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Ramiel
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[*] posted on 31-1-2003 at 20:46
Massive transformers


This idea here is really more like MadPhysics...

My gR4nD 1dEa!!!!1
primarily the grand idea was to have one multi-transformer, if you will. it works like this:



Here it is adapted for rapid electrolosys.

I am the first to say that this is a pretty dangerous device, that sort of power is enough to zap someone dead many times over i believe. Therefore would also be making a grounding thingie.

Do you think this device will work? will it induce correctly and work essentially like three transformers in series?

On a slightly different topic, does anyone know how to limit current into a circuit? I think i would need to do that so the device didn't coverheat eh?

ps. If it does work and no-one has thought of it before, then it's copy-left. If someone patents it, I will hunt them down, kill them, (eat them?) revoke the patent and make it copy-left.
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[*] posted on 3-2-2003 at 09:17
???? ! ??


This makes no sense to me sorry. I plain don´t understand what function the middle two windings have. I suppose a kind of stepping up. I also suppose that this cannot work on a common iron-core.

After the negative part has to follow a constructive one:

What you want can easily be achieved by rebuilding the transformer of a microwave. You rip away the output windings and rewind the coil with something usable for the more current coming, say 10 to 15 windings of 1-2cm diameter wire. Wire? Not wire anymore thats more cable. I have a link somewhere as it was made this way for a homemade electro welder, I will dig it up.

Limiting current? Your design doesn´t need this. It will blow every fuse at once. The law of Mr Ohm might be helpful, something like: more resistance less current? Some lightbulbs in line before the transformator might give a easy regulation......

ORG
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[*] posted on 3-2-2003 at 09:28
here it is, the transformer....


thats the way it is done:
Quote:
Microwave oven transformers are step up transformers. That means that the voltage at the secondary winding is higher than the primary. In microwave ovens, the primary accepts standard house current, 120 volts. The secondary voltage is typically 4000 volts. The secondary winding must be removed and a low voltage winding put in its place. The new secondary winding has a typical open circuit voltage of 10 volts. Under an arc welding load, this voltage will drop to between 2 - 4 volts, and up to 250 amps. You will use #6 single conductor wire for the new secondary winding. Many people ask exactly how many turns I put on this new secondary, and I always say as many as you can fit! If you must know, I got 12 to 15 turns on each transformer.


from this page:
http://www.dansworkshop.com/Homebuilt%20arc%20welder.shtml

Hey this is worth a look - the guy buildt a electro furnace for melting aluminium too!
This should be hot enough to fulfill the most perverted dreams ;-)

mine at least
ORG
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[*] posted on 3-2-2003 at 15:47


Sorry to say ramiel, but this transformer will not work, the red and blue windings are shorted and there four will also short the black winding, result a blown fuse.
What kind of transformer are we talking of, it looks like a three phase transformer.


Also the turn ratio’s are wrong.
You will get 68V on the output (if red and blue are open)
With only 35 turns on the primary it should really be a very big transformer.
Or it will still blow the fuse
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Ramiel
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[*] posted on 3-2-2003 at 21:14


It looks like it will not work because of those many annoying laws of physics. But just imagine that there was a way for the wires to induce only those coils parralell to them, and the top two coils were ~3500 and ~1000 coils. That might work, no?

I had a look on hv4 for MO transformers, and that looks like the right way.

I looked at that dan's workshop site while I was searching about for furnace designs, the only problem is that the plans for the furnace cost money. I was thinking of purchasing it anyway (then i could give it to the community i guess).
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[*] posted on 10-2-2003 at 01:49
microwave transformers


They are for free and rewinding is easy. You can make an connection at winding 10/12/14/16 for example and have various voltages output available this way.

What advantages has the hv4 MO transformer? A link to this or short description would be appreciated - I always love to see better concepts for something.

thanks
ORG

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[*] posted on 12-2-2003 at 18:02



"MOTs and MOTs"

"MOT coilers unite"

Oh no! what have i done? i've linked to another forum and stolen posters. noooo

nbk2000 spare my soul!




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[*] posted on 11-2-2004 at 23:33


I can't think of any reasons for having more than 2 different transformers:

1) An ATX power supply. An old one can give +12V at 9A and +5V at 30A, new ones typically more. And they are dirt cheap, or free.

2) A Neon Sign Transformer of respectable power. I've got one capable of 9kV at 60mA, which comes to 540W of power. This one wasn't cheap though, but not that expensive either. Approx. 200 Euro including VAT, with a 3 year warranty =)

(3?) A bridge rectifier connected directly to the mains in case you REALLY want to electrolyze the hell out of something.

Edit: Actually you'd probably want to reconsider point 3. When electrolyzing using a salt bridge made out of toilet paper impregnated with KNO3(!), I lost patience with the slow rection at 5V, and connected the electrodes to a full-wave rectifier driven directly from the mains (220V AC). The paper boiled and carbonized. Perhaps a little too much power

[Edited on 2004-2-12 by axehandle]:o

[Edited on 2004-2-12 by axehandle]




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[*] posted on 12-2-2004 at 09:34


to 3.
If you dont use an saltwaterheostat or other ballast between your mains and the bridge rectifier you will probably only blow your fuses.




