[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: Pole Transformers
Tesla List wrote:
> Original Poster: "Gavin Hubbard" <ghub005-at-xtra.co.nz>
> In my experience, its best not to even mention Tesla Coils when talking to
> the service engineers.
>
> Create a plausable reason for wanting a pig and just keep dialing around.
Of course, it is _not_ a good idea to lie about things, but you might
be really interested in amateur radio, and need that pig for a HV
powersupply for an amplifier. Pigs really are used for this. And if not,
you might be building a induction heater that just requires that kind
of voltages because of design - people are casting metal as hobby.
Just be certain that you know what you are talking about. And be careful
or he'll be interested in the same stuff and ask to come and see the
gadget when it is ready, after donating the pig for a good cause. >:)
> Although I live in another country (New Zealand), my method of getting a
> pig should still be relevant to you. I rang a number of utilities in my
> geographic area (a radius of 400km) and told the engineers that I was a
> university student (which I actually was at the time) and that I was
> looking for a transformer to complete a research project. If the engineer
> couldn't help, I'd ask for a name or telephone number of someone else who
> might be able to help me.
The exactly same method worked fine for me. After I had called all
places once, I started calling them for the second time :). As this
resulted (nearly always) in talking with another person from same
company, I got lucky, and this time the person knew about an old
1-phase pig they didn't need. In fact, 16kW (minimum size) 3-phase
pigs were readily available, but 1-phase pigs were not - 3-phase is
dominant (supplied to all houses) here. At the time I hadn't yet found
3-phase variacs so I had to look for a 1-phase pig. I paid about 100usd
for the pig (7kVA 20kV) and transported it myself on car trailer for
200+ km. It weigths about 140kg and took 4 people to lift off the
trailer - nowadays it has wheels and is easily moved.
New 2kW 20kV "pigs" would have been available for about 1000usd, as
they were used commonly for powering control equipment from HV line.
Of course, that was too expensive.
So, just keep calling.
Kristian Ukkonen.