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Re: Still more ballast problems w/Pig
to: Dwight
Place a clamp on ammeter in the circuit and measure the actual current draw
-- don't guess. As Ed suggests, a variac is a useful tool during initial
testing. Metering is also essential. We usually use 25-30 mHy of series
inductance to limit current around 30 amps.
DR.RESONANCE-at-next-wave-dot-net
----------
> From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Re: Still more ballast problems w/Pig
> Date: Thursday, October 22, 1998 12:04 PM
>
> Original Poster: Esondrmn-at-aol-dot-com
>
> In a message dated 10/21/98 5:31:12 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> writes:
>
> <<
> Thanks for your responses in the past. Now I have had my pig for 3
> weeks now and it still pops a 30 amp breaker with the home make ballast
> alone. If I put a 3 KVA H&R x-former in series with the ballast it will
> work fine for a few minutes until the H&R x-former starts to over heat
and
> I turn it off. The way I have been testing the pig and ballasting is
> making a Jacobs latter as the load for the pig.
> My ballast is the core of a 40 amp variac that I gapped with 1/16"
> acrylic. I have wound 150 turns of 10 gauge Romex(house-hold wire) on
it
> and I measure 14.8 mH and 5.8 ohms. The impedance is 11.379 ohms, this
> should draw only 21 amps of current yet the breaker pops seconds after
it
> is thrown.
> Is the variac ballast saturating? I do know it seems to work with
the
> H&R x-former thrown in series with it, but a 1-2 minute run time is
> unaccessible.
> Any ideas and or suggestion. These are as always greatly
appreciated.
> After all the labor I put into that ballast it is very frustrating for
it
> not to work and also knowing coilers do this all the time and have
success.
> What am I missing.
>
> Again, thanks for your responses,
>
> Dwight
> >>
>
> Dwight,
>
> Do you have a variac to ramp up the mains power slowly? You might want
to use
> a couple of ohms of resistance in series with your ballast. That is how
I run
> my 5kva pole transfromer.
>
> Ed Sonderman
>