In response to some interest on the Tesla List, here are some details for the power supply I plan to use.
As per the schematic in my last entry, I am intending to run a 3-phase supply with power levels around 6kW. Consequently 3 identical ~2kW transformers are needed. Assuming that I want about 20-25 kV in the primary capacitor, and taking into account the voltage doubling effect of the charging inductor and the phase to phase voltage of the star configured HV side, something in the order of 4-5 kV per transformer is needed.
I obtained several quotes totalling many thousands of $$ for having three such transformers made. I’m not too keen to spend that much so I will have to find an alternative solution. Hopefully two MOTs in series per phase will do the trick. I have no idea if the MOTs will survive when run in series, but it seems worth a try. In any case, I could run them in parallel and still get a couple of kW at high BPS with minimal voltage stress on the transformers.
As the supply requires 6 (preferably) identical MOTs, and since people aren’t allowed to forage around rubbish tips anymore, I decided to buy 6 new cheap microwave ovens to scrap. All up they were only $240. Not especially cheap and it breaks my heart to destroy perfectly good ovens, but it’s still far less than the many thousands required to buy custom transformers:
And here’s the goodies I salvaged:
Here they are a few hours later, mounted on dried wooden blocks and submerged in oil in Tupperware containers, looking very neat and professional:
And after making a little trolley to wheel them around the shed…
