Dave,

--- You wrote:
Do Transformers go bad? Or what else might cause this problem?
--- end of quote --- 

Transformers can certainly go bad. They are simply lots of coiled solid wire
with very thin, varnish-like insulation, very similar to motors. They go bad in
the same way as motors, typically overloads, leading to overheating in the
windings, leading to wire insulation failure, leading to shorted windings.

I think transformers experience a start-up surge when first energized, also
similar to motors. In any case, I have seen them blow fuses when switched on. I
was told once, a transformer experiences different starting voltages/currents,
depending on it's precise time of connection to it's power sourse, relative to
the magnitude of the source voltage-current sine waves at that instant.  On a
closely fused unit, sometimes the fuse will blow on energizing, sometimes not.
Outside of the renewable energy field it is customary to keep most transformers
energized 24/7.  This of course minimizes the number of start-up surges it has
to sustain.

In any case, regardless of cause, it is quite possible the transformer has gone
bad. Swapping it out with a good one, of course, would tell.

I've tried to start a tablesaw with an undersized generator and heard a
horrible, rattling, vibration type of noise from the motor as it tried and
failed to come up to speed.

Hope this helps.

Dick Ratico
Solarwind Electric

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