>From: Chris Johns <lc-johns@xxxxxxxx>
>
>... I
>decided I liked the suggestions presented by certain members of this group
>to make my own. So, I proceeded to put together a lightweight AA version...
>...it works, in the sense that my modeling lights in the T-10 run off
>it just fine...
>... after having
>it on for a minute (at most) the coil and BATTERIES are as hot as charcoal
>in a barbeque!
This sounds like a short -- are you SURE that the modelling lights were
actually working while it was getting hot? My guess is that the plug on the
end is shorted, which would explain the cord and batteries getting hot, but
the modellings lamps would NOT be working in such a case.
>... My first thought is that
>the coil wire? caused the problem...it's for a small appliance...
Very unlikely. You say it is for an appliance, so my guess is that it is at
least 18 gauge. (See if the wire has lettering on it with a number like 16,
18, or 20, etc., possibly followed with "AWG" for American Wire Gague.) My
T-10 draws only one amp -- any wire of practical size should work without
heating.
Alkaline AA cells should supply one amp for one to two hours without
overheating.
>Maybe the
>resistance is not enough (or too much??)
For a power wire, you can never have too little resistance. The fact that
the batteries got hot also means you probably don't have too much
resistance. I'd say the wire is fine -- check your plug. Since you are
inexperienced at soldering, by guess is a wire came loose inside the plug
after you tested it the first time.
>Polarity shouldn't be an issue, and I made every effort to match that
>(positive to the central pole??) OOPS. Could THAT be the problem? I thought
>it didn't matter with the T-10...
Polarity should not matter for the lamps, especially if they were working.
(There's an outside chance there's a polarity protection diode in there,
but in that case, the lamps would not light.) It would for a Winder, or
anything that contains active electronics (vs passive things like lamps).
So the troubling part of this problem is if the lights are actually working
while the batteries get hot, then it is not a short, but if the lamps are
only drawing one amp, then the wire and batteries should not get hot. If
you are CERTAIN the lamps were working WHILE the wire and batteries got
hot, then some joker changed the lamps -- and at what they must be
dissipating to let the cable get hot, you're gonna melt the whole T-10! :-)
: Jan Steinman <mailto:jans@xxxxxxxxxxx>
: 19280 Rydman Court, West Linn, OR 97068-1331 USA
: +1.503.635.3229
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