Discovering Toroid Secondary Voltages

[vdi_nenna]

I have 3 Amveco toroids, but Amveco won't tell me what the wire color codes are because these toroids were custom made and do not disclosed this info to 3rd parties.

What's a safe way to test toroid transformer secondaries not connected to a circuit? It has several secondary taps. It can be wired as 28v or 15v at 4.67 amps.

I want to wire it for low volts and high current, but not sure what wire goes where.

Thanks,

Vince

 

[jnb]

First, use your ohmmeter to find what's connected to what, and draw a wiring diagram.

Then, run a low voltage to the primaries. You can use a spare amp to feed it, for example 60Hz 12V (or whatever is one tenth of your outlet voltage), then multiply your secondary voltage readings by 10.

 

[leadbelly]

I want to wire it for low volts and high current, but not sure what wire goes where.

Remember that only identical secondaries can (effectively) be wired in parallel.

 

[vdi_nenna]

Remember that only identical secondaries can (effectively) be wired in parallel.

That's what I'm worried about.

 

[TheMG]

I usually use a function generator. Fairly low current output, so no danger at all. Might not be the best for very large toroids though.

Failing that (as I don't always have access to a function generator), I just do what jnb said and use an amp to power it with a 60Hz test tone.