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Re: Still more ballast problems w/Pig



to:  Dwight

Place a clamp on ammeter in the circuit and measure the actual current draw
-- don't guess.  As Ed suggests, a variac is a useful tool during initial
testing.  Metering is also essential.  We usually use 25-30 mHy of series
inductance to limit current around 30 amps.

DR.RESONANCE-at-next-wave-dot-net 

----------
> From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Re: Still more ballast problems w/Pig
> Date: Thursday, October 22, 1998 12:04 PM
> 
> Original Poster: Esondrmn-at-aol-dot-com 
> 
> In a message dated 10/21/98 5:31:12 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> writes:
> 
> << 
>     Thanks for your responses in the past.  Now I have had my pig for 3
>  weeks now and it still pops a 30 amp breaker with the home make ballast
>  alone.  If I put a 3 KVA H&R x-former in series with the ballast it will
>  work fine for a few minutes until the H&R x-former starts to over heat
and
>  I turn it off.  The way I have been testing the pig and ballasting is
>  making a Jacobs latter as the load for the pig.
>      My ballast is the core of a 40 amp variac that I gapped with 1/16"
>  acrylic.  I have wound 150 turns of 10 gauge Romex(house-hold wire) on
it
>  and I measure 14.8 mH and 5.8 ohms. The impedance is 11.379 ohms, this
>  should draw only 21 amps of current yet the breaker pops seconds after
it
>  is thrown.
>      Is the variac ballast saturating?  I do know it seems to work with
the
>  H&R x-former thrown in series with it, but a 1-2 minute run time is
>  unaccessible.
>      Any ideas and or suggestion.  These are as always greatly
appreciated.
>  After all the labor I put into that ballast it is very frustrating for
it
>  not to work and also knowing coilers do this all the time and have
success.
>   What am I missing.
>      
>  Again, thanks for your responses,
>  
>  Dwight
>   >>
> 
> Dwight,
> 
> Do you have a variac to ramp up the mains power slowly?  You might want
to use
> a couple of ohms of resistance in series with your ballast.  That is how
I run
> my 5kva pole transfromer.
> 
> Ed Sonderman
>