DIY power transformer help

Ian0

Joined Aug 7, 2020
13,132
A real 4.1kVA transformer I measured a while ago had an off-load primary current at 240V of 0.63A.
How does yours compare?
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
A real 4.1kVA transformer I measured a while ago had an off-load primary current at 240V of 0.63A.
How does yours compare?
Which one? the one currently in the making ready to blow one's socks off or the admittedly poor execution of what did turn out to be a good brainwave.
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
Which one? the one currently in the making ready to blow one's socks off or the admittedly poor execution of what did turn out to be a good brainwave.
also please allow me some time. I am still not comfertable with Kva. Honestly I have still gotten no clue how to develop an intuitive sense on how this relates to volts, amps and, therefor, watts
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
Even your coil of blue wire in your "field meter" is a mess. The blue wires are not a coil, they are just a sloppy spool. A coil should be wrapped in a heli
I'd like to challange you if I may. Can you back that up with scientific research or demonstrate field experiments that supports that?

Anyway I will be doing the field work to get this matter settled.

So current beleive is that 100 winds wound planar (in a single layer) will produce better magnetic fields than a 100 wind stacked in 10ns. 10 rows of 10 colums

yes?
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
I'd like to challange you if I may. Can you back that up with scientific research or demonstrate field experiments that supports that?

Anyway I will be doing the field work to get this matter settled.

So current beleive is that 100 winds wound planar (in a single layer) will produce better magnetic fields than a 100 wind stacked in 10ns. 10 rows of 10 colums

yes?
So there is not commercial transformer to be found with a primary coil more than a single layer. If that is the case then I change my stance to MrSalt's one
 

MrSalts

Joined Apr 2, 2020
2,767
I'd like to challange you if I may. Can you back that up with scientific research or demonstrate field experiments that supports that?

Anyway I will be doing the field work to get this matter settled.

So current beleive is that 100 winds wound planar (in a single layer) will produce better magnetic fields than a 100 wind stacked in 10ns. 10 rows of 10 colums

yes?
It depends.
Smaller diameter is better than larger diameter so each additionally thickness increases diameter of the coil BUT
Shorter, more compact coils create a stronger field than longer coils.

so, it depends on the diameter of your core and the diameter of your wire.

there are on-line calculators to help you make that decision for your core diameter, wire diameter and number of turns. Typically, toroidal cores are sized to take only the number of turns needed based on the wire gauge needed to carry the specified current.
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
there are on-line calculators to help you make that decision for your core diameter, wire diameter and number of turns. Typically, toroidal cores are sized to take only the number of turns needed based on the wire gauge needed to carry the specified current.
I have found a few but got soooo intimidated. No use for a new comer like me
so, it depends on the diameter of your core and the diameter of your wire.
Well, that is a bit of a chicken and egg issue there. I am not trying to 'scientifically' find out which core diam is best used
In terms of wire size I have opted to go with 1mm2 insulated wire rather than enameled copper wire. I thought it is better to increase the size of the project than to risk short circuiting when using 1mm diam enemeld wire.
and because in this context we actually have no size constraints then I though F* it. We go larger.
 

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,875
Your
also please allow me some time. I am still not comfertable with Kva. Honestly I have still gotten no clue how to develop an intuitive sense on how this relates to volts, amps and, therefor, watts
I had this thought in a different thread, but I think it applies better here...
Mankind came to understand electricity through a sequence of events and discoveries that was... sequential. There is a reason why these discoveries were made in the order that they were made in. You need understanding of the previous concept to have any hope of understanding the next concept. You opened the book of chronological human understanding in the middle chapter. You won't be able to understand this unless you go back to the beginning.

I don't say that to discourage you. If you must know, I find it very difficult to start on Chapter 1 and read to Chapter 372 in order when the only chapters I care about are 74, 157, and 308. For that reason I have many holes in my knowledge. There are many things that people would expect that I would know (that I would expect that I would know) that I absolutely don't know. I have been skipping forward and backwards in this book for many years, filling in the holes a little at a time making them smaller, but still I will never get a well rounded understanding this way. Neither will you. My advise, which I wouldn't follow if I were me, but I would if I were you, is to rewind a bit and develop your understanding of basic electricity, Ohm's law, DC circuits, and then move into AC circuits. Take couple weeks off from your experiments and study up. I think the time lost will be more than made up for in the increased efficiency you'll have, being able work in a specific direction toward a specific goal by means that you actually understand. Much better than fumbling around in the dark making random experiments that your better educated future self would shake his head at.
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
I have found a few but got soooo intimidated. No use for a new comer like me

Well, that is a bit of a chicken and egg issue there. I am not trying to 'scientifically' find out which core diam is best used
In terms of wire size I have opted to go with 1mm2 insulated wire rather than enameled copper wire. I thought it is better to increase the size of the project than to risk short circuiting when using 1mm diam enemeld wire.
and because in this context we actually have no size constraints then I though F* it. We go larger.
And yes this goes against in where I try to find out if going smaller is a good plan.But give it some time and my thoughts will start to make sense to all of you
 

MrSalts

Joined Apr 2, 2020
2,767
I have found a few but got soooo intimidated. No use for a new comer like me

Well, that is a bit of a chicken and egg issue there. I am not trying to 'scientifically' find out which core diam is best used
In terms of wire size I have opted to go with 1mm2 insulated wire rather than enameled copper wire. I thought it is better to increase the size of the project than to risk short circuiting when using 1mm diam enemeld wire.
and because in this context we actually have no size constraints then I though F* it. We go larger.
Your core is way oversized. You'll be much better off getting all that small wire around a much smaller core and make it look very packed with wire. Often times, for toroid, the last wrap barely fits through the remaining space in the core OR for single layer wrapping, the last wrap just fits around the toroid.
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
I have planned to to use a 40mm core filled up with powder. on top of that wound the 35mm2 2nd coil. but this time with alot of space between the winds as to give the powder a chance to enhance the field.
Then shuff a 75mm diam pvc pipe over it and wind the prim coil on top of it.. OHHHHHH this one is going to kick a**!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
Your coils are really sloppy. Even your coil of blue wire in your "field meter" is a mess.
I accept the frowning upon. Yet what I have not heard yet is a much more "currently accepted" way of getting us where we need to get going.

So I kindly ask all brilliant minds to guide us into a step by step way to get this show on the road
 

Ian0

Joined Aug 7, 2020
13,132
I’ve just had a look at a 4kV transformer (16A @ 230V input) and it has a cross sectional area of 8100mm^2. If that were circular in cross section it would be 100mm diameter.
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
if you simply wrap a clockwise layer and then start your next layer by wrapping downward, that's like wrapping a counterclockwise layer - it is cancelling out the first layer.
this one needs field testing. it's been bugging me for far too long. Yet my intellect tells me it is of no concern. Then comes that feeling again. the one that won't stop until it is dealt with.
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
this one needs field testing. it's been bugging me for far too long. Yet my intellect tells me it is of no concern. Then comes that feeling again. the one that won't stop until it is dealt with.
I keep getting more feelings that it's cant be correct. Don't worry though I will go and demonstrate the true nature of it all
 
Top