, glass, or ceramic plates so
they're easier to clean).

Photo: Two kinds of heating elements. 1)

The glowing nichrome ribbons inside a
toaster. 2) You can clearly see the coiled
electrical element at the bottom of this
kettle. It never glows red hot in the same
way as the toaster wires because it doesn't
normally get hot enough. However, if you're
foolish enough to switch your kettle on
without any water inside (as I did once by
accident), you'll discover that it is perfectly
possible for a kettle element to glow red
hot. That dangerous and disastrous
episode permanently damaged my kettle
and could have set fire to my kitchen.

In some appliances, the heating elements are very visible: in an electric

toaster, it's easy to spot the ribbons of nichrome built into the toaster walls because
they glow red hot. Electric radiators (like the one in our top photo) make heat with
glowing red bars (essentially just coiled, wire heating elements that throw out heat
by radiation), while electric convector heaters generally have concentric, circular
heating elements positioned in front of electric fans (so they transport heat more
quickly by convection). Some appliances have visible elements that work at lower
temperatures and don't glow; electric kettles, which never need to operate above the
Date Developed: Document No. EPAS-2016-001
Electronic Product Assembling and September 2016
Servicing NC II
Issued by:
Date Revised:

Developed by: Page 2 of 4

LO. NO.1 PREPARE TO ASSEMBLE Emmanuel Cris M. Revision # 01
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS Tao-Tao
boiling point of water (100°C or 212°F), are a good example. Other appliances have
their heating elements completely concealed, usually for safety reasons. Electric
showers and hair curling tongs have concealed elements so there's (hopefully) no
risk of electrocution.

Applications of heating effect of electric current

Most household electrical appliances convert electrical energy into heat by this
means. These include filament lamps, electric heater, electric iron, electric kettle, etc.

In lighting appliances

1. Filament lamps- it is made of a tungsten wire enclosed in a glass bulb from

which air has been removed. This is because air would oxidize the filament.
The filament is heated up to a high temperature and becomes white hot.
Tungsten is used due its high melting point; 3400 0 The bulb is filled with an
inactive gas e.g. argon or nitrogen at low pressure which reduces evaporation
of the tungsten wire. However, one disadvantage of the inert gas is that it
causes convection currents which cool the filament. This problem is
minimized by coiling the wire so that it occupies a smaller area which reduces
heat loss through convection.

2. Fluorescent lamps- these lamps are more efficient compared to filament

lamps and last much longer. They have mercury vapour in the glass tube
which emits ultraviolet radiation when switched on. This radiation causes the
powder in the tube to glow (fluoresce) i.e. emits visible light. Different powders
produce different colours. Note that fluorescent lamps are expensive to install
but their running cost is much less.

In electrical heating

1. Electric cookers- electric cookers turn red hot and the heat energy produced
is absorbed by the cooking pot through conduction.

2. Electric heaters- radiant heaters turn red at about 900 0C and the radiation
emitted is directed into the room by polished reflectors.

3. Electric kettles- the heating element is placed at the bottom of the kettle so
that the liquid being heated covers it. The heat is then absorbed by water and
distributed throughout the whole liquid by convection.

4. Electric irons- when current flows through the heating element, the heat
energy developed is conducted to the heavy metal base raising its
temperature. This energy is then used to press clothes. The temperature of
the electric iron can be controlled using a thermostat (a bimetallic strip).
Date Developed: Document No. EPAS-2016-001
Electronic Product Assembling and September 2016
Servicing NC II
Issued by:
Date Revised:

Developed by: Page 3 of 4

LO. NO.1 PREPARE TO ASSEMBLE Emmanuel Cris M. Revision # 01
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS Tao-Tao
What is a electric Iron?

An electric Iron is a general household appliance used to press the wrinkles

out of the clothes. This works on the basis that the combination of heat and pressure
removes wrinkles. The principle of the electric iron is that when current is passed
through a coil, the coil gets red hot and transfers the heat to the base plate of the
electric iron through conduction

There are basically two types of electric irons:

 Automatic

It use a thermostat to regulate

temperature.

 Non-Automatic

When the iron is too hot, it is to be

manually switched off and when the
temperature is less than required, it is to
be switched on manually.

 Steam iron

There is a water reservoir on the

cover plate and a steam chamber above
the sole plate and the sole plate has
slots.

There is not much difference between types. The former has one regulator to
control the temperature of the element and in-turn the temperature of the iron.

Date Developed: Document No. EPAS-2016-001

Electronic Product Assembling and September 2016
Servicing NC II
Issued by:
Date Revised:

Developed by: Page 4 of 4

LO. NO.1 PREPARE TO ASSEMBLE Emmanuel Cris M. Revision # 01
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS Tao-Tao