I occasionally need a transformer and have a few in the junk box to select from. I do the following things to "get to know" a particular transformer:
A. Is it safe to use with the voltage I plan to apply?
B. How much power can I apply to it safely?
I can measure the following characteristics of the transformer:
1. Mass
2. Physical dimensions
3. Diameter of the wire used to make the windings (sometimes)
4. Inductance of the windings
Can you experienced folks suggest any rules of thumb to use with these data to make an engineering judgment to provide approximate answers the two questions A and B? Are there some other measurements a hobbyist could make that would give more insight?
- Measure the resistance between all the terminals.
- Use a function generator to apply a 60 Hz sine wave (usually 1 to 5 Vrms) to the (assumed) primary and measure the voltages on the secondaries. This gives me the ratios.
A. Is it safe to use with the voltage I plan to apply?
B. How much power can I apply to it safely?
I can measure the following characteristics of the transformer:
1. Mass
2. Physical dimensions
3. Diameter of the wire used to make the windings (sometimes)
4. Inductance of the windings
Can you experienced folks suggest any rules of thumb to use with these data to make an engineering judgment to provide approximate answers the two questions A and B? Are there some other measurements a hobbyist could make that would give more insight?