Date: Sat, 17 May 2014 10:04:25 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Off topic Friday question on switches...Capacitance vs.
Inductance
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Capacitance and inductance are completely opposite effects. Basically
capacitance is used to resist changes in voltage while inductance is
resistance to change in current. The effects related to frequency. For you
charger having in in-rush that was due to the load of the capacitors getting
charged but likely that was after a transformer and rectifier. The
inductance and resistance, (combined impedance) of transformer reduces this
in rush. Once in the AC world things can get complicated.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Gnarlodious
Sent: Friday, May 16, 2014 8:19 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Off topic Friday question on switches...
So its called "split phase", that would make more sense for a home workshop.
If the motor has a low-torque startup delay in the broken switch then he
needs a special switch or risk motor damage and causing voltage dropouts in
the neighborhood If the motor has a shaded-pole type delay built into the
motor, he can use a regular two phase switch. Or rather, a dual contact
switch for 2-wire.
I would just say that using the plug as an on-off switch is a bad idea as
you can get arcing burns on your plug and socket and end up replacing them
later. Until then, burned contacts can generate heat and be a fire hazard.
I actually had this problem in my Vanagon with my old Iota battery charger.
When I plugged in the van capacitors (inductive load) inside the charger
would pull so much power the brass contacts would spark. After a while I
figured out plugs and sockets were burning up and sizzling causing a hazard.
And the problem was contagious, when you plug in a good extension to one
that has been burned it starts to burn the good wire, so after a while all
your wires are trashed at the ends. So a few months ago I installed a new
modern charger that doesn't spark when plugged in, problem solved.
So a plug is not meant to be a switch for inductive loads, due to the high
inrush current.
-- Gnarlie
On Fri, May 16, 2014 at 5:04 PM, David Beierl <dbeierl@attglobal.net> wrote:
> At 06:43 PM 5/16/2014, Gnarlodious wrote:
>
>> Modern homes have 2-phase service to run resistive loads like clothes
>> dryers or water heaters, which use a special huge socket. The service
>> box is 2-phase but wired for single-phase loads. Except for the dryer
>> and oven, which tap across 2 phases. You won't find any large
>> inductive loads in residential homes
>>
>
> Ok, we're talking about the same thing but disagreeing about what to
> call it. I really don't see how it's legitimate to call the output of
> a single transformer winding "two-phase" if you're not using the
> center tap, as you are not when you hook up 220V loads in US domestic
> service. Suppose that instead of grounding the neutral wire you grounded
one of the hot wires.
> Now it would stay at earth potential and you'd have a 110V hot from
> the center tap and a 220V hot from the other end of the winding --
> both exactly in phase. But leaving aside the practicalities of safety
> making this arrangement undesirable, you haven't actually changed
anything.
>
> I think "split-phase" is a useful way to describe how we wire houses
> in the US, and "two phase" is not; especially when there are actual
> two-phase systems still in use in this country.
>
> Yours,
> David
>