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[*] posted on 12-2-2004 at 09:35


Organikum: Nope, only got some toilet paper to almost catch fire. But I won't do it again, I'm a one mistake learner.



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[*] posted on 15-2-2004 at 12:12


In most EU countries cheap (chinese made) welding transformer can be bought for around
50-90 €, they have a low voltage winding of around 20-30V, capaple of sustaining a good 6-800 W continously.

Most of them also have a current limit function by adjusting the iron core, but it will not work as a fuse.

/rickard
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[*] posted on 15-2-2004 at 16:29


Number 6 copper wire will not hold 250 amps for any lenght of usable time.

The highest rating for that wire is around 80 amps and that's free air single conductor.

250 amps would require around 4/0 Cu or several smaller wire sizes in parallel.

Take a look at the buzz box welder/transformers sometime and tell me you see anything short of large copper secondaries on the transformer. These are rated at 225 amps and that's only for intermittent use. Duty cycle around 15%.

So if you want to do welding or more like use it as a supply for electro stuff you had best check the wire sizing.

Oh somelthing I saw recently in an old Popular Mechanics magazine. When you are winding using silicon iron laminations and they are closed - meaning you cannot wrap the wire around and around - use a shuttle cock like is used on a loom. Wrap your wire onto the shuttle and pass it through over and over. Great idea in those old mags.

JimWig
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[*] posted on 16-2-2004 at 10:04


duty cycle 15 % *225 A => 33 A *25 V = 800VA aprox.

But unfortunately it is a little bit lower in reality , since the actuall output reduces a bit since the duty cycle /power is not linear.

if you can measure the wire size, aprox 3 A/mm2 cross section is ok with no cooling.

Good idea about the shuttle cook. It is a hell to rewind an E-I core.

/rickard
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[*] posted on 16-2-2004 at 10:56
rewinding cores


If you are to rewind the low voltage side of a transformer like from a MOT it is much easier to use Cu or Al SHEET (with an isolating layer or painting - is understood) to wind the low voltage - high amperage side. The sheet is much easier and closer to fold and you will have almost no noise generated from loose windings (whats nervy like hell). As almost no space is wasted like with round wire you can use more cmxcm effective and go for a higher load this way.

"laminar transformer"?
Not sure on the name.




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[*] posted on 3-3-2004 at 13:29


rikkitikkitavi

a bit more on duty cycle. what is meant here is that a total of 15% of the time used welding can actually be the rated max current through the unit. TRX.

this is not rms or pulsed - the unit still delivers the selected output current just not a 100 per cent of the time. otherwise it burns up. overheats.

Out of welding 100 minutes only 15 of those minutes can be at full power with a down cycle for cooling else you loose your insulation on the windings. it melts..


So its a time factor not a power factor.

disipating the heat via fan etc would probably improve the duty cycle somewhat.

But now that I think about it if 800va output could be set (that's about 20 amps) or so then maybe a 100% duty cycle could be achieved.

But that would only be enough current to weld tin cans maybe.
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[*] posted on 3-3-2004 at 18:49


jim, rickard is correct, the time factor derives from the power factor, not the other way around. His math applies to a system where its being used to supply power continuously, and still be within operating tolerences.
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[*] posted on 3-3-2004 at 22:15
or..


Quote:

disipating the heat via fan etc would probably improve the duty cycle somewhat.


Submerging the whole shebang in a tub of oil would work even better.

Silicone transformer oil is best, but peanut oit works in a pinch.

The larger the mass of oil the longer the duty cycle. The oil will usually mix itself via convection

as a temporary measure to really increase the heat capacity, pre- freezing the oil or adding frozen stones to the tub will also help.

Oil is cheap, so use lots and a suitabley large and heat resistant container. It the container is metal it will also dissipate heat to the surrounding atmosphere faster, but yer gonna want to ground it, just in case (get it......in case).:D




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[*] posted on 4-3-2004 at 07:37


<b>or...</b>

Submerge the entire thing in Fluorinert(r), cooled by liquid nitrogen running through pipes in the coolant intermediary. :)

Someone once did that to successfully overclock a Pentium II by a factor of 10...

Edit: <b>Yes</b>, I'm post-whoring right now.... the 250 limit is sooooo close....

[Edited on 2004-3-4 by axehandle]




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[*] posted on 4-3-2004 at 08:50


but you have to cool the oil in some way, otherwise you end up with a hot transformer in warm oil. compare to the cooling flanges/tubes on large power transformers. And actually, a large pot filled with oil doesnt provide much more cooling surface compared to the transformer, and the oils adds another heat transfer resistance, especially when it is not forced circulated.

Ciruclating the oil in a radiator might do it, but then it becomes much more complicated.

Also, it is the inner (primary) winding that will be hottest , regardless of cooling method. Oil will not improve this since it will not contact the primary winding.

