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[Tim Perry]

That is quite possibly my favorite Mythbusters explosion. :-D :-D

Sent from my Milestone X using Tapatalk 2

Hangs head and admits favorite episode was the minigun...

Just to stay on topic:  A couple of dummy load pics:  They are 50 ohm but the principle is the same.

[David Parker]

yeah-just use standard heating elements you get for hot water heaters-at the home improvement store.  A 2400 watt unit for 120V is a little over 8 ohms

A couple of suggestions.  DO NOT seal up the water-remember that if sealed it will build up pressure and can "explode" sending very hot water all over the place.

For shorter term testing- Just drill a hole in  the top of a gallon paint can.  For longer tests-use a 5 gallon.  For longer term-a 55gal drum will work  Put several loads in the lid.

Make sure the water level is all the way up on the element.  They get REAL HOT REAL QUICK if not in water.

I was playing around with one out of water and it turns RED HOT REAL QUICK with a "normal" amp.

It can be a bit of a challenge to get resistors (like we used to use back in the lower powered amp days) with enough wattage for todays amplifier.

I have both resistor and water heater elements-depending on what I am doing or where I need to have it etc.

when you look at the cost of some other the other options, buying the whole water heater might be a bargain

[Art Welter]

Does anyone know of a dummy load that is available to do some amplifier testing? I want to run my system at full tilt for a bit to balance out generator draw and make sure there are no issues. I would need 8 4ohm loads. 4 capable of 2500 watts and 4 capable of 775 watts.

Although Ivan's suggestion is great if you do this type of thing regularly, you probably already own space heaters, toasters and maybe a pizza oven, and can probably borrow whatever other loads from others to add up to what you need.
Since the average  heating power of music is only about 1/10th (or less) of what a 120 volt 60 Hz continuous sine wave signal is (USA power), you won't need as much "load" as the amplifier peak power can provide, just use heating elements that are around the load value you want.
A 1500 watt heater space heater is 9.6 ohms, the old 4 slice AMC toaster is 10.6 ohms.

Par 64 lights work OK too, but the impedance changes quite a bit as they start to glow.
Fun to watch them light up with the beat, and they actually make some audible sound too.

[Ivan Beaver]

Although Ivan's suggestion is great if you do this type of thing regularly, you probably already own space heaters, toasters and maybe a pizza oven, and can probably borrow whatever other loads from others to add up to what you need.
Since the average  heating power of music is only about 1/10th (or less) of what a 120 volt 60 Hz continuous sine wave signal is (USA power), you won't need as much "load" as the amplifier peak power can provide, just use heating elements that are around the load value you want.
A 1500 watt heater space heater is 9.6 ohms, the old 4 slice AMC toaster is 10.6 ohms.

Par 64 lights work OK too, but the impedance changes quite a bit as they start to glow.
Fun to watch them light up with the beat, and they actually make some audible sound too.

The only thing I "might" (and I say-might-because I have never measured it) is the inductance side of a standard heater.  Most likely not a real issue-but it "might" be-depending on what testing is actually going on.

But then again- any dummy load is not going to represent a real speaker load anyway----------

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