I am looking to buy a new variac. Does anyone here know if a good one. Have a good one for sale. How good is the Jaycar one?

I have no experience of the the Jaycar model, which is limited to 2 amps.

Here's a better deal in terms of amps per dollar. Can't speak for the seller though: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/362484865703

(Be great if variac manufacturers put ammeters on their gear.)

There are two here Jaycar one is alright for what I do feels a bit rough & its power switch is a traditional GMH slop fit as opposed to the Bombay special here also: It has no meters, outputs to two terminals, tad more current but is beautifully made and actually says its an auto transformer. Neutral & Line marked on the terminals. No visible fuse.

called a "Dimmerstat"

Marc

QUOTE: called a "Dimmerstat"

I have two Dimmerstats, both ex North Sydney TAFE. One was beyond repair and is a parts donor. The I other had to repair one by twisting wire together where a student presumably had overloaded it.

My workhorse is a Warburton Franki 8 amp model, like this one: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/132949209457

If I needed a variac I'd buy that WF one. Shame about the price - I'd buy it just for the heck of it if it was $200.00.

I haven't seen a Dimmerstat since my apprenticeship days.

‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

You will note a heap of sellers have that sort of Variac on ebay.
The one in the link looks like a stablemate of the model Jaycar sold while I was there.
I have 3 of the "red terrors" in workshops and use them when required.
They are not a heavy industrial type intended for constant use.
I have a Westinghouse brand variac on my main workbench and it is industrial quality.

The Red things used to be badly put together mainly in the brushgear area and needed fettling to work 100%.
The early batches were 230 volt centre design.
The magnetising current hit the roof if the applied voltage exceeded 260 volt and they burn out.

That was fixed in subsequent batches. A big problem in some areas in Sydney as pole line transformers were set to 260 volt, I MEASURED THIS in North Sydney. Cop that! In those areas light bulbs had a short bright life if they were cheapo types.

I would guess that what Jaycar sell now would be well sorted, they were OK by me when I left, customer returns had dropped to accident damage only.

Fred.

Carl I have a variac, it's one of the Indian made ones and it can handle 200VA. I haven't used it in at least 20 years.

You could have it for the cost of postage but I suspect that would be the same as the cost of a Jaycar one purchased locally.

For restoration work I have no need for it, the Dim Bulb technique works fine for me. It was originally purchased to test for brownout resistance - in other words would the processor re-start reliably if the power came up slowly? This is not an issue for me any more with modern uCs, I can design in this performance.

I haven't seen a Dimmerstat since my apprenticeship days.

They are still in production: http://www.aelindia.com/index.php/dimmerstat/

Ian I might contact you about that. Mine is british built and is probably repairable if I can find the parts. It won't push past 200 volts. I ran a little american set rated at 110 volt to 117 volt on It and at 110 volts on the meter it didn't start . I put my multimeter into the paperboard I was running it from and the voltage read 120 volts before the multimeter registered 110 volts and the little radio started

I also have some 240v to 110v transformers.

Most of my 240 to 110 transformers are that & one other 220V is the one to beware of as its an auto transformer one other can be re configured to take 240 up to 400+.

One came with a 110V Heathkit GDO; Bit of a safety improvement & overhaul was needed with that lot before use.

Had a look at the Indian site. Design has not changed, plenty like mine: Then, why the hell would you change it for the sake of change when it is so good.

Well my variac is back up to full health . It just needed a service