At 01:35 AM 9/6/96 -0400, Nickbk@aol.com wrote:
>Fellow shop-rats...
>
> I vaguely remember Mr. Pflueger's shop class, wherein he taught
> us about putting E, I and R in a circle, so that you could choose
> one and find the others. Unfortunately, I remember nothing else.
If you want a refresher check out the electricity primer article
under restoration articles on the Morgan Web Page:
http://www.team.net:80/www/morgan/
...
> I thought that in the entire Radio Shack store, someone could
> tell me how many amps a 125 volt ac 10 amp switch would handle
> when run on 12 volts dc. I was wrong, not only couldn't anyone
> even venture a guess, but they called their "tech" support line
> for me, and after 20 minutes on hold, I was >rewarded with this > "pearl
of wisdom" ..."we don't know "!
>
> So how about it guys ? I know we have more than a few "electrical"
> type guys out there. Help the electrically challanged.
There is an old saying that a Rose is a Rose is a Rose.
Well, amps is sortof like that. It is the measurement of
electrons passing a point certain point in a certain time.
The larger the number the more electrons are flowing.
The contacts on the switch must be sized to handle the desired
current flow. So 10 amps is 10 amps. Just like 10 gal of gas
is 10 gal of gas.
The voltage rating is another component. Voltage is the *push*
on the electrons. The higher the voltage the more energy they
have. So for a switch to act like a switch and stop the current
flow, the air gap in the switch must be large enough to NOT let
the voltage push the electrons across the gap.
A spark plug is an open switch. However, we hit it with 22,000+
volts and the electrons can jump across the gap.
As long as you switch is rated higher than the intended use there
should be no problem. 12V < 125V and your current < 10 amps
your OK.
The only other item is the power the switch can handle.
Power = Voltage * Current.
Hope this helps.
John
John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair@exis.net
Va. Beach, Va Phone: (757) 495-8229
48 TR1800 48 #4 Midget 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V
75 Bricklin SV1 77 Spitfire
The one with the most toys, wins!
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