A run of five 50 KV supplies were to be delivered with a resistive dummy load. I didn't skimp. The tube took 35KW so I got 40KW worth of Dale brand water-cooled 5KW resistors. Suddenly we found ourselves guinea-pig testing duds. Dale had trouble getting the line off the ground. Those resistors broke for every reason; they broke for no reason. And our customer specification only called out stoppage of power dissipating activities for a coolant fault. Shutting off coolant wasn't planned. So load-rupture meant flooding. Finally Dale had a good design. But I was still breaking them. Then my pal Jake made me ease up and stay within the ETM derating policy (up to 80% of rating). Dale didn't meet the specifications they published. Our customer specification didn't mention a power rating. What they got did aproximate the actual load. So we were done.
Customer enthusiasm was lackluster. Our resistive nemesis was dismantled shortly after acceptance. They saw our 100KW tetrode load and had to have one. It was the real answer. My foray into resistor operation was humbling indeed. But I wouldn't accept the humilliation of failure. Victory, however fleeting, was bittersweet. At least now I can say I successfully operated the resistor. My thank's go out to Jacob Thampan for his unwavering support on that job. |