Re: ballast

[Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

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

Robert,

Actually, a Lincoln 225 amp AC stick welder works quite well
for this purpose, even if you're NOT in a hurry ;^) New ones run
in the $200 to $250 range at Home Depot, Sam's, Lowe's, ect.
but you may be able to find a used one for a fraction of that cost
in the classifieds of your local newspaper. Simply hook the 240
volt input of your welder in series with the 240 volt input lugs of
the pig. Short the welder's low voltage output welding terminals
together and turn the welder's amperage selector all the way up
to 225. This will ballast the input of the pig to around 50 amps
or so, with 240 volts in (obviously, if you're overdriving the weld-
er/pig with 280 volts from a variac, the amperage will go some-
what higher - around 60 to 80 amps). This will place you in the
10 to 15 kVa range. If you want less amperage, simply turn the
amperage selector of the welder to a lower setting (amperage
selections from 40 to 225 amps).

David Rieben

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, December 31, 2004 3:59 PM
Subject: Re: ballast


 > Original poster: Gregory Hunter <tesla_39560@xxxxxxxxx>
 >
 > If you are in a hurry, just wire an AC arc welder in
 > series with your pole pig 240v winding. This is a
 > simple, reliable way to ballast a pole transformer.
 > New welders are pricey, but you can get a used one
 > cheaply from the local classifieds. Even a broken
 > welder will do--all you need is the welder's
 > transformer, and those are pretty much unbreakable.
 > You can see more detail about this ballast on my web
 > site.
 >
 > Happy New Year,
 >
 > --- Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
 >
 >  > Original poster: Bobby Amaya
 >  > <dimon20042004@xxxxxxxxx>
 >  >
 >  > Hi everyone,
 >  >
 >  > Can anyone please tell me how to design a ballast or
 >  > what I could use as a ballast for a pole pig? E-mail
 >  > me at  dimon20042004@xxxxxxxxx
 >  >
 >  > Thanks in advance:)
 >  > Robert
 >  >
 >  >
 >  >
 >
 >
 > =====
 > Gregory R. Hunter
 >
 > http:\\hot-streamer.com/greg
 >
 >