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> solved thet by running the lighting on 220V with sets of two 110V bulbs in series A related tip is to build a "dim bulb tester" to help you diagnose short ci
by sokoloff 3y ago
> solved thet by running the lighting on 220V with sets of two 110V bulbs in series
A related tip is to build a "dim bulb tester" to help you diagnose short circuits on mains-powered equipment. I have a traditional incandescent lightbulb in a porcelain socket wired in series with an outlet (and a switch). A non-shorted load will tend to work pretty well as the cold/cool incandescent bulb is fairly low resistance in series with the load. A shorted load will light up the light bulb brightly but not trip any breakers, allowing the opportunity to do some troubleshooting on the bench.
I've also used this concept several times to find short circuits in house wiring. Put the dim bulb tester in series with the circuit that's shorted and then, using a non-contact voltage tester, find where the measurement on the NCVT changes. That's likely where your short is.
In building such a device, you're on your own liability-wise; please don't be dumb.
- mindslight 3y agoWhen I was a kid, I (ab)used this trick by wiring around a dozen 100 watt bulbs in parallel, between the line and a "probe". It was great fun for zapping whatever I wanted, writing stuff on metal, etc. In retrospect the biggest safety issue I missed was the light from the arc.