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Choke making idea (maybe) (fwd)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 12:01:03 -0500 (EST)
From: Bob Schumann <tesla-at-america-dot-com>
To: tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com
Subject: Choke making idea (maybe)
Hi coilers,
Where I work at they go through a lot of the small (10A)
variacs. What happens is that not knowing operators find a way to
plug the 110V ones into 220V. Needless to say, the variacs take
up smoking. Back in maintanence department they have a graveyard
of the ones that this has happened to. On a break, I went back
and started tearing one apart down to the core. I found when I
got to the core that the 'core' is just one strip of metal that
is wound in a tight spring pattern. My question is this, if insulated
well, say with thick electrical tape many times over, would this be
a good form to wind a choke on to use to protect a neon sign transformer.
Here are the toughts I have good and bad:
Good:
One would have quite a beefy choke.
The inductance would be high.
A neon should live a while longer before it is (As Richard Hull says) doomed.
Bad:
(This I do not know)
If the core is just a stip of wound metal, would it be able to
go into full saturation? I have read on the list before, and are
presently using, the powered-iron core toroids from Hosfelt electronics
that can not go into saturation. I am thinking that even if the core
was not a wound strip of metal and solid either way could achieve
saturation.
If the saturation problem exists, I am back to another idea in
choke making which is to go down to an automotive repair center
and get some of the iron powder that collects around a brake
rotor 'turning' machine. Then mix these iron filings with a
thick differential or manual transmission oil and pour the mixture
into a plastic type container that can be then wrapped with wire.
If mixed correctly and thick enough to eliminate 'settling', then
it seems feasible to make a core that would not go into saturation.
Okay, get the torches out
Bob Schumann