Re: Pig Question

[FutureT-at-aol-dot-com (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

In a message dated 8/3/00 5:46:16 PM Pacific Daylight Time, tesla-at-pupman-dot-com 
writes:

> Original poster: "Dan Kunkel" <dankunkel-at-hotmail-dot-com> 
>  
>  John,
>  
>  i just scrounged some 5/8 th rebar from the construction site where i work 
>  for a core. and a friend found a 4" x 22" (~.5" think) cardboard tube. i 
>  will give the rebar a shot, if it heats up then i will have to desect some 
>  old nst's. is there any (ballpark) formula that i can use to calculate how 
>  much current will flow?
>  
>  thanks for all the great info!
>  
>  Dan

Dan,

The rebar will get hot, but that's not necessarily that bad, it can
damp the Q of the charging circuit and make the coil run smoother
(a little more losses though).  Of course if the form is cardboard
then there may be a fire hazard if it gets really hot.  There's 
probably a formula but I don't have it.  But in a ballast, depending
on the cap size and setting, the ballast is sometimes adjusted
to actually increase the current rather than reduce it.  But this
will depend on the bps, and other factors.  The ballast limits the
current when the gap is firing, but can enhance the current while
the caps are charging.... again depending on how it's adjusted.

Cheers,
John Freau