Fan Controller and Variac differences

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Dan Olson by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <dan__olson-at-hotmail-dot-com>

What is the difference between a fan controller and a variac as it pertains 
to running a neon sign transformer?  I am running an oil burner transformer 
with a fan controller right now in my testing of the plasma tube for my 
laser, and it seems to be working quite well in that job.  I am going to 
switch to a neon sign transformer as soon as I can, but I would like to know 
whether it is a terribly bad idea to be running it with a fan controller, as 
I DO NOT want to burn that up because of the difficulty in getting one 
around here.  Thanks a lot for any help you can give me.

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