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A little electricity in my life...with excitement.

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Tom Windsor

04-25-2007 20:26:47




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I decided to bench test this magneto that I have. It had been setting for who knows how long but when I opened it up, it was clean and neat inside. So, I decided to give it a little bench test.

I had an extra drive assembly around here so I attached it to the magneto and put it in the vice. I took the top cover off. I hooked a piece of #12 wire to the side of the metal building and held the other end in my hand as I began to spin the magneto with my electic drill. I then brought my left hand and the wire towards the nipple on top....blue flame came sooting out of there over to the wire and it was getting to me somehow through the drill...the spark was a pretty blue and it knocked me backwards...I inspected that hot horseshoe fast and dropped both the wire and drill to the floor!

My educated guess is...the magneto is good.

:-)

Tom Windsor

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J.J. from Afton

04-26-2007 21:00:10




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Tom Windsor, 04-25-2007 20:26:47  
A couple weeks ago at school my friend and the teacher were trying to start a John Deere B. There was a small fuel puddle under the tank from when they were turning it over. When it wouldn't start erhy decided to check the spark Th spark jumed from the end of the wire and lit up the puddle of gas. Luck enough the B was right next to the column with a fre extinguisher, otherwise if it had been much longer we might not have a shop.

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Andy Motteberg

04-26-2007 10:17:44




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Tom Windsor, 04-25-2007 20:26:47  
Yes, sounds like it has good spark. Once I put a condenser out of a van into the tractor mag and started turning the mag by my hand and (((((((( OUCH ))))))))))!!! LOTS OF SPARK (too much)! must have been that van condenser. There was current going through the whole mag and it flew a spark from the points and the coil. The mag was only turned one time around when that happened. That was a Wico X mag off a B John Deere. The mag works just normal with the little condenser in it!!

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El Toro

04-26-2007 09:25:58




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Tom Windsor, 04-25-2007 20:26:47  
third party image

Here's a mag that won't bite you. The magnets have lost their magnetism. Hal



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Janicholson

04-26-2007 08:48:40




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Tom Windsor, 04-25-2007 20:26:47  
A neighbor tried to put out a small chaff fire on our SP125 Combine with "natural water" as the stream ran out, it crossed the #1 sparkplug. The IHC mag output was rerouted to the electrolite laden fluid. He would not talk to anyone for several days. JimN



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Hugh MacKay

04-26-2007 14:05:06




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Janicholson, 04-26-2007 08:48:40  
Jim: That is the same reaction we got from an annoying young kid that started school, the year I was about 11. We talked him into peeing on farmers electric fence along school yard. He didn't talk much for about a week, but at least in our case he was not annoying either. Not suggesting your neighbor was annoying.

Some years later, my wife heard me telling that story. She suggested maybe that was the reason Fred had such a high pitched voice. She had Fred as a student when she came to our community to teach school. She declared he was still annoying at 16 years of age. I can only assume the shock treatment will not cure annoying.

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Jimer

04-26-2007 15:51:20




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Hugh MacKay, 04-26-2007 14:05:06  
I went to college with an older student. He said they had trouble with the neighbors dog always coming over. He set a spare time up against the light pole and hooked an electric fencer up to it. Guess that took care of the dog coming over!



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KT in NE

04-26-2007 06:25:16




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Tom Windsor, 04-25-2007 20:26:47  
One time when I was a kid we had a mag that we thought was giving us problems. My dad took it off and took it to the old mechanic in town. The old guy took hold of the wire that went to the distributor cap, and snapped it over about six times. He jumped a little each time, then handed it back to my dad and said "nothing wrong with that mag".
Every time I hear someone talking a bout a mag I laugh a little.

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neblinc

04-26-2007 06:20:55




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Tom Windsor, 04-25-2007 20:26:47  
The perils of Tom the Tractor Tinkerer ; )

Randy



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City-Boy McCoy

04-26-2007 02:06:48




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Tom Windsor, 04-25-2007 20:26:47  
Let's see now, Tom: 1) The buzz-saw thumb incident; 2) The tractor steering linkage incident, and now; 3) The famous "Blue arc over N. Carolina" incident. I am encouraged by the fact I am not the only one..... (LOL) Be careful, buddy. Mike



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old

04-25-2007 20:59:52




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Tom Windsor, 04-25-2007 20:26:47  
Well if a mag is good and has a good impulse on it you don't even need the drill to light you up like that. Just turn it till the impulse trips and you will jump back from it fast.



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Hugh MacKay

04-26-2007 03:35:58




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to old, 04-25-2007 20:59:52  
old: Your right, one day about 50 years ago my dad and I were putting new plugs in Wisconsin on IH 45 baler. As I was putting the last plug wire on he grabbed the hand wheel to turn it to the best spot to start from. He had that spot marked with a dab of green paint. It fired while I still had my hand on the plug wire. Got to be the worst shock I ever got from a spark plug, and I've received many since from distributor ignitions. We knew one thing for certain, there was fire to the plugs, I didn't have to explain how good the spark was either.

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Bob M

04-26-2007 06:05:27




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Hugh MacKay, 04-26-2007 03:35:58  
Hugh - Your tale reminds me of my father in law. Years ago he was cleaning grease/dirt off the outside of a supposedly "dead" irrigation pump mag using his normal method (gasoline and a paint brush).

Somehow while handling the mag he gave the impulse a half-turn backward. The mag threw enough spark through his hand to set the magneto and the sleeves of his coveralls on fire.

Fortunately this happened near the welding bench where there was a fire extinguisher. A hired man alertly grabbed the extinguisher and put the fire out. All my father in law suffered was 2nd degree burns to both hands, a ruined set of coveralls and a good scare.

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Chris from Wa

04-26-2007 17:57:17




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Bob M, 04-26-2007 06:05:27  
This reminds me of an electrical class in my high school auto shop. The instructor got everyone in a circle and had everyone hold hands, which was a major feat. He had the first person hold the hot lead and the last person touch ground. As he flipped the magneto over, he cautioned us not to let go. He delighted in watching the whole class jump in unison. Finally two people let go during mid charge and got zapped the hardest.

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Glenn F.

04-26-2007 04:14:04




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Hugh MacKay, 04-26-2007 03:35:58  
...and people say Mags are doggy...!

Glenn



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Nat 2

04-26-2007 06:14:35




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Glenn F., 04-26-2007 04:14:04  
No way man, mags give you the best spark of anything out there, even these modern electronic ignitions can't match the intensity of a good magneto.



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Glenn F.

04-26-2007 09:28:35




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 Re: A little electricity in my life...with excitem in reply to Nat 2, 04-26-2007 06:14:35  
Darn right!



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