Allanson SS12350X - Outdoor Neon Transformer - 2000 to 12,000 Volt - 35 mA - 120 Volt Input

I bought it for amusement. High frequency, current-limited high voltage is "relatively" safe. I previously bought a cheaper no-name unit that fried it's own mosfets. The Allanson transformer shows no signs of quitting. Great stuff. (Oh and for those who are interested, know that the bypass mode for its GFCI protection is very intuitive and functional.)

Excellent high-end transformer intended for outdoor use with neon. I have a neon "66" house number (see photo) that is about 30 years old. I've replaced the transformer 4 times in 30 years including this newest Allanson model.This Allanson outdoor transformer is tank compared to the original $20 indoor transformer the sign shop that built my neon 30 years ago provided with the neon - as soon as I saw that indoor transformer I went back to the sign guys and told them to give me a proper outdoor rated model. This Allanson model is specifically built for outdoor use and has the following features:-Extruded metal case-SGFI (secondary ground fault interrupter)- UL and CSA rated (CSA is the Canadian version of UL)- Auto reset bypass and LED display for troubleshooting- 36 inch leads- 1.5 inch height for smaller spaces- Rated for outdoor use- self regulating from 2000v - 12000v for various neon tubing lengths. My neon number is about 32 inches long total- Outdoor rated BUT NOT weatherproof out of the box!My 7 year old Ventex transformer died last week and I wanted an upgrade so I bought this Allanson model.Install was easy, the neon is brighter and more visible now and the various UL/CSA ratings give peace of mind over Asian imports of dubious quality with no similar certifications.The "con" is price - it's expensive for $120 when the cheap imports are $30. BUT for my use, the extra dough is worth is for my application. Remember, this is a NEON transformer.I read a lot of comments about use of this transformer for fractal burning and you need to know that practice can be very dangerous and even deadly. The Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians (JACEP) reported the following data on 31 December 2020 -"To date, there is a single medical journal publication remarking on the numerous deaths and injuries caused by fractal wood burning, published in the Journal of Burn Care and Research in April 2020 by Harold Campbell et al. Using online news reports dating from July 2016 to January 2020, the researchers located 26 reports of fractal burning-related accidents. Twenty of these victims died and the remaining 6 suffered considerable injuries. From January 2020 to August 2020 at least 8 more cases have emerged in the United States resulting in 4 deaths and 4 other severely injured patients".If you are not using this transformer for neon, PLEASE be careful! Hope that helps.

I have spent many hours researching and looking for products used to work with Lichtenberg fractal wood burning. Finding the exact items used has not been the easiest and the reviews on various products are mixed. I ordered this “Allanson SS12350X” neon transformer along with a variac model “TDGC-2KM”, a “TEMCo foot safety switch”, 1100 amp parrot clamps, “Uxcell 14AWG 30KV” wire and 1/4” copper rods all which are available from Amazon. This setup is very dangerous and potentially deadly if not implementing all safety precautions and I would not recommend it to the novice. For my use these products have been successful with setting up my personal fractal burning system.

These transformers buzz at a precise interval that is annoying. We have 2 installed and both do the same thing

Purchased for making my first fractal wood burner. It works well. The wires are long enough and the error indicator light is nice.

I ordered this last year in November and just hooked it up today and it doesn’t work. I guess I’m 15 or so days past the 1 year warranty I’m assuming it has but it really sucks that it doesn’t work

I used it once and it stopped working.

Love these Alanson transformers. Light, easy, and well made.