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New Pole Pig user

I am a new subscriber to this list and I am building my first coil over
1KVA. I have been searching the archives for information on using and
maintaining pole pigs, but I still have a few questions I was hoping
someone could answer.  I recently obtained two (15KVA and a 10KVA, one is
my backup) surplus transformers (110V in - 14,400V out) and need to limit
them to 2.5 or 3KVA for my current coil project.  I have seen many systems
that are anywhere from 7.5 to 100KVA.  My first question is:  where do
people get the power to run these large systems?  In order to run my coil I
will probably have to plug it into plain old 110V plugs and in order to get
3KVA that means drawing 27.27 amps, not possible as far as I can tell.  I
MAY be able to hook up to 220V, but I still would like to know how people
build large systems at their homes.  I am also concerned about limiting the
current to my pig.

As I said earlier, I need to limit the input power to my coil to 3KVA.  I
would like some suggestions for the best way to do this.  I'd like to use a
welder to do the job, but I don't know where to get an inexpensive one.  If
I plug it into a 110V outlet that means It has to limit the draw to 27 amps
(13A for 220V).  I can find a welder that does that, but it's only 10% duty
cycle.  What kind of ratings do I need to have for my coil to be on for a
few minutes at a time?

I would like to learn how to do accurate calculations for tesla coil
systems.  I was wondering if there is a way I can find the appropriate
equations and information to relate these to real systems (ie. calculation
for impedence of a transformer; how to relate that to the value I need for
the capacitor, and other such things).  Can anyone suggest any good sources
for this information?  I would like to try using a synchronous rotary gap
for this coil and since the components all need to be fairly well matched
(since the gap speed cannot be adjusted) I need to calculate for and use
well matched pieces.

Thanks in advance for any help!

matthew wenger

m-wenger-at-uiuc.edu