Hi guys.. I'm new enough to steam toys that I've never owned one that was electric heated.. They seem convenient for winter time indoor use.. Just an observation I had a question about. I watch a lot of steam videos on the YouTube.. And I noticed some fellas have some sort of voltage rheostat devices between their boiler and the power supply.. What is the purpose / benefit? Can't you just plug the cord into the wall outlet? Where does one get such a contraption?
Sorry if this is a remedial question but I'm trying to learn.
Billy
Hi Billy, No need to apologize for asking.
There are no bad questions.
You are talking about a variac.
You can find them on ebay now costing a lot less than I originally paid.
Here's one for under $70 delivered.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Variac-US/283778928514You can also make one for most electrics with a 600 watt household lighting dimmer switch.
I'll add a picture of each.
Gil
Here are pictures of both.
The small one was made for me by IndianaRog.
He calls it the Dimminator. (first picture)
And a good variac from ebay. (second picture)
Gil
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Thanks Gil. I recognize the red one from your videos.. Excuse my ignorance but what is the purpose of this? To keep the water from boiling too heavily? Prolonging heating element life?
Thanks for responding!
Billy
most electrically heated Steam engines have ample enough power to keep the safety valve lifted most of the time, the variac reduces power thus prolongs run time, much like turning down the fuel on a gas or flame fired heat supply.
Hello Billy .... yes, both of the functions you suggest are true for the most part. The heating elements will likely last longer operating at lower temperatures, and the water boils softer as well, so that you can control the engine speed to a certain degree, especially helpful on engines without steam line throttles.
Another alternative is a device marketed as a router speed control. They are good for up to about 15 amps / 1800 watts and are found from various sources at around the $20 mark. Harbor Freight sells them for a bit more than that, as seen here:
https://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html ... but often has sales that brings the price down quite a bit. If you look around you'll likely find others at sale prices as well.
These units are good enough for most electric fired steam engines with only a single heating element, but some of the larger engines, like Gil often runs, have more than one, so these little units may not be enough.
I like them, and use them at least as much as my Big Red Variac.
Hope this helps.
If you want an American made variac, search "powerstat" on ebay and keep on eye out for one like what is pictured below. I gave $30 for mine and they often sell for $40-60... keep in mind they are $600+ new!
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Hello Billy .... yes, both of the functions you suggest are true for the most part. The heating elements will likely last longer operating at lower temperatures, and the water boils softer as well, so that you can control the engine speed to a certain degree, especially helpful on engines without steam line throttles.
Another alternative is a device marketed as a router speed control. They are good for up to about 15 amps / 1800 watts and are found from various sources at around the $20 mark. Harbor Freight sells them for a bit more than that, as seen here:
https://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html
I just clicked on this hit for the router- speed- control. Laughed like crazy. Click on it and scroll down to the reviews section, read the second one.
Where the guy say's, to be honest I bought this for my wife. Read the whole thing.
I use my Variac to bring old radios slowly to life. It is on the heavy side and does seem a bit over technical to simply boil water. It does work on my electric steam engines but i also have a router speed control and it does the job just as well. I like using a simple “Kill -A WAtt” style meter to tell the line voltage and watts. You can find those simple meters for under $20 new on Amazon.
I use the harbor freight router feed control and it works great.
