I'm interested in operating a 36volt 400 watt bulb off of a 120vac household current source. Is a transformer necessary, or can the voltage reduction be made by a wire-wound rheostat (or pot?)? Is there a better way? In the end, I need about 11-12 amps of 36 volt power to the bulb. Any help or guidance would be appreciated. Thanks, Smoke Eater
Thanks, SY, I just seem to have trouble finding a transformer that takes 120vac and outputs 36 with at least 11 amps. Either I'm not searching for it correctly or they don't make many. Is an 11 amp output asking a lot of a transformer? Or should I be looking for some other "factor" that would help me properly size it? 
Thanks Christer, I'll start searching by "400va" and see if I can turn up any that have 35-36 volt secondary. I'm just looking for an inexpensive way to upgrade from a 24volt 275watt halogen bulb to a 36volt 400w bulb.
Question for SY (and anyone else), Is the heat generated by the resistance of the rheostat greater than what would be generated by a transformer? I guess what I'm asking is, are transformers more capable of dealing with the heat, or do they not create as much heat as a rheostat? (I always thought that a transformer worked similar to a rheostat, just using more windings and not adjustable ) Thanks for you help, Smoke Eater
Question for SY (and anyone else), Is the heat generated by the resistance of the rheostat greater than what would be generated by a transformer? I guess what I'm asking is, are transformers more capable of dealing with the heat, or do they not create as much heat as a rheostat? (I always thought that a transformer worked similar to a rheostat, just using more windings and not adjustable
) Thanks for you help, Smoke Eater
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