RE: MOT Shunts?

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Mark Dunn" <mdunn@xxxxxxxxxxxx>


Norm:

Some have shunts and some do not.  My experience is that regardless
whether they have shunts or not they must be current limited.  I have
tested about (20) different MOT's, some with shunts, some without.  All
had 120 VAC primaries.  All pulled in excess of 30 amps on the primary
side with a shorted secondary.  Assembling (4) with secondaries in
series and primaries in parallel(2 in parallel on one side, two on other
side in anti-parallel) and placing a 16 mH current limiting inductor in
series with the primaries current limits the stack at between 16 and 20
amps.

Mark


>Original poster: norman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

>I have read several web sites about MOTs and tesla coils.  From these
>sites I have gathered that MOTs do not have shunts.  That is why they
>need to be balasted.  Now I am reading all these posts about removing
>MOT shunts.  What's going on?

>I have built a tesla coil but it uses an NST.  I have not seen a MOT,
>so I have no first
>hand knowledge of their construction.

>The information that I have read on this list over the last few months
>has been invaluable
>in getting my coil to work. Thanks,

>Prof. Norm Scheinberg, City College of New York, EE Dept.