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Re: [Amps] Serious transformer problem

To: "Borislav Trifonov" <bdt@shaw.ca>, <amps@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [Amps] Serious transformer problem
From: "Tom W8JI" <w8ji@w8ji.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2006 06:45:29 -0400
List-post: <mailto:amps@contesting.com>
Boris,

I can understand your frustration. It sounds like everything 
is identical and nothing obvious is wrong.

It is not likely to be residual magnetisim since the soft 
iron (magnetically soft) used in transformer laminations is 
not able to be magentized. If it was able to be noticably 
magnetized, it would have to be a bad or defective 
lamination and would need replaced. Degaussing it would not 
help a thing, because every time it carried flux it would 
remagenteize to the same level. If the core is having a 
major problem with residual magnetisim, it will make a poor 
transformer.

My guess would be you either are on the right track, that 
something is shorted. Another possibility is you are 
measuring at much too low of  power levels and things that 
do not matter in operation, like a small hysteresis curve 
difference, are showing up and the buzzing is just a 
coincidence.

Here is what I would look at:

1.) There should not be a conductive path between 
laminations. That means the laminations must be insulated 
from each other, and the fasteners securing the laminations 
must be insulated from the laminations. Make sure you don't 
have the fasteners shorting the core from side to side. I've 
seen people actually drill into laminations to mount 
components!

2.) Run the transformers full voltage ( be SURE they are in 
a grounded enclosure when powered up) with no load. See if 
one gets significantly warmer or starts to smell. NEVER 
touch the core while it is powered on!! A single shorted 
turn will behave much like you descibe, and evetually make 
the transformer fail. Generally you can smell that turn 
getting hot if you run the transfomer for a while without 
load.

Get rid of the electrostatic shields if you can the next 
time. They really don't do anything in our applications, 
they take up room, they reduce voltage breakdown,  and they 
are a potential souce of problems if they become shorted. 


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