[garykuster]

Hi all,
I’m looking to purchase a variac and noticed that come in 5 amp and 10 amp. Which one should I get?

Thanks Gary Kuster

[Tony F]

Hi Gary,
It depends on what you plan on working on. If you are going to stick to antique radios (115 volt variety) then the 5 amp will be fine. If you plan on doing car radios, 6 volt and 12 volt, then you might need more than 5 amps. I have a 6-12 volt Eico power supply here and some of the solenoids in 6 volt car radios need a lot of current to engage. Just my 2 cents
Tony

[garykuster]

Thanks Tony,
I plan to stay with Antique radios. 5 amp it is.

Gary In Montreal

[Sterling Spurrell]

Gary for me it would be the 10amp and that way you are covered if you require that extra amperage .

[garykuster]

I’m easy 🙂 I ordered the 10 Amp.

[Don Henschel]

My thoughts as well on the 10 amp! It usually doesn’t cost much more for 10 from what I discovered searching for one a year ago. Not only was I looking for decent current handling I also got one that is 110 in and up to 240 volts out because some of my European radios operate on 240-260 volts so this was an easy way to bump up the voltage as well as have a variable power supply for creating smaller smoke signals. They vary greatly on ePay for price and in many cases the sellers don’t even know what they are used for other than a door stop.

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