Well guys I think its time I finally invested in a Variac. They seem to go pretty cheap on Ebay. My question is what do you think would be a good amperage for what we use them for. Theres quite a spread on these from 2.5-20 amps. I would guess a 7.5-10 amp would be fine but id like your opinions. Also any brands to look out for good or bad? One lastthing I am on the look out for a tube tester too. The same questions apply fo this one. Any particular brands to watch for. Thanks

Dave

Good brands that I have lots of (industrial) experience with are Superior Electric and General Radio (aka GenRad). I'd probably go with a 7.5 - 10A unit, but you also can get a heckuva lot of use out of a 5A unit. About the only thing that wears out on them is the brush, which shouldn't be too hard to find if you need one.

To watch out for: If one has been run at full power at a single voltage setting for years, or if it has suffered severe overloading, the coil might be burned; if that's the case, pass on it.

Thanks Frost. I figured a 5 might be good enough but I am from the school of if 5 is good 10 is better:) I will keep an eye out for those brands.

Dave

What's the latest on the variac, did you get one? If so what do you think? I've toyed around with the idea myself. So that I can slowly apply juice to my precious vintage tubes, increasing their life. In the mean time I'm using a rectifier with a slow start up. Did you get my P.M. ?

MikE

Grumpy,
You really don't need one for SS gear since they are low voltage, but it sure won't hurt. If you are going to sell tube gear then I think you ought to have one and if anyone wants I will write out the proper way to do it as told to me by my mentor.

Mike,
I have not done it but have heard of guys using variacs to dial in the best voltage for the best performance of their gear or using one to counter voltage fluctuations over the line. I do think you will have to run a separate line for earth ground as I have never seen one that was earth grounded. I don't spend much time looking at variacs either so there could be some out there.

Thach

Thatch

Thanks for the offer. I have sold around 15-20 pieces and have atleast 5 -7 more pieces in my collection. I have alrady purchased a very nice quality step transformer and it works great for my need. I have talked to a old tech friend of mine who suggested That I just use the ole Light bulb track but I ran across my Viz IsoTap II at a garage sale for cheap. Thanks anyways..

Dave

Grump,
Welcome, and I know of the light bulb track trick. The thing is that you can't warm up an amp the same way you do a preamp or tuner and get the same results. Just in case you didn't know, or just in case you or someone else wants to know.
Best to you Dave,

Thatch