Re: 50 Variacs 7.8 KW each FOR SALE

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Ben McMillen <spoonman534@xxxxxxxxx>

Sounds like my basement! (or just about any other place I've occupied 
for an extended period of time)

Working here at the University (engineering building) makes the pack 
rat in me all the worse. When a piece of eqipment reaches a certian 
depreciation value, it goes in the trash. Often it makes its way to 
the dump long before that, mostly because it's no longer used!

(it's *impossible* to believe some of the stuff they throw away here.. )


Coiling In Pittsburgh
- Ben McMillen

Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Original poster: gary350@xxxxxxxxxxxxx


>>where did you get all of the variacs from?? I did notice that the
original pix were pretty much
>>coated with sediment... :)
>>Scot D
>

I am a pack rat. Anytime I come across a good deal I buy it. The
variacs have been stored in a small wooden building for 20
years. Lots of dust, spiders, mud dobbers, wasps, etc. Several
years ago I cleaned up one of these variacs, stripped off all the
stuff I didn't want, sprayed it with the garden hose, blew the water
off with the air compressor hose, let it dry for a few days, oiled
all the moving parts, it worked fine. These variacs came from local
factories. New technology made the variacs obsolute so the factories
put them in the ware house with lots of other stuff. After many
years of collecting dust in the warehouse the factory finally decide
to sell them. I buy what I can afford and what I have room to
keep. I have passed up a lot of good stuff just because I don't have
a place to keep it. If I had a 100 ft by 200 ft building I could
have filled it full many years ago. Most of the factories in town
have closed and moved over sea I could have bought enough stuff to
cover 2 foot ball fields. The Satarn car factory closed I went there
about 2 months ago the building is probably 1/4 mile long FULL of all
types of stuff, robots, programmable controllers, machines,
equipment, and it is all for sale at scrap yard price 40 cents a
pound. I bought about 30 programmable controllers for $1.00 each I
programmed one to turn lights on and off in the house using motion
sensors, pressure switches under the carpet and timers, just walk
into a room and the lights come on automatic, when you leave the room
the lights go off automatic. When I go on vacation I can make all
the lights, TV, etc. in the house go on and off at random it makes it
look like someone is at home.

I once had about 50 high energy storage capacitors that weighed about
100 lbs. each. They were rated 5000 volts 18,000. amps, 210 MFD,
caster oil filled. I sold 3 of the capacitors to someone on the TC
forum many years ago I am guessing it was 15 years ago just about a
year after Chip started this TC forum. I still have 3 of the
capacitors. I did not have a place to keep all the caps so I threw
them all in the trash. The 3 caps that I have I don't use very
often. Some times I charge them up, then discharge them through a
piece of 8 foot long 1/8 inch steel wire. The wire exploded,
vaporizes into smoke, produces a huge flash of light and it sounds
like someone shot a high powered rifle, BOOB. 3 caps in parallel
54,000. amps at 5000 volts makes a really good BOOB, its a lot of fun
on the 4th of July. If anyone is interested in the cap bank I might
sell it too, my work shop is just too full of stuff I don't really
want or need any more. I have 3 other cap banks one has 30 caps in
parallel smaller caps. I have primary coils, secondary coil, PVC
pipe, enamel coated copper wire in 100 lbs rolls, 15 model airplane,
2 racing go cart, 5 racing engines, lots of parts, model rockets, 18
bicycles, toroids, spheres, radio TV transmitter tubes, and lots more.

Gary Weaver