Rastajedi Posted December 18, 2007 Author Share Posted December 18, 2007 Whey hey variacs finally showed up, there alot heftier than i thought they would be for a 1 amp rating, looks like someting that belongs in frankensteins lab, gonna need a strong enclosure for these beastly things, Any sparkys wanna confirm the wiring ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraglor Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 (edited) edit: not sure to be honest, it can be set up for different output scales. i.e. you could have 0-240v or 20-270volts (depending on the specs) do you have a make n model no. or some literature that came with them? Edited December 18, 2007 by scraglor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraglor Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 (edited) what are the wires connected to two and four? 3 is obviously your output sliding scale, i'd say connect live and neutral between 1 and 5 for 0-240v output and live and neutral between 2 and 5 for 0 - 270v output, but those wires are throwing me a bit Edited December 18, 2007 by scraglor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraglor Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 (edited) ah ok, i see, they're your connections? connect live into 1 and neutral into 5 will give you 0 - 240v output, connect live into 2 and neutral into 5 will give you 0 - 270v output edit, the other taps are for various input voltages but anyway, just go live into 1 and neutral to 5 output is 3 you'll get a scale of 0 - 240v if you connect live and neutral between 4 and two like you have, but you're putting full mains voltage across two few windings so you'll put two much current through the tranny, also move the nob too far one way and you'll get more than 240v EDIT: here's the pdf: http://www.claudelyons.co.uk/tech.pdf Edited December 18, 2007 by scraglor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraglor Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 take a look down the bottom of the page and it shows all the different configurations the transformers can be used for, seems 6 is used in conjunction with another tranny for small range increasing/decreasing of mains voltage, and the various other terminals are for all different connection configurations for fine tuning voltages and bla bla bla, quite a handy bit of kit you got there, 100squids + when new! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rastajedi Posted December 18, 2007 Author Share Posted December 18, 2007 (edited) As i understand it, according to the pdf, 1 is neutral in 5 is live in and 3 is the variable live output ? I,ll get the soldering iron out tomorrow , mount em up and do a few tests with the old fluke meter, Rj Edited December 18, 2007 by Rastajedi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rastajedi Posted December 23, 2007 Author Share Posted December 23, 2007 Had a chance today to nip out and get an enclosure, thermostat, cable glands today all off the shelf at bnq, cost around £32, so far that puts the build cost at £99 , still some £50 cheaper than the systemair reu unit which doesnt come with a stat, i already have some terminal block kicking around in one of my many scrap boxes along with a few ties, nuts n bolts clips etc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rastajedi Posted December 23, 2007 Author Share Posted December 23, 2007 (edited) First thing to do was make a template to match the mounting holes for the variacs and then apply the markings on the lid box, i just used apiece of clear rigid waste plastic for this, cut a hole and placed over the center splindle of the variac so that it lies flat on the mounting holes i've ringed in red which ones i mean, then applied the markings to the lid and drilled out, as you can guess they didnt line up exactly bang on, but by placing the variac and marking with a pen where they needed a slightly wider hole and then correcting with a gentle router like action with the drill bit, i also drilled a couple of holes for cable fixings with some old pyro clips, next i soldered the wires to the variacs and bolted them in place on the lid, threading and marking the cables through the pyro clips, so basically its 2x common negs, 2 x common lives and 2x variable returns, got alittle bit too late tonight to do it all in one go will finish it off tommorrow,Rj Edited December 23, 2007 by Rastajedi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rastajedi Posted December 23, 2007 Author Share Posted December 23, 2007 ok , now for the base, which consists of a four way plug outlet for the fans to connect to , three cable glands , one for mains in, the other for the thermostat, and the other for the 4way, i decided to put an inline 1amp fuse between the mains and the variacs to stop any overload, all the neutrals come together under 1 terminal, as does the earth from mains in and the 4way going to the fans, the live mains in connects to the 2 live in's on the variacs, the 2 variable outlets from each of the variacs connect to terminals 1 and 3 on the thermostat and terminal 2 is your live output to the fans..easy Rj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scribb|e Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 That's a sweet, neat piece of kit you've built there, RJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rastajedi Posted December 23, 2007 Author Share Posted December 23, 2007 Cheers Scribble, tbh i could have made it cheaper by using just one variac and having it switch to 240v on max , i would have also been able to use a small housing which would have saved a few quid, but since i cant be there 24 hrs it takes alot of the stress away knowing that the temps should be quite stable at lights on and off, i reckon it would cost around the £55 mark for a single variac controller, more money could be saved if the fans where hardwired in, but by having the 4 way it means you dont have to unscrew the thing if you want to add more fans or move to another grow room, Rj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scraglor Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 dude, sweeeet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rastajedi Posted December 23, 2007 Author Share Posted December 23, 2007 Thanks Whazzup, and a big thank you to you Scraglor for inspiring me with your knowledge and advice...orders are now being taken... Rj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Sheriff Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Spot on Rastajedi see you have been a busy boy , i have strange visions of you though with that Santa hat on working away feverishly , like a little elf , wait a min it don't look like a vision no more , top job mate . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rastajedi Posted December 24, 2007 Author Share Posted December 24, 2007 Hey Sheriff, so you've been havin fantasies about me in my hat , i have mate, been busy that is, i've been lucky to get the house to myself over the last few days, what with mrs Rj n the kids floatin around, i would have liked to use a more stylish housin than the borin grey thing from bnq, but with christmas and a whole new grow room to sort its been a case of get it done and dusted, thanks for the kind words buddy , Rj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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