Re: pole pig current limiting

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

Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <dhmccauley-at-spacecatlighting-dot-com>

The "Poor Man's Ballast" does work well for short runs with a potential
transformer (3-3.5kW), however for higher power transformers such as pole
transformers
you really need to get a good arc welder or a nice chunk of iron core to
wind your own ballast.

A Lincoln 220AC arc welder can be had used for less than $100.00 and provide
up to at least 100A of adjustable current limiting.  Ebay frequently has
lots of these
as well as your local welding dealer.  New they are about $250.00

The Captain


 > I understand how to make a "Pore Man's Ballast" (500 ft spool of 12AWG
from
 > home depot) and run it in series with the "Hot" line on a 120 volt input
 > for a potential transformer.
 > They are suposed to let between 25 and 30 amps pass through.  What should
 > you do to make something almost as cheap and almost as easily for, say a 5
 > KVA pole pig with 240 volt input?
 >
 >
 >
 >
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