Original poster: "C. Sibley" <a37chevy@xxxxxxxxx>
David,
I only have a 15A 220V circuit to play with, and am in
the process of getting the electrical upgraded. I can
run the setup for longer periods with the welder set
to a lower current. But at the lower currents the
voltage to the pig is essentially zero. I have
verified and cleaned all of the hookups.
I'll try one of the other ballast methods and let the
list know what I find.
Curt.
--- Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Original poster: "David Rieben"
<drieben@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Curt,
It sounds almost like you have a short circuit
somewhere,
as the welder should not be tripping breakers that
quickly
under any circumstances. What size is the circuit
breaker
that you're on and how big is your welder? I have
person-
ally never used an AC/DC welder for ballasting a
pig, but it seems to
me that it shouldn't be much different than using a
straight AC one.
Are you sure that you have the welder in SERIES with
the in-
put to the pig's LV inputs? Only 25 volts reaching
the pig is
certainly not right. I would definitely suspect
either the hookup
connections or the welder itself as the culprit in
this situtation.
Try using the 120 volt input winding of an
MOT with its secondary shorted as a temporary
ballast and simply feed
your pig 120 volts and see if you get any
output at all from the pig in this fashion. You
could also use
a 500 ft spool of #12 AWG THNN building wire from
Home Depot or
Lowe's as a ballast with 120 volts input to try this
out. If you do
get some output with your pig wired up in this
fashion, then the
problem is most likely that your welder is bad.
David Rieben
----- Original Message ----- From: "Tesla list"
<tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 10:45 PM
Subject: Re: Ballasting a Pole Pig (Revisited)
>Original poster: "C. Sibley" <a37chevy@xxxxxxxxx>
>This weekend I did as suggested below and had
>unsucessful results. With the pig set up as a
Jacobs
>Ladder, and the welder set on the highest power
>setting, I was unable to get any spark from the pig
at
>all.
>The problem appears to be the welder taking all of
the
>power, input voltage to the pig is only 25V with
the
>welder on and running. I do not have an AC
Ampmeter
>so am uncertain of the current, but was tripping my
>bbreakers after only 1-2 seconds. Setting the
welder
>at a lower rating would allow the breakers to
remain
>on, but with essentially no voltage to the pig.
>One posibility, is that my welder is an AC/DC unit,
>and must have additional circuitry over a basic AC
>unit. Perhaps there is some PFC or something
>interfering?
>Interested in any advice.
>Thanks,
>Curt.
>
>--- Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > Original poster: "David Rieben"
> > <drieben@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >
> > Curt,
> >
> > You've pretty much got the right idea ;^) I
assume
> > that
> > you have a 240 volt input stick welder, like one
of
> > those red Lincoln
> > 225 amp arc welders? You simply series the input
> > leads to the low
> > voltage bushings of the pig with the po-
> > wer input plug of the welder. For maximum output
> > current,
> > you short the welding leads together and turn
the
> > amperage
> > selector switch all the way up to the maximum
> > amperage setting. Be
> > sure to the connect the 240 volt input leads
> > to the two outermost low voltage busings on the
side
> > of the
> > pole pig tank. Leave the center low voltage
bushing
> > > uncon-
> > nected as this will be the tank case ground
> > (assuming your pig is a
> > single phase, 120/240 volt output unit). This
setup
> > will allow you to
> > draw 50 to 70 amps from the 240 volt ser-
> > vice with the HV output bushings of the pig
shorted.
> >
> > Good luck,
> > David
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tesla list"
> > <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Monday, December 19, 2005 3:45 PM
> > Subject: Ballasting a Pole Pig
> >
> >
> > >Original poster: "C. Sibley"
<a37chevy@xxxxxxxxx>
> > >I'm considering making the move to a Pole Pig
since
> > >I'm having a hard time finding anything larger
than
> > a
> > >60 mA NST. I have a old stick welder that I'm
> > >considering using as a ballast, but am not 100%
> > sure
> > >how I should go about hooking it up. Do I just
use
> > >the power inputs and run it in series with the
pig?
> > >Do I need to terminate the "welding" output?
Does
> > it
> > >matter what setting the welding output power is
set
> > >to?
> > >Thanks,
> > >Curt.
> >
> >