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Frequently Asked Questions
The Lichtenberg Figure Wood Burner is available in two voltage configurations. The North American (United States, Canada and Mexico) model operates on 110 volts, 60 Hertz, and 230 watts. It has a standard three prong plug that will fit any modern household receptacle. The overseas model operates on 220 volts, 50 Hertz, and 115 watts. The overseas model has a plug configured for the local country’s normal household electrical receptacle. A stepdown transformer is not required to operate the burner. The burner’s input voltage cannot be switched between 110 volts and 220 volts.
Most likely the wood is too wet or not wet enough. When the wood is too wet, the wood will not burn because the path between the probes is effectively shorted out. To find out if that’s the problem, place the probes on the wood and while activating the foot switch, lift one probe from the surface of the wood. If there is an arc between the probe tip and the wood, the wood is too wet.
If the wood is too dry, the burn path will not start. Wood is a fairly good insulator; thus, it must be moistened with the electrolyte solution to create a path for the electricity to flow between the probes.The Lichtenberg Figure Wood Burner was not designed to do the deep, out of control type burns that you see on YouTube where people are using used microwave transformers that are producing several hundred milliamps. Unfortunately, that’s the level of current that has caused several deaths. Safety of the user was a paramount design factor with the Lichtenberg Figure Wood Burner. It has a current output that is controlled to less than 30 milliamps and is designed to burn fern-like fractal type patterns and not the uncontrollable channels associated with the high amperage devices. You can increase the depth of the burn by continuing to burn for a short period of time once the arc paths connect; however, the paths will not be extremely deep or wide. Many of my customers have burned deep channels where resin has been inserted by using a carving tool or a Dremel tool with a rotary burr to cut a channel where they want the burn to follow. Once a channel is cut, moisten it with the electrolyte solution and burn again. The channel does not have to be very deep for the resin fill. There are a couple of advantages with this technique. First, you control the width and depth of the channel and secondly, you create the pattern you desire. Controlling the pattern painted with the electrolyte also helps in creating the desired burn pattern.
The best way to moisten the wood is to use a foam brush and paint the solution on the surface of the wood. Do not leave any standing solution on the wood. Use a paper towel to tamp up any excess solution. Let the solution soak into the wood for a few minutes until the surface appears to be dry, then apply a light coat of solution again and start the burning.