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Re: HV & ballasts



Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>

You just gave me an idea!
I've been thinking about how to build a "variable ballast inductor" that
has discrete steps. The idea would be inductors switched with relays (ss or
electromechanical)... I've always been stopped by the pain of building the
set of inductors.

What about using fluorescent ballasts just as that... series ballast
inductors for a polepig type supply.. Especially, if you find some of the
big ones used in factories for the high output 8 foot tubes (which are
being replaced....)... We used to have a bunch at my former work which were
160W (I can't recall if it was 2 tubes at 160 each (i.e. 320 W all told) or
2 80W tubes..)  Say they are 320W ballasts... 

This means that they have to be able to take a continuous current of 3-4
Amps (120V fixtures). I think the tubes probably have a voltage drop of
50-60 volts after start, so the ballast is dropping some 60 volts and must
therefore have an impedance of around 10-30 ohms...

I imagine that ballasts are available for the carting away... When they get
marginal in start performance, they just get replaced (obviously, you don't
want the ones that exploded, overheated, failed catastrophically, etc.)...
Especially with the current trend (and state rebates) to replace old
"magnetic" ballasts with new "electronic" ones, these old inefficient
ballasts may start showing up in the scrap piles... (Call industrial
electricians that do lighting in factories...)


Tesla list wrote:
> 
> Original poster: "Terry Fritz" <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>
> 
> Hi Dan,
> 
> Nope.  They are just big inductors.  No use at all to us.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
>         Terry
> 
> At 02:14 PM 5/10/2002 -0400, you wrote:
> >Hey folks,
> >Can you use one flourescent ballast or more to make a baby TC?
> >
> >Dan
> >Ft. Lauderdale
> >