/rickard
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[*] posted on 4-3-2004 at 10:40


That's why I suggested Fluorinert. (Even though I did so mainly in jest.) Its viscosity is much better for penetrating between wires. It's horribly expensive though, but completely electrically inert. Combined with, say, water cooling and some mechanical stirring, it would work like a charm. The world's most efficient and most expensive welding transformer. :)



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[*] posted on 4-3-2004 at 11:48


but the problem is the liquid (regardless of type of liquid) penetrating between the wires. There will be very little circulation regardless of the circulation- or liquid for that matter. Smaller transformers have the winding so closely wound that liquid wont flow through easily, or might even not, if the winding is impregnated.

large transformer has the windings shaped to cooling liquid can easily flow through.
Sometimes the core itself has cooling channels.

iof course fluorinert is a jest, I guess it is over the top for most of us...
whats the current price, 500US$/liter or so?
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sad.gif posted on 4-3-2004 at 12:16
Big sigh!


Quote:
Originally posted by rikkitikkitavi
but you have to cool the oil in some way, otherwise you end up with a hot transformer in warm oil. compare to the cooling flanges/tubes on large power transformers. And actually, a large pot filled with oil doesnt provide much more cooling surface compared to the transformer, and the oils adds another heat transfer resistance, especially when it is not forced circulated.

Also, it is the inner (primary) winding that will be hottest , regardless of cooling method. Oil will not improve this since it will not contact the primary winding.
/rickard


Nooo.....but then again, it's unlikely that anything you do (on the cheap) will turn this ugly little surplus transformer setup into a High-Perfomance, internally cooled and jacketed wonder of modern science.

Will it?

I also didn't say it was perfect, just better than air.

Any liquid is better than air at cooling a substance regardless of the final transfer involved.
(because the molecules are closer together)

Having a hot transformer in warm oil is better than having a glowing transformer in air any day.

If you are driving so much power through a transformer that the heat doesn't even have time to dissipate from the internal windings to outer portions of the transformer. Then you are just putting WAY too much power through it and you should look into modifying your setup.

Circulation through convection is significant.

At five bucks a gallon, a five gallon bucket filled with cold corn oil, will absorb one HELL of a lot of heat energy.

That will lengthen your duty cylce tremendously.

You don't have to cyle it through a radiator to make it worthwhile. Having a ten minute duty cycle and then having to wait half an hour is hugely better than having a 3 minute duty cycle and having to wait forty five minutes.

and you'll be far less likely to push it too far and if you really wanted, you could drop in a copper coil around the edges and run cold water through it for cooling. It would be unlikely to increase your duty cycle significantly, but would decrease the down time greatly.

What I would find easiest though, would be to simply buy some more oil, attatch a strap, and yank the transformer out and plunk it down in the other bucket of oil.
:P




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[*] posted on 5-3-2004 at 10:33


yes , the oil will increase duty cycles if it is allowed to cool in between. I m not killing your idea, I have played with it myself , my point is rather that it is difficult to say that it is going to increase capacity this and that...


I would think though that by using a fan, the simplest cooling is achieved...

/rickard
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[*] posted on 5-3-2004 at 11:39
Experience.


Having run large HID transformers in an extremely hot humid enviornment :P for 12-18 hours a day I often ran into overheating problems.

There are situations in which having your power interrupted for even short periods of time while the transformers cooled enough to restart caused serious problems.

This was my solution. It worked. I was able to run them for longer and they cooled faster.

Fans were my initial idea, and they worked up to a point, then the heat they produced and the amount of electricity they consumed became a problem.

using 8 1KW transformers in each room during a heatwave was difficult. I arranged five boxfans in a circle around the square rooms so that each blew air in the same direction.

We jokingly called it (the first one the Cyclone room. As a teenager I liked to chatup the oldtimers at the local spot.

For those of you who've been around the scene and know what I'm talking about, I was in the headshop across the street from marc emery's old bookstore where they were challenging the laws by openly selling clones.

anyway, an oldtimer was nice enough to sit me down and explain the difference between the heat capacity of wet and dry air and the way heat energy is transmitted through gasses and solids verses through fluids.

and the difference between kinetic and radiant heat transfer.

I didn't retain alot of it, but kept enough to find that a clean five gallon steel tar bucket filled with oil was a magic trick for transformer cooling. It also kept the thing from rusting.

Another sweet trick/but more time consuming and temporary, was to lay the transformer on a brick or a cinderblock that had soaked in water for a couple days and then lay another on top. making sure the longest steel surface touched the largest flat cement/clay surface.
(also making sure the brick was wet but not dripping)

and replacing every four hours, that coupled with air cooling was pretty damn effective. (if I was using cinder blocks I found arranging them so the air blew through the holes was better but dried them way faster.

good luck:cool:

[Edited on 5-3-2004 by Hermes_Trismegistus]




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[*] posted on 5-3-2004 at 11:54


ok, i guess it worked fine for you :)

actually wet and dry air has almost the same heat capacity, so using a fan shows no difference...

wet cinderblocks+fan, hmm sounds a lot like evaporative cooling, very efficient..

/rickard
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