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Re: Home Made Variac
All-
Okay, here's what I was thinking...
Use a long, solid metal bar coated with mica (not that hard to find) then
bifliar wound with 10 guage wire (by bifliar I mean a long wire folded in
half, keeping the two sides parallel, and winding it on the core). I would
use one end of the wire for hot in and one for hot out, and the tap (carbon
brush assembly that slides along and makes contact with two windings at a
time) would act as a neutral...
However, I have been told that the sloid bar would lead to huge losses so
I was thinking maybe something along the lines of a pvc pipe filled with
smashed ferrite? I made an RF choke using this method once.
Everyone thinks I would be better off buying one but, the wire costs
approximately 5-8 dollars US, the core would probably cost two or three
dollars, and the brush assembly could be made of parts I already have...
this project could save me alot of money.
Someone so generously offered me a pair of variacs with dead brushes
for free, so I probably won't attempt this headache for some time...
Any thoughts or questions?
-Michael
----- Original Message -----
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2000 5:22 PM
Subject: Home Made Variac
> Original Poster: "Michael Novak" <Acmnovak-at-execpc-dot-com>
>
>
> I can't afford to buy a variac but I need some way to vary the line
> voltage... So, I decided to build one. I'm pretty sure I can get my hands
on
> some 10 guage magnet wire, however, I still need to find a suitable core.
Isn't
> a variac basically a bifliar-wound 1:1 turns ratio transformer? If so,
does
> anyone have some sort of formulas on the subject? What would be the
> disadvantages of having a core which is not laminated such as the kind
found in
> transformers?
> Any thoughts?
> -Michael
>
>