A Short in the Coil...

[CosmicFarmer]

This thread will be about the discussion about the various and best ways of rapidly finding where the short in a coil is, and what to do to fix it.

Smaller coils are easier to repair, but what happens when you decide to make the mega 40 lb. 'er and when your done your ohm metter finds a short? Thats alot of wire.

One sugguestion which might not be the fastest way would be take the coil outside to your laundry line, unroll it out, and visually inspect the wires.

But where is the short? For a bifilar coil you could try connecting battery leads to either end of the wire and running a conductor across the 2 wires untill a LED lights up... Or send high voltage through the wires and you feel a shock where all the insulation got scraped off? Thats one way of doing it but my poor fingers

A violet ray discharge to the conducting end would be the softest HV I could imagine, something that might not hurt you.

But heres my question. What is the best insulator to seal up a coil with? I have been using nail polish but that chips off when its dry if its thick.

Does anyone have better ideas (for cheap) of finding spots in your coils?

Thanks :-)

[Inquorate]

Permanent marker pen

Apparently a permanent marker pen works to patch up the enamel coating on wire, or you could try enamel craft glue, it's a clear glue with high enamel content and an overpowering smell.

You could make a machine to test the wire for you. Put the coil on a bearing, have the wire going thru two pulley wheels (like for sliding doors; I've seen them in big hardware stores) one higher than the other, or more sideways. Or use four wheels.

then have the wire going to a metal spool, and have the wire end stripped and contacting the spool.

Use those bendy razor blades to contact the spool and the wheels. Have the spool rigged up to a battery.

Have the wheels hooked up to a PNP transistor base.

The collector and emitter are between a battery and the motor that turns the spool; you'll need a pot to adjust the speed at which the coil is unwound.

When the + signal travels thru the short from the spool to the transistor, it throws a switch and the spool stops unwinding.

It could also re-wind the coil for you afterwards

Love and light

[CosmicFarmer]

Hmm, sounds good.

What about hooking a battery up, a - end to a soft steel wool and the + to a resistor, light, and both ends of the coil. one end tied to a rotating post with drill and helper, and the other end held as it unwinds? The steel wool is one large conductor and the resistor would prevent it from catching fire in your hand. You would look at the light and when it lights up paint the whole area, because there may be smaller spots nearby. I have alot of #0000 steel wool already.

That machine sounds like a positive investment in time, but when I have more space. I made a coil winder and had to leave it in a move. Interesting find for new tenant. So I'm saying that puzzle peice wont fit in my housing puzzle right now :-)

Thank you for your quick reply

[thedude]

urethane

Hi Cosmic.
I'm a floorlayer by trade and always have a few different types of linoleum urethane on hand.
I just finished wrapping a 6" PVC with 1100 windings of awg 26 and i used a new type of urethane product to coat the entire coil that i noticed bonded very well to the existing clear enamel that was on the magnet wire i used. The product i used is called "IVC - flex-seal" and it should be available any where that armstrong or congoleum linoleum is sold for their "cushion step" or "cushion backed" vinyl. I would recommend using this product specifically and not a traditional single or dual part urethane seam sealer as it is not a solvents based urethane and cleans easily with water but drys clear and strong. As far as the insulative properties of this kind of repair i would not be certain but i imagine the more coats the better.

[CosmicFarmer]

After years of work I have found the cheapest method for the average joe.

First off, nail polish, like any other cosmetic or chemtrail, has metalic particles that increase conductivity. Never use nail polish.

The cheapest method might be to hook a battery to a piezo speaker to a steel wool, and the other end of battery to the wire in question. run the wool over the wire. when you hear screaching, you may use your insulator of choice, but electric tape works.

Then, knowing you have faulty wire, wind each layer and when finished, put some cellophane around the inductor and wind ontop of that.

If you have some fancy spray insulation that would work well too.