What is a Transformer? An Electrical Transformer Tutorial

The basics of how transformers work, where to shop for step down mains transformers, and how to wire one up to mains voltages. European and North American wiring is discussed. DO NOT FORGET TO ADD A FUSE. Finally, a quick example of AC to DC conversion in an unregulated dual rail power supply. Watch the followup video on diodes and AC to DC conversion here: • Diode Tutorial & How t...
Example transformer: www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASI...
Check out my website for more videos about electronics! www.afrotechmods.com

[@Jnglfvr]

Wait a minute. At 2:55 you have the formula backwards. Vout should be: Vin*Nsecondary/Nprimary.

[@Afrotechmods]

You are correct. I used to have an annotation explaining this but unfortunately KZbin removed annotations.

[@khaid12345]

​​​@@AfrotechmodsHes Alive! I used to watch your videos years ago as a kid and now Im studying EE in college, all because of you. Fucking legend.

[@AgentJayZ]

Your videos are among the clearest, most helpful I've yet found on YT. Thanks for doing such a great job at instructing. Great stuff!

[@mrjohhhnnnyyy5797]

There is an easy way to avoid fatalities. Connect incadescent bulb with power similar to power of transformer inline with primary. No load, all good - small current flowing, bulb is not glowing; something wrong (shorted windings, etc) bulb will light up and limit current to safe value. Works like a charm

[@JBrodo]

Seriously. Why couldn't they have just spelled things out like this in school? So much easier to understand. Thanks for the video!

[@therealb888]

Julia Kropp I like your channel description.

[@philp5013]

true

[@starcitizenmodding4436]

yep it is pretty serious :/

[@sbybill3271]

You are more attentive now ;)

[@TheMookie1590]

Even this old video is still good. Have a friend having his mind blown about how magnitism and electrical fields are almost one in the same and how you can have one without the other. Hes never been big on wanting to get into electronics, but magnitism instead. But this video even after all these years is still amazing. I pointed him towards this video because its still one of the best out there for a new guy. I wish you still uploaded on youtube. See youre still active tho, making a comment 4 months ago about annotations. When I was a young lad, your videos really taught me a ton. I miss your stuff.

[@skillfulpeople]

Completely useful, your tutorial is short, briefly describes the concept and gives examples of situations requiring a transformer. Thank you very much.

[@humayun891]

Yups This Guy is amazing Sharing the Beneficial knowledge out of the Theoretical Theory taught by teachers blindly

[@lambertoarmentarubio6811]

y

[@jamie5116]

jamieelectricalengineering.blogspot.com Easy to understand

[@hoofheartedicemelted296]

Not only was this explained very well and I understood it much better than any videos on transformers I watched previously, but Afrotechmods included the European voltage in the explanation. That was so thoughtful, not everyone does that and it leaves you wondering if in any given situation how would the values change. So many thanks sir. I thought I was already subscribed but I wasn't so now I have. This is a really good channel. All the best sir.

[@mephlesn5020]

I'm a first year automotive student, and we had to go over the basics of the electrical parts in a car, they kinda explained what a transformer was but they almost always called it an ignition coil and that's about it, just like magic happened in there, thank you for clearing so much stuff up.

[@jophable]

so whats your favorite kind of transformer Afrotechmods ? step up, step down, autobot or decepticon?

[@NOWUNITEDUPDATES]

jophable dad jokes but I’m laughing hard 😅👍🏻

[@universalsailor]

Yet again, a complete masterpiece ... superb!

[@dvsmile21]

The best narrative for a tutorial i have ever heard. Good job man. Keep it up.

[@ArmandtFourie]

Thank you for this video, nine years later and it's still useful!

[@RejanChitrakar]

Our so called lecturers need to watch these videos.

[@L2.Lagrange]

I really like this video. I've been spending the last week or two researching transformers for a project that I'm working on. I definitely plan watching this video again before I wire everything up

[@Waelsa2008]

The best video I've watched on the subject. Clear voice, excellent use of illustrations and pictures. Video shoots and pictures have good lighting. All around great informative video, I learned a lot. thank you very much.

[@jebatevrana]

Thank you so much! Been in world of confusion and this cleared it up for me! Beautiful tutorial, wealth of practical information, excellent storytelling. Keep it up.

[@KyleCarrington]

@Afrotechmods thanks! Your the man, I have learned tons from you, and I truly appreciate it! Merry Xmas

[@jorgewashington2981]

Great little vid on transformers. Thanks. Love the humor you inject into your vids.

