I've been using the bulb for itnitial power up for more than 40 years. Variacs don't provide any current limiting. The bulb never fails. The variac will allow a catostrophic failure.I used a Variac and brought it up slow and tested and let it settle in slow yes ill have to make one for sure thank you
You bet, that is the nature of the beast with a shunt regulator...Is it Normal for R 1 / R2 7.5k ohm resistors to run hot even without load ?View attachment 71155