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Re: pole pig?

Original poster: "David Rieben" <drieben@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Steve,

That's an informal term for a single phase, pole mounted
distribution transformer that your local electrical utility company
uses to step down the primary line voltage (usually something like
7200 or 14,400 volts) to the usable 120/240 volts that you use
in your home. Unless you're electical service is all underground,
there is probably one on the pole in either your yard or a nearby
neighbor's yard. Coilers use these by reversing them and applying
120 or 240 volts into their low voltage side and taking the high voltage off of their porcelain "rabbit ear" input (now output) bushigs. Pole pigs
are built like a tank and are very powerful. A pole pig also requires
external ballasting or it will short circuit and possibly cause property
damage (like a fire) and/or brown out your entire neighborhood. For that reason, it's not advisable for a "newbie" to start out with a monster pole pig coil for his first project.

This will bring us to your other posting about "what is a ballast?"
It's an inductance and/or resistance that's added in series with
the input of the power transformer to limit the fault or short cir-
cuit currents to a managable level. Many "pole pig" coilers use
an arc welder in series with the input of the transformer to ac-
complish this. NSTs, OBITs (oil burner ignition transformers) and, to a certain extent MOTs (microwave oven transformers)
do not require external ballasting because there is enough mag-
netic leakage from their cores that they generally won't complete-
ly saturate. However, all power transformers like pole pigs,
plate transformers, and potential transformers (PTs) do require
external ballasting.

David


----- Original Message ----- From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2005 6:56 PM
Subject: pole pig?


Original poster: "Steven Steele" <sbsteele@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
What is a pole pig?
                                           Steven Steele
----- Original Message ----- From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2005 7:13 PM
Subject: Re: Coiling almanac

Original poster: Ed Phillips <evp@xxxxxxxxxxx>
"First use of pole pigs"
The Tesla coil in the University of Missouri EE lab was powered by a
pole pig and used a "radio transmitter" type RSG back in 1939.  Probably
not the first use by any means.
Ed