VARIAC....MEX?
Hopefully MEX will chime in but anyone else is welcome, of course. Looking to buy a VARIAC. I have a Harbor Freight manual charger that I use for equalizing and sometimes the finishing charge. The pro...
Forum Discussion
ken white wrote:MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
...As usual helpful folks have added so much additional information to the discussion it became murky :)
No way in hell will you have a problem twisting the knob under load. Remember the old fashioned light dimmers? The ones the grand kids played with like it was a video game? Meet its cousin. Just don't allow the knob to be thrashed back and forth while you have a load on the variac.
If we are talking about higher end, or better designed products, then I would partially agree but the fact remains the contacts will have their life reduced when moved under load.
The new low cost Chinese products are not manufactured to the same quality standards as older or higher end power equipment.
Just my murky opinion...
Let's take it from the bottom. Mena is starting at the bottom. Least electrolysis. Then he is going to incrementally increase current until his charger is reading correct equalization potential. From there only slight and occasional tweaking during the equalization process will be needed. Bit by bit.
I took all the into account when I recommended he adjust the variac under load. My 3-amp, 5-amp and 7-amp variacs (Hwang Ho origin) all use the same carbon contact.
No, it isn't an Ohmite ceramic rheostat. So total contact lifespan may equal a few hundred feet rather than several miles of travel.
Moving the carbon very fast across the winding will definitely cause premature erosion. But the carbon can be replaced when necessary. After I'm dead.