[@mayureshkulkarni5664]

I always wanted teacher like you to teach me electric and electronics during my graduation studies.

[@tperk789r]

This guy is the best on you-tube when it comes to electronic tutorials!!!

[@ShiniGorky187]

I been trying to figure out for hours how current flows in a transformer, and if it has negative return. All these nerds making it more complicated than it actually is. This video answered my question, finally

[@quirmche]

All of your videos are great, I find they are very helpful.

[@jenko701]

Excellent, when you gave guidance to volt amps , power factor , it warmed my hart .

[@cephalix]

The Best you tube video I ever watched. I think it's my luck that I chanced upon your channel. Thank you very much. It's thorough, informative, accurate and occasionally entertaining in your inimitable style.

[@Musicfromouterspace]

This is a really nice explanation. Thanks. I plan to direct people to this video so they understand transformers better. Nicely done!

[@FutureAIDev2015]

+Afrotechmods Your sense of humor is awesome!

[@coltennabers634]

This is the future of schooling.

[@ivanvargas1522]

seriously haha nothing like a good laugh while learning science

[@coltennabers634]

Ivan Vargas It is. I'm about to graduate with a degree in electrical engineering and I learn more from the internet than I do from the majority of my professors.

[@coltennabers634]

Ivan Vargas The question after that then becomes - what am I paying them for? The paper?

[@therealb888]

Poliphodiles UniteI U Couldn't be more correct.

[@RR42636]

Man this is all too familiar to me. I think youtube should be stamped onto my degree somewhere.

[@desromic]

I love your videos! A great topic to do next would be ballasts. How to control amps, how to know number of coil turns, difference between magnetic and electrical ballast, and how to choose a ballast for a project.

[@Afrotechmods]

@eltechnic0 The scope's ground clip has a direct connection to the earth wire of your home's wiring. You could potentially short the live wire to earth, or the neutral wire to earth (which wouldn't be as bad, but the neutral wire often has a different potential than earth)

[@andyboy4707]

You should be an electronics teacher you are great at explaining stuff and very helpful and this is the only video on youtube that is very explanitory and legit

[@Afrotechmods]

@spelunkerd With almost any power source, the load determines the current that is drawn. For a simple DC example, low resistance means higher current draw.

[@mondays89]

Great sense of humor. I've taken a basic electronics class in college this semester. We touched on this stuff but didn't go into depth on the subject. I want to learn more about electric theory like this and motors and stuff. hanks big time for posting this! :-)

[@travisbutler2014]

Great tutorial and entertainment. I'm an engineering student and found it really insightful.

[@TubeYouDubeDood]

Afrotechmods, another great electronics video, Very well done.

[@LUISTARWIND]

Excellent introductory video, covers most need it stuff, now it's time to make a video about explaining 1 phase and 3 phase transformers and their useful applications in the world of commercial and Industrial for those interested in related Jobs !! thanks a bunch Sir !!!

[@kRiSiS112]

afrotech mods is the shit!!! i've been going to your site since before youtube existed! glad you're making vids again, they help a ton

[@robelbelay4065]

Awesome videos man! So glad I subscribed, just getting into electronics now and it's easy to feel overwhelmed

[@Afrotechmods]

Yes. You just need to have a changing voltage on the input.

[@afi6061]

Did you ever do the follow up dual power video? Would really like to see that as I am making a 12v dual regulated power at the moment. 👍

[@alfredcalleja450]

Another very informative, easy to understand and useful video: thanks again!

[@Afrotechmods]

@spelunkerd That's actually a clever observation on your part. The answer is that the primary side of a properly designed transformer will have a certain amount of inductance. At the AC frequency it is used at, this guarantees a minimum input impedance of the transformer. In simpler terms, the primary side of the transformer acts like a high value "AC resistor". That's why I mentioned that transformer design based on turns ratio is BS. You have to have a minimum impedance on the primary or POW!

[@timkenworthy2194]

Thanks so much for all your videos. I'm studying engineering and they assume so much of this stuff is already understood or they just sort of breeze over it. I still barely know what voltage/current actually is and I'm in third year. These are really helpful and make the basics actually really clear. Thanks

[@silasfatchett7380]

You're not alone. Very few people other than those with degrees in electronic engineering or quantum physics know what current is.

[@Afrotechmods]

@MrWil513 Because voltage is all relative. If the cap is between 0V and -18V, the 0V wire is more positive than the -18V one, so the positive side of the cap should connect to 0V and vice versa.

