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@matthewsavin6486
4 күн бұрын
I need a variac in a hurry so I ordered one of these after watching - very helpful video. Earned my subscription, thank you sir
@erikburman530
7 ай бұрын
Wow! This is fascinating! I bought a similar looking Variac on Amazon several years ago. They had the gall to claim it was isolated. It says so right on the front panel so it must be true. Right? No frik'n way! But I knew at the time that wasn't true. I bought it anyway. Says it's rated at 1000VA. It seems to work fine. So I built a contraption to work on tube radios. I plug the Chinese Variac into a true isolation transformer and then I plug a dim-bulb setup into the Variac. I use a plugin Wattmeter to monitor volts and amps feeding into the dim-bulb setup and that into feeds whatever radio I'm working on. Seems to do the job right. At least I imagine that it's all good. Now I'm going to need to open this monstrosity up and see what horrors lie within.
@tomaskey6844
8 ай бұрын
I’m still happy with my purchase and am even excited to dig through my parts boxes and mod it before ever plugging it in. It’s still in the box. I think I have a large analog voltmeter that I’d have to mount externally. The outlet will get removed and smashed open for inspection and replaced with a good quality one. A 15 amp circuit breaker and quality power cord. Proper grounding and was thinking I might add an external ground stud.
@MikesRadioRepairRestoration
8 ай бұрын
The volt meters are a big help. You can see your output rise and line voltage increases. You can see it from a distance and dont have to put your face right up against it to see it. Very handy.
@vintagetubeamplifiers
10 ай бұрын
This is why I originally bought a used Staco on eBay then upgraded to a B&K 1655 for $75 from OfferUp.
@gaateman
10 ай бұрын
Good grief - I have this exact unit! Following along intently, I'll be fixing mine as well. Nice work.
@JasonsLabVideos
10 ай бұрын
CHINA! Respect to you for showing us all how crappy the product is from factory !! Sad isn't it.
@spinnerbaitalways
4 ай бұрын
mine is just like the one in picture!!!
@JLinnooxs
8 ай бұрын
Everything I get from amazon/china has to be checked .I got the 5 amp version same thing . One other question Is the transformer really built for 20 amps ? don't look like it.
@MikesRadioRepairRestoration
8 ай бұрын
If you watched the entire video, it got tested to 15 amps after repair. It held up fine at 15 amps but I wouldnt trust it to run continuous at that level. But it would run 10 amps fine at 100% duty cycle.
@donnaankstitus7092
5 ай бұрын
I bought the isolated 20A version of this unit. Since I designed power transformers for 15yrs I could see that the transformer itself is properly wound and insulated. The secondary (variable output) coil is wound over the primary coil providing isolation. Thats where the good news ends. The rest of the unit is typical Chinese junk. Color coding is wrong, case is not sufficiently grounded, power cord was glued in place, poor soldering....just as was seen here. That fuse holder current rating is inappropriate and has no UL marks. The same goes for the power outlets. What a disaster. I will say however that it is common practice to use a power cord one AWG smaller than what the transformer is wound with.
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