According to :
Hi all,

I need one, or possibly two, variacs. I've got a couple but they're
open-frame and I'm fed up of having to put them in an enclosure and
switch off the power to adjust them.

Huh? Switch off the power to adjust them? What are you doing,
adjusting by gripping and rotating the brush carrier? Any one you find
should accept an insulated shaft (if genuine General Radio Variac), or
with a built-in metal shaft (with other brands, which are called
Powerstat or other similar names. "Variac" is not truly a generic term,
but rather a brand name. I don't know what happened to General Radio
who made them, but that is who used to make them.

Anyway -- the shaft comes out through the panel, and you can
handle it with power on or off. the GR ones were insulated with a steel
core, the brush holder is insulated from the shaft with the Powerstat
and other models. Each company had their own private knob design. I
really liked the GR knobs -- on lots of things, not just the Variacs.

Plus I'm planning to build them
into a power supply and I'd like another for experiments. I'm looking
for an enclosed, bench variac in a 240 V / 10 A rating or higher. I
also might need a 415 V / 10 A variac in the future, but this could be
open-frame, and I might consider a faulty three phase unit. Let me know
if you have anything available, or know of any good sources of surplus.

If I had a 10A 240V one, I would be building into something else
on my own. Besides -- the shipping would be a kiler from here.

Good Luck,
DoN.

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