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stacking neon xfmrs

 * Original msg to: Joes-at-halsey-dot-com
 * Carbons sent to: usa-tesla-at-usa-dot-net

Quoting Joe Sullivan <joes-at-HALSEY.COM>:

> Hi!  The info on rejuvenating old neon xfmrs has, at the end, 
> some information on stacking them for more current, using a 
> 240vac line and a variac. Couldn't the inputs just be wired in
> parallel and plugged into a regular 120vac line?

Most certainly. The problem is the cores are heavy, and the
magnetic leakage shunts are, well, leaky; so the neons draw some
pretty decent amperage, especially during the first second of
power up. They are able to overload most household 30 amp 120
volt circuits pretty quickly. Even transformer banks with an
acceptable steady-state current draw can cause a brown-out or a
premature trip of the breaker during the initial power up. The
reason is due to a phenomena called "inductive delay", a time
period during which the initial input energy is establishing the
magnetic field flux in the transformer core, and there is no
output. Granted, this is not a problem until you are ganging up
three or more xfmrs. I have run up to a dozen transformers at a
time, and when you get to this sized bank there really is no
other way to do it besides the method outlined in my text file.

Richard Quick


... If all else fails... Throw another megavolt across it!
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12