Solenoid connectivity

[treefrog]

I really should not have left school at 9, well that was when my focus moved from education to others things.......

Looking again at the state of the first coil, the coating on the wire has degraded all over the place. These coils are not designed to last for sure, especially with a lump of metal shooting up and down them....probably last longer on a motor maybe....

Interestingly the Awg guides for different wire thicknesses both coated and uncoated give readings close to my wire gauge...

AWG Gauge Diameter Resist per 1000ft Max Curr in air Max Curr In jacket

31 0.2261mm 130.10Ω 0.7A 0.113A
32 0.2032mm 164.10Ω 0.53A 0.091A

I think mine is AWG31 according to my micrometer on stripped wire although never know how hard to push the screw as of course copper is soft......looks like I now have to buy a kilo of that wire rating and see how well I can recoil these

[gameswat]

I pulled our old coil winding machine apart when we shut our factory down in 2000 as barely used it anymore, was just a recycled Singer sewing motor with foot pedal control and a framework to easily bolt on and off the coil former onto a spindle, and a seperate rod to hold the feed spool. Plus an old mechanical counter attached to count revolutions when you wanted that. You just slowly moved the spool back and forth to evenly coat the former. I did keep the many different rolls of new wire leftover though. When I have to make them these days which is very occasionally I just use a battery hand drill with the former attached on a bolt. With the spool on a rod held in place on a vice, then move the drill back and forth to evenly coat the former. I usually don't even bother with particular number of windings, either I go by length of old wire if I can unwind it, or just diameter of the original coil. And if I need a wire gauge I don't have new on the spool I just take an existing good cond pinball coil that I have hundreds of and use that as the donation spool.

[reject]

Friends, I don't wish to be a clever clogs, but I think we are missing the point. This coil is working in an AC circuit and Ohms law will not apply. Because the coil is inductive it will have an impedance (denoted Z) not resistance both of which are measured in Ohms.

[JC]

Hmm, well I sort of agree and disagree, but either way, I think you're missing the point! Firstly, you say the solenoid is operating in an AC circuit - do you know that for sure? Although I can't be certain, as I only own one Jameisons machine and I don't have access to it right now, I'm pretty sure it's DC, with possibly the light bulbs operating on a separate AC circuit.
That aside, given that poor Tom didn't even understand what 170 meant when testing for continuity, the last thing I would want to do is introduce such terms as inductance, impedance and reactance - and of course, he was testing the coil out of circuit. I was merely giving him an idea of what sort of current he might expect a coil of a given resistance to draw. The resistance of any coil is what it is when tested out of circuit, and whether operating in an AC or DC circuit, Ohm's law still basically applies - in so much that, at a constant voltage the greater resistance, the less current will be drawn.

[reject]

But AC is not a constant voltage.

[JC]

But AC is not a constant voltage.

And the current isn't constant either. But in a resistive circuit, there will be a constant ratio between voltage and current. OK, so the resistance in the curcuit is an inductor, but in the absence of capacitance, voltage and current will be in phase, and at such a low frequency, in my view, Ohm's law is still valid.
But you really have missed the point! This isn't an electrical engineering forum - it's about slot machines, and about giving a little help to those who do not have your knowledge. By all means, do the complex calculations (I won't, because I can't be arsed). We'll say a supply of 24v and a coil resistance of 24 ohms - that's really easy applying Ohm's law. How much different will your answer be?

Jerry

P.S. we still haven't established that it is actually an AC circuit. The more I think about it, I'm pretty sure it's DC

[badpenny]

Hi Reject ….. Welcome to the forum

BP

[treefrog]

I have to admit I had no idea what voltage the coil operated on and assume it was reduced due to a large transformer in the machine, but looking at Stuart’s very useful guide on the Rotopool, I think if reading correctly the solenoid coil and large bulb are actually behind the transformer and 240vac.....also after the transformer it looks like the bulbs are vac as well......

I might see if I can trace the wires in some of mine to the coil and confirm.....