Isolation of mains xformers from circuit for headamp

[Petman]

Hi!

I've got a little existencial doubt. In europe the mains voltage is 220V. It happens that i'm going to build a Morgan Jones headamp based design found in headwize.com that uses 220V. I don't think that it's safe to connect the circuit directly to the mains socket, BUT, using 2 20VA transformers for isolation gets a bit heavy. Any sugestions?
BTW, A xformer rated at, say, 20VA means what? It's power (P=VxA)?

Thanks!!

 

[paulb]

A 20 VA transformer is not very large. Yes, it means Volt-Amps (AC). This is not the same as DC power in Watts, for various reasons. After conversion to DC, you can count on getting about half the AC VA as DC power in Watts.
Don't skip the isolation transformer. It's essential for safety.

And one more thing:
Don't skip the isolation transformer. It's essential for safety.