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Re: Ok.. where am I going wrong



Michael,
For current flow, you must have both sides of the AC joined together. The
current flows back and forth from one leg to the other through the
components in
your circuit. The components are all in series forming a circuit "loop". The
0.4ohm resistor is just one component in the loop. In order to "calculate"
current flow in the total loop, you must account for all resistance including
the resistance and reactance of the ballast, pig, etc... If your 0.4 ohm
resistor was the only thing in the circuit, then you would draw 40+ amps
across
the resistor and blow your fuses. Obviously, the current is being limited
by the
other components in the circuit.

Hope this helps,
Bart

Tesla List wrote:

> Original Poster: "Coiler" <mycroft-at-access1-dot-net>
>
> I just finished wiring up my pig-training facility. This means the
> welder, 0.4 ohm resistor and 240V feed. I had thought to calibrate the
> switch settings on the welder to KVA numbers by taking voltage readings
> across the resistor. The infamous V=IR business. Only.. it didn't work.
> Or I don't think it did. At one point, I measured a drop of 17V. This works
> out to roughly 42 amps. This cannot be. I have 30A fast blow fuses in the
> line
> and I suspect that they would fry in short order at almost 50% overload.
> Therefor, there must be someting I am missing. I assume it is related to the
> fact that this is AC.
> Could someone help me out here? Tell me where I goofed.
>
> Michael Baumann
> Coiler, Homebrewer, Nerd. mycroft-at-access1-dot-net