Re: What is a "pole pig"?

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

Original poster: "BunnyKiller by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <bigfoo39-at-telocity-dot-com>

Tesla list wrote:

>Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<KLogan2026-at-aol-dot-com>
>
>    I know I'm a beginner and all, but what is a "pole pig"?  Is it a 
>transformer or what. And what is meant by "pole pig ballast"?
>    Thanks
>    Rick Logan
>    klogan2026-at-aol-dot-com
>
>
>
>

Hi Rick...

a pole pig is that transformer that hangs on the upper section of the 
telephone poles....   the gray barrel shaped one with the two ( 
sometimes 1 ) insulator coming out of the top.... normally they convert 
14,400 volts down to 240 volts but in Tesla coiling we use them in 
reverse ...   we put 240 volts into them and get 14,000 volts out

a pole pig ballast is a very large inductor ( kinda like a transformer 
with one winding on it ...  a primary only)  it reduces the amount of 
current allowed to flow into the load of the circuit ....  this is for 
AC circuits ...  

if you were to put 240 volts into a pole pig with nothing attached to 
the hi voltage output the current drawn from the 240 volt source would 
be around 5 - 8 amps.( this is the current that makes the magnetic field 
in the transformers main body) ...   but if you placed a load on the hi 
volt output side , the current draw thru the pig would be tremendious 
 thus blowing up your fuse box... ( this is what is known as a non 
current limited transformer) ...  this is where the ballast comes in 
at...  by hooking an inductor ( ballast) in series with one of the power 
lines going to the pig , the inductor will only allow a certain amount 
of current to get to the pig ...  thus limiting the current to the 
transformer

not just any inductor will work....  the wire on the inductor must be 
thick enuf to handle the current going to the pig ( in many cases its 
near 60 Amps  ...   thus thick wire is needed )

when an inductor is used at such a high current rating  the wire is 
thick and also the EI core ( the part the wire is wound around ...  the 
core)  must be thick enuf to handle the magnetic field produced by the 
massive amounts of current flowing thru the wire...   if the core is too 
small and the current is too much ...  something called saturation 
occurs ...  this is when the magnetic field produced by the current is 
so intence in the core of the inductor , it no longer works and will 
allow the current to continue to go up ...  thus once again blowing up 
the fuse box...  

hope this helped ...  


Scot D