[A Hackaday article submitted for the "we're hiring" article.]

FAIL!

After writing the article, it doesn't meet the "at least 150 words" requirement, and I don't see a good way to add more text. I could change the scope from this specific project to transformers in general, I suppose.

Finding a good project to report on is HARD!

December 4, 2016 by Peter Walsh

In the zombie apocalypse, if you need a transformer and all you have is an old washing machine, we've got you covered.

[electricretrotech] First removed the induction motor from an old washing machine and unwound the coils, resulting in a bare iron core and several heaps of wire. He then rewound the core into a transformer configuration using some of the wire removed in the first step.

The result is a rather useable transformer that looks like it could be used as an ad-hoc spot welder. Assuming the windings don't exceed the maximum flux density of the iron core, the resulting transformer would even be reasonably efficient.

If you want to try winding your own transformers, check out Practical Transformer Winding for some step-by-step instructions.

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