Re: Arc welder as pig ballast not working right

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Yurtle Turtle <yurtle_t@xxxxxxxxx>

Try just using the welder in series with the pig
feeding a jacobs ladder. Then see if the JL gets
progressively meaner and the current draw gets higher
at higher welder settings. If not, I'd look at the
welder as the problem.

Adam

--- Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Original poster: "seanick" <edgarsbat@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Greetings, Coilers of the world...
> I bring to you a conundrum, or at least something
> which makes no sense to me. I have an 8" coil run
> by 10 KVA pig and a large old arc welder which
> has 10 or 12 different places to attach the
> leads, plus 2 ground choices. I have noticed
> lately that when I use the lowest power setting
> it works great, however at any other setting past
> that, my coil does not run continuously but
> becomes staccato and has much reduced output. I
> am using a synchronous rotary (@3600 rpm) with 4x
> 3/16" tungsten rotating electrodes and two
> stationary electrodes at 180 degrees offset,
> which are both adjustable remotely while the coil
> is running similar to Bart Anderson's rotary;
> adjusting the phase for the different power
> levels does not result in longer arcs than with
> the lowest setting though. I am only getting
> something like 4 feet which is WAY too low for the
> components I am using.
>
> The ballast at the lowest setting draws 17 amps
> when in series with the pig, and 50 at the
> highest setting, according to a clip-on ammeter.
> The arc welder itself works as expected; each
> higher setting results in more heat at the weld.
> What could cause this behavior? So far I only
> have two theories but I doubt either of these are
> the problem...
> 1. Quenching of the gap - reason I think this
> might be it is that I threw an electrode with an
> earlier revision of this gap. I have since
> installed aluminum sleeves with set screws to
> hold the electrodes. this seemed to cure the
> problem; now the electrodes are not even all that
> warm right after a relatively long run.(15 minutes
> of tuning cycles...)
> 2. power factor? I don't really know, this is
> grasping at straws.
>
> What could be the problem? has anyone ever
> experienced this sort of problem before? It
> baffles me, because I have never had so much
> trouble getting a long arc before. NST's and
> MOT's both outperform this pig, yet I know the
> pig is good and I can pull huge power arcs from
> it. I weld with the same welder, and have used it
> as the MOT ballast with much success until the MOT's
> burst into flame...
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can give!
> SeaNICK
>
> here is some of the data generated by
> classictesla, it saves me from typing it all in
> manually and has a formatted output.. thanks Bart
> for the consolidate function!
>
> J A V A T C v.10 - CONSOLIDATED OUTPUT
> Wednesday, August 10, 2005 08:57:36
> Units = Inches
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Secondary Coil Inputs:
> 4.125 = Radius 1
> 4.125 = Radius 2
> 27.5 = Height 1
> 75.5 = Height 2
> 1190 = Turns
> 18 = Wire Awg
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Primary Coil Inputs:
> 5 = Radius 1
> 8.15 = Radius 2
> 24 = Height 1
> 24 = Height 2
> 9.45 = Turns
> 0.25 = Wire Diameter
> 0.04 = Primary Cap (uF)
> 0 = Desired Coupling (k)
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Top Load Object Inputs (dimensions & topload or
> ground connection):
> Toroid #1: minor=9, major=27, height=82.5, topload
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Secondary Outputs:
> 121.01 [kHz] = Secondary Resonant Frequency
> 90 [deg°] = Angle of Secondary
> 48 [inch] = Length of Winding
> 24.8 = Turns Per inch
> 0.00003 [inch] = Space Between Turns (edge to edge)
> 17 [awg] = Recommended Wire Size
> 2570.2 [ft] = Length of Wire
> 5.82 = H/D Aspect Ratio
> 16.41 [ohms] = DC Resistance
> 34435 [ohms] = Reactance at Resonance
> 34919 [ohms] = Forward Transfer Impedance
> 12.64 [lbs] = Weight of Wire
> 45.29 [mH] = Les-Effective Series Inductance
> 43.841 [mH] = Lee-Equivalent Energy Inductance
> 47.143 [mH] = Ldc-Low Frequency Inductance
> 38.194 [pF] = Ces-Effective Shunt Capacitance
> 35.954 [pF] = Cee-Equivalent Energy Capacitance
> 58.107 [pF] = Cdc-Low Frequency Capacitance
> 7.479 [mils] = Skin Depth
> 27.287 [pF] = Topload Effective Capacitance
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Primary Outputs:
> 120.77 [kHz] = Primary Resonant Frequency
> 0.2 [%] = Percent Detuned
> 0 [deg°] = Angle of Primary
> 32.53 [ft] = Length of Wire
> 0.083 [inch] = Average spacing between turns (edge
> to edge)
> 0.875 [inch] = Primary to Secondary Clearance
> 0.064 [k] = Coupling Coefficient
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Transformer Inputs:
> 240 [volts] = Transformer Rated Input Voltage
> 13800 [volts] = Transformer Rated Output Voltage
> 725 [mA] = Transformer Rated Output Current
> 60 [Hz] = Mains Frequency
> 240 [volts] = Transformer Applied Voltage
> 17 [amps] = Transformer Ballast Current
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Transformer Outputs:
> 10005 [volt*amps] = Rated Transformer VA
> 19034 [ohms] = Transformer Impedence
> 13800 [rms volts] = Effective Output Voltage
> 17 [rms amps] = Effective Input Current
> 4080 [volt*amps] = Effective Input VA
> 0.1394 [uF] = Resonant Cap Size
> 0.209 [uF] = Static gap LTR Cap Size
> 0.3634 [uF] = SRSG LTR Cap Size
> 461 [uF] = Power Factor Cap Size
> 19513 [peak volts] = Voltage Across Cap
> 68979 [peak volts] = Recommended Cap Voltage Rating
> 7.62 [joules] = Primary Cap Energy
> 592.3 [peak amps] = Primary Instantaneous Current
> 92.3 [inch] = Spark Length (JF equation using
> Resonance Research Corp. factors)
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Rotary Spark Gap Inputs:
> 2 = Number of Stationary Gaps
> 4 = Number of Rotating Electrodes
> 3600 [rpm] = Disc RPM
> 0.1875 = Rotating Electrode Diameter
> 0.1875 = Stationary Electrode Diameter
> 6.5 = Rotating Path Diameter
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Rotary Spark Gap Outputs:
> 8 = Presentations Per Revolution
> 480 [BPS] = Breaks Per Second
> 69.6 [mph] = Rotational Speed
> 2.08 [ms] = RSG Firing Rate
> 9.335 [ms] = Time for Capacitor to Fully Charge
> 1.12 = Time Constant at Gap Conduction
> -1.78 [ms] = Electrode Mechanical Dwell Time
> 67.24 [%] = Percent Cp Charged When Gap Fires
> 13120 [peak volts] = Effective Cap Voltage
> 3.44 [joules] = Effective Cap Energy
> 437604 [peak volts] = Terminal Voltage
> 1652 [joule*seconds] = Energy Across Gap
> 109.6 [inch] = RSG Spark Length (using energy
> equation)
>
>
>