[Home][2018 Index] Re: [TCML] Good and Cheap Ballast Options [Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: [TCML] Good and Cheap Ballast Options



Hello Daniel,

Sunday, November 25, 2018, 12:14:30 PM, you wrote:

> Hello All,
> I am looking to ballast my new potential transformer. I came across this
> idea (http://hotstreamer.deanostoybox.com/mnovak/ballast.html) of using
> 1/8" welding rods inside a 2" PVC wrapped with 500ft of stranded 10awg
> THHN. Seems cheap and functional. You can add or remove rods to alter
> inductance and raise and lower the core as well. I wonder if there are any
> other equally cheap/good or better ideas?
> Thanks,
> ~Dan
> Kansas City area
> _______________________________________________
> Tesla mailing list
> Tesla@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> https://www.pupman.com/mailman/listinfo/tesla

I believe that D.C. Cox used something similar in his coils.  He claimed that he could control the output of the coils by varying the current to the extent than variacs were not required.  I purchased a cheap, continuously variable arc welder used for about $50 which used a laminated core that could be inserted and withdrawn into the body of the transformer to control the current.  With the welder outputs shorted together and the primary connected in series with the low voltage side of a 10 KVA pole pig, I could vary the current from 10 to 50 amps.  The only modification I made to the welder, other than getting rid of the cabinet which was mostly empty, was to replace the slide controlling mechanism with a lead screw such that I could change the current while the coil was in operation.  The magnetic force trying to draw the core into the center of the transformer is considerable so take that into consideration in your design.

-- 
Best regards,
Dave Leddon

_______________________________________________
Tesla mailing list
Tesla@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.pupman.com/mailman/listinfo/tesla