lurch said:
in message
That makes a fuse tester. A resistor
would work better.
Size? Not nearly enough info.
A resistor would limit the energy you are putting through the coil. The
key is the resistance of the coil and the power rating. Also, the
circuitry of the pulser will also limit the current. The series
resistance of the coil and the pulser circuitry will be the max current.
Fuse or use a quick acting circuit breaker just above that current.
How long is the pulse. The leading edge of the pulse will be at a lower
current because of the inductance. If the pulse is quick enough you
dump less energy than if the current reaches steady state.
Are you putting a long train of pulses into the coil, or only a couple?
The power dissipation number of the coil is for steady state, which
is a function of duty cycle. You need to factor in the duty cycle for
steady state. If only a few pulses, the value given for the coil power
dissipation is not really applicable.
Also, are you using the voltage rating of the coil, or are you dumping a
lot of overvoltage into it- i.e, are you using a 12 volt battery on a 3
volt coil?