[@sand0077]

Informative with some humor thrown in, very effective!

[@bennethos]

Fantastic, good narration and fun to watch. Will watch some of the rest as well

[@BrianClem]

Finally. I am starting to understand. Your video is really helpful.

[@Afrotechmods]

@2010DeanoRiordan If you put the 240VAC outputs in series, possibly. I would be very careful though.

[@Elnufo]

Best explaination i could find, even the only one that i could understand. good job and thanks! :-)

[@gregr1672]

I like your videos. You do a good job explaining your circuitry. I took a transformer out of a broken portable cd player. I had planned on using it to provide power for a 12 V DC Car stereo to use in my garage for music. After removing it and bench testing it I found much to my surprise that it takes 120 v AC down to 12 V AC not the DC power I had hoped to obtain. So now I have to figure out how to convert it to 12 V DC . Thanks for your videos I enjoy challenge of figuring out how to make and repair my own electronics.

[@sillystupidusername1]

Very nice. Nobody else has really explained CT. Thanks!

[@vintageaudioworkshop]

Your videos are brilliant by the way!

[@jeffflanagan2814]

Your videos are awesome! Thank you! Could you do a video on how to wire transformers in parallel and series and what it does?

[@albear972]

Ever since I was a kit transformers had always been a mystery to me! Thank you for the explanation! I got smarter now! ***I subscribed***

[@Racingisgood]

Great videos, wish you could continue with them! Thanks for the knowledge and the entertainment!

[@fabiuh991]

Hi there, i've been following your vids for few months now, learned alot already! I have a transformer from a old ZMC amplifier and it has 4 wires on the primary(Y,B BK,W) and 5 on the secondary(2R,2B and 1BK) now i get about 10.2ohm on the yellow and blue, 8.8ohm on the white and black.. On the secondary, common black with red wires both have 1.1ohm, black to blue gets infinite, blue to blue 1.3ohm and red to red 1.6ohm.. My power line oscillates between 248/252V and 50Hz..

[@dipankarpanda8414]

I liked this tutorial, After watching your video I connected the transformer and as expected it is working well

[@tonythedrifter]

I would like to thank you for this awesome tutorials you have. i´ve learn more of your videos here in a matter of an hour than i have i weeks. You explain things in a way that makes people understand. i´m new to electronics and you´ve thaught me much, thank you. You should teach or something hehe! Keep up the good work =)

[@SoupyOatmeal]

Really good information. I am a fan of this kind of learning.

[@mihkaill2323]

Thanks for your tutorials dude, by the way I want to measure the current of the secondary section of my transformer 120v-24v, but I am not sure how to do it because it's center-tapped just like the one you have. I need your help

[@trevortjes]

How come that the primary side can be plugged into the mains voltage without any current limiting resistor or feedback diode (when unplugging from mains) since it is just a coil. Has it something to do with the impedance of the coil and the voltage being AC? Because to me it just looks like shorting the mains wiring with a coil.

[@Afrotechmods]

That's exactly correct. The primary side of a transformer has to have sufficient turns to have sufficient impedance to the AC mains voltage so it isn't a dead short.

[@jaychallenger3842]

trevortjes iii

[@waltercomunello121]

Good point. I learnt something new.

[@_hac817]

awesome videos man.. love all of them! great channel :D

[@oguzy23]

Dude you make this so much easier to understand

[@DarianWallace]

This was very informative. Much appreciated

[@alexmen95kn]

Awesome explaining. I really want to know how to calculate a small transformer.

[@Car_toz]

AfroTech, any chance of expanding this subject into inverter technology and their relationship with transformers?.... Another great Vid, btw

[@Afrotechmods]

The output impedance on the secondary side of your transformer was probably really high due to the many turns of wire.

[@Gwendoline965]

mr afro explains very well!!! Just i need to step up fromm 12Vto 240V.

[@electriciandallastx9182]

Thanks for the thoughts you have shared here.

[@BuilderBrick]

Exactly what I needed to know Liked and Subbed.

[@nzi0169]

your videos save me from 12H reading lecturer's note and internet references. Cheers mate.

[@LaughingManRa]

Awesome tutorial!

[@robotronix-co-il]

your's tutorial so clear and sharp where were you when i learned EEE ? thanks

[@OnEvenKeel]

I hope you are teaching professionally. You are a natural. Thank you for the videos.

[@rayh7094]

Awesome Video! Can you please explain the peak Volts further?

