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Re: Homebrew variac paralleling choke

> I went scrounging through my collection of *stuff* (that my wife calls
> junk :) and came up with a set of 3 custom wound transformers. Careful
> inspection revieled that the cores had almost all of the E's facing
> the same way. Fifteen minutes work and the sacrifice of 4 lamanations
> (2 on each side) yielded a rather beefy EI core just waiting to be
> made into a paralleling choke :)
>
> Core dimensions: 5.25" x 5.75" x 1.41" overall, 2 windows @ 4" x 1.5"
> center leg of "E" 1.5" x 1.41" (original thickness was 1.5" before
> removing the 4 laminations)

I need to parallel two variacs (two 10A are available, and I need 20A).  I
was planning on winding my own paralleling choke with some 14-AWG wire, but
I don't have a EI core "laying" around.  How many problems would I create
for myself if I just used a solid bar of steel of suitable size (say a 1.5"
diameter solid bar)?  I realize this is less than ideal, but it's my only
real option at this point (unless I can run a 15/120 system on a single 10A
variac...).

Mark B