Re: Variac Faults

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Terry Fritz" <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>

Hi Matthew,

I think three things kill variacs.  Bad physical damage, water damage so 
bad it corrodes everything, and burning up.  Age is not a problem and the 
first two are rare.  Burnt windings are very obvious but even bad ones can 
sometimes be fixed with care.  Sometimes new brushes are hard to find.  95% 
of the time they work find as is with a little cleaning up.  It is pretty 
hard to wear out brushes.  Newark list new ones for about $900!!  If the 
seller says it looks like it is in good condition, it most likely is.

Cheers,

         Terry


At 09:29 AM 12/2/2002 +1030, you wrote:
>Hi All
>
>When buying second-hand Variacs, what are the things that are likely to be 
>wrong with them?  I would imagine that brushes may be worn/broken, but has 
>anyone seen one actually burnt out before?
>
>I've just bid on a 25A 300V (240V in) beauty and was wondering just how 
>far to go...
>
>Cheers
>
>M
>
>--
>Matthew Smith            | Business: http://www.kbc-dot-net.au
>IT Consultant            | PGP Key:  http://gpg.mss.cx
>Kadina, South Australia  | * Tivis Project * Community Connect *
>
>