[@Afrotechmods]

@UrbanTurban007 Yes, but you really have to know what you are doing when doing the windings.

[@spelunkerd]

@Afrotechmods OK, I think I understand this. At the AC frequency used, impedance of the transformer is designed to be very high, unless the secondary circuit is complete. I guess like a 'magnetic resistance' to current flow, not really a switch. When the secondary circuit is complete, that same energy goes into moving electrons around the secondary circuit and so primary impedance drops and current flows. The design of these little devices is more complex than I considered. Thank you!

[@LittleWolfBindery]

Most of my transformers are step-up since I use and build tube circuits. The most common are between 300-0-300 (600vct) to 450-0-450 (900vct) secondary with 5 and 6.3 volt heater/filament windings for use with full wave rectifier tubes, such as a 5Y3, 5U4G, or 5AR4 type.

[@Papamax45]

That was an amazing tutorial very clear explanations thankyou

[@Afrotechmods]

@stalefisheffects Nope. That'll be fine. The transformer will just draw a small amount of standby current depending on the primary inductance.

[@vutaphrygian8017]

i must say it'really helpful.....Sir i have one question if we interconnect the live and neutral for the load what will be the consequence???

[@1thefourth]

Thanks for the upload...i'm new to this, can i use an old transformer... God Bless...

[@Thetrucky69]

EXCELLENT INFORMATION with a touch of humour as always.

[@KyleCarrington]

@Afrotechmods wow, their M$-ATX is sure priced reasonably. Little shy on the watts, if using a video card, but, perhaps the first step is determining what my machine actually consumes, in watts.

[@jesset-p9225]

That ending tho, lol. Great video, I'm now confident enough to build my ac to dc converter.

[@Afrotechmods]

@c0rrupts3ct0r555 Quite possibly. There has to be an especially high inductance on the side of a transformer that is connected to mains, otherwise it will appear as a low resistance short. So imagine what would happen if you connect a piece of wire to mains... either the circuit breaker trips... or FWOOM! Google flyback transformer driver circuits for ways to drive transformers backwards to reach higher voltages.

[@w.rustylane5650]

And I thought I knew about center tapped transformers, ha, ha. I learned something by watching this video. Thanks for posting. I have a very similar transformer that I want to use for a power supply, but it is not center tapped on the secondary. It does put out around 24 volts AC on the secondary, but I need to get it to 12 volts. Guess I'll have to keep watching your videos until I find my answer.

[@jdsweet3657]

Yes, after looking there was a 50 ohm primary and a 2.5 ohm secondary for stepping down voltage, so I sent my signal through the secondary and had the 50 ohm primary set for output, same impedance as my antennas I was connecting to it, but I might need to amplify the signal just a bit before sending it through the transformer for output. It cleaned up the audio quality quite a bit on the output.

[@spelunkerd]

@Afrotechmods I feel like a goof that I don't understand this, and I appreciate your help. The primary coil of a transformer is a continuous wire with no interposed switch. So, why doesn't electricity flow regardless of whether the secondary coil completes it's own continuous circuit? Or, does it have something to do with those diodes that convert AC to DC?

[@morning0raga]

Afrotechmods, MARRY ME?! I love your videos.

[@robviolin1]

You are very helpful. Thanks for sharing.

[@Maxxx20]

dude your so awsome i wish i knew as much as you do respect keep making video though it makes way more sense than it does in class lol

[@AtomicElectronCo]

You are the transformer god! Thanks for making an idiot proof intro to transformer basics. I am 45 years old and getting back into microphone design...it has been a long time since high school electronics class.

[@gunsparky]

Great video. I watched the whole thing and that's a complement in itself. I'm an educator and I will probably show the children. They'll enjoy the language. I'm in Australia but it will translate ok

[@elitem3]

You sir are a scholar! Thank you.

[@GearGuy]

Absolutely the best! Hilarious and REALLY informative!

[@Waranoa]

Love your vids!

[@Crucifier61]

I like the part where he says "Now if you want to actually build stuff, that's all BS!" haha your videos are awesome...educational and funny!

[@SamnissArandeen]

That center tap looks like it could come in handy. Could I potentially use MOSFETs to turn DC to AC and step it up at the same time via a center-tap transformer?

[@nabilaabraham9503]

did you ever try that? I want to do the exact same thing...not sure how to go about it

[@APACHEMAN747]

Didn't expect swearing, but I like it! Subscribed! :D

[@sumayaaBegum]

fun with learning...i am a new to your channel ...thanks bro...