[TCML] How to use an arc welder as a ballast?

[bunnykiller]

Hey Marcus...

First and foremost you must consider the size and capacity of the welder 
to be used "as a ballast". second thing to consider is the type of wire 
used in the welder itself, aluminum wiring wont last too long, copper 
wiring on the welders transformer primary will have a better life span.
as for the wiring technique, the 2(3) leads that power the welder will 
be the ones used to "ballast" the piggie. General concensus calls for 
wiring the welder as such....

the ground lead(green)of the welder goes to ground of the receptical on 
the source, the black lead ( hot wire from the source/recepticle) 
attaches to the black lead of the welder, the red ( most commonly used 
in 240VAC ,,, the other half of the dual 120vac) of the welder attaches 
to one of the inputs of the piggie, the other input of the piggie 
attaches to the red output of the source/recepticle. Basically the 
welder primary is in series with the input to the piggie.

short out the secondary side of the welder ( in other words stick a 
short length of welding lead between the welders ground and welding lead 
output)

start with the welder set on minimal current setting and slowly work 
your way up to higher current levels via the current control on the 
welder to increase current thru the piggie. WATCH for glowing inside the 
welder, smoke, or rather obnoxious humming noises, if it begins to throw 
sparks, shut it down and begin looking for another welder or a really 
big transformer core to wind your own ballast.

IF you have the welders original paperwork, see what the DUTY CYCLE 
is...  this is a rating as to how long the welder can remain on for a 
maximim amount of time before it needs a cool down period. When a welder 
is used as a ballast, the welder "thinks" it is in its welding status 
since the welding leads are shorted ( in welding mode)
If you can, find a scrap yard or such that will have a 10 - 20 KVA rated 
step down transformer ( 480 to 240) you will have a great core to rewind 
for a ballast. Usually they are a bit heavy but can handle the 
requirements of ballasting a piggie...

Scot D



marcus masencup wrote:

>I am stepping up to pole pigs after years of using NST's. I have read
>everything I can find online and for me it seems that an arc welder is the
>easiest way to add the current limiting and ballast I need to run the 10kva
>pole pig I have. What I can't find is how I need to wire the arc welder up
>with the pole pig? Any help on how to wire this would be great, thanks!
>_______________________________________________
>Tesla mailing list
>Tesla at www.pupman.com
>http://www.pupman.com/mailman/listinfo/tesla
>
>  
>