Australian Resistors – Supplier of Wire Wound Resistors and Power Resistors

Metal Clad Resistors – Now Available Up To 1000 Watts

Metal clad resistors are commonly used in a wide range of applications, including:

Audio Amplifiers
Motor Control
Power Supplies
Switch Mode Power Supplies
Industrial Controllers
Temperature Control
DC to DC Converters
Solar Inverters

As well as our standard GMR Series of metal clad resistors (which range in power rating from 5 watts to 250 watts), we are also able to offer a the high power SMRH metal clad resistor range. These are available from 60 watt rating up to 1000 watts. Available resistance values are up to 10k ohm up to 150 watt, 30k ohn up to 500 watt and 50k […]

April 4th, 2025|metal clad resistors, Power Resistor, Resistor Applications|

Power Resistor Application In High Wattage Power Supplies

We receive a large number of enquiries for power resistors for applications in a wide range of power supplies. High wattage power supplies are used in railway power converters and controllers, signalling and safety monitoring systems. The need for pulse tolerant and transient resistant resistors is especially important as the railway environment is electrically “noisy” and swtiching of high voltage transformers can create transients with voltages greater than 1KV for short periods of time (Typically microseconds).

The Y Series of Power Resistors is suitable for applications requiring 500 Watt to 1200 Watt power rating and are especially useful in high temperature environments. […]

November 3rd, 2024|Applications, High Power Resistors, Resistor Applications, Wire Wound Resistors|

Rheostats – Uses In 2016

Rheostats have been used in the electrical and electronics industries since the 1920’s and still have a place in modern engineering. The rheostat has the following benefits:

ability to vary and control electrical resistance at relatively high power ratings
available as an ‘off the shelf’ (short lead time) device
quickly and easily mounted
rugged, ‘tried and tested’ design
ease of termination of wiring

We currently manufacture our rheostat range in the following wattages;

25 watt
50 watt
150 watt
300 watt
500 watt

Rheostat Specifications:

The ‘APR’ series has been manufactured in Australia for well over 50 years and has a reputation for offering the highest levels of reliability, both electrically and mechanically. […]

April 11th, 2016|Resistor Applications, Rheostat|

Custom Power Resistor Manufacturing

Being Australia’s largest manufacturer of wire wound and power resistors, Australian Resistors has the capacity to manufacture custom designed resistor assemblies to meet customer specifications. We generally work with clients, both at an engineering and purchasing level, to determine the resistor specification required for their project. This can take into account parameters including:

Resistor wattage
Resistor power rating
Mounting requirements. This could include vertical mounting or horizontal mounting or indeed a custom mounting requirement to enable ease of mounting the resistor assembly within the clients’ equipment.
Resistor termination. This could include solder terminals, quick connect terminals, ferrule mounting or a wide range of other options. […]

July 22nd, 2015|Applications, custom power resistors, custom wire wound resistors, Power Resistor, Resistor Applications, resistor manufacturer, Wire Wound Resistors|

100 Watt Power Resistor

There is a wide variety of applications calling for a 100 watt power resistor. By looking through the power resistor products page it is apparent that there are several options when selecting a power resistor that meets this rating. Here we take a look at all the available options:

Power Wire Wound Resistor Assembly. The HA tubular power resistor is a highly reliable and ‘tried and tested’ resistor assembly that has been manufactured for over 40 years. It is robust, moisture resistant, resists chipping and can withstand temperatures over 1000 C. It is available in an adjustable resistance and has many mounting […]

May 26th, 2015|Applications, Power Resistor, Resistor Applications, wirewound resistor selection|

Wire Wound Potentiometer – Audio Amplifier Application

Potentiometers have been used for over 70 years for applications where varying a resistance is necessary as part of an electronic circuit. Typically carbon based tracks were employed for many years but when power ratings of several watts are required then the use of a wire wound element is preferable as greater power dissipation is possible.

A local high specification audio amplifier manufacturer needed a high reliability wire wound potentiometer to act as a volume control in one of their amplifier designs. The potentiometer required a 2.2 watt rating and the AW potentiometer was deemed to be a suitable candidate as it […]

April 20th, 2015|Resistor Applications, wire wound potentiometer|

Precision Wire Wound Resistors

Wire Wound Resistors Requiring High Power And Precision
Certain applications in electrical or electronic design call for a combination of:

High power rating
Tight tolerance on the resistance winding
Wire wound construction

Obtaining all three of these requirements in a resistor calls for a unique type of resistor construction. The ASW series precision wire wound resistors have been used extensively for applications in industries ranging from power conversion, U.P.S. manufacture, lighting control, motor drive circuits (both a.c. and d.c.) and transportation.

With power ratings available in 1.5 watts, 3 watts, 6.5 watts, 8 watts and 11 watts these power resistors have an available tolerance as low […]

March 16th, 2015|Power Resistor, Precision Wire Wound Resistor, Resistor Applications|

Wire Wound Resistor Selection

Selecting the correct wire wound resistor for your application is critical in insuring excellent long term reliability for your circuitry and equipment in which the power resistor is being used. Once you have determined the appropriate power rating for your application, by, for example, using ohms law, you can then select the type of resistor based on these parameters:

Physical size
Required method of mounting the resistor
Electrical pulse handling capability
Requirement of the resistor to be adjustable or fixed in value
Required tolerance of resistance
Mechanical construction of the resistor
Non Inductive winding

As you will see from the products page, we can offer a resistor that […]

January 13th, 2015|Power Resistor, Resistor Applications, Wire Wound Resistors|

50 Watt Rheostat

50 Watt Rheostat – High Power Rheostat Example
Rheostats have been used in industry for over 50 years. A rheostat has the electrical characteristics of being able to offer an adjustable resistance specified at time of ordering the rheostat and being able to dissipate significant power – 50 watts in the case of the APR50 rheostat. This is useful in applications such as:

motor control
lighting control
industrial controllers
sound level control
laboratory test setups

Rheostat Specification
Parameters used to specify a rheostat include the following:

Resistance tolerance – typically +- 10% in the case of the APR series rheostats.
Insulation Resistance – Typically 100M ohms at 500 volts d.c.
Rotational […]

October 3rd, 2014|Power Resistor, Resistor Applications, Wire Wound Resistors|

100 Watt Power Resistor Example

100 Watt Resistor Application And Specification
We had a recent enquiry for a power resistor that was to be used in the mining industry for a braking resistor for a conveyor belt system used in a coal loading terminal in Newcastle. The motor requiring the braking resistor was slightly unusual in that it was a d.c. (direct current) motor. The resistor required had the following requirements in its specification:

3.9 ohm resistance
Maximum current rating 4.5 amps (d.c.)

Using basic resistor theory we determined that the most appropriate power rating for the resistor would be found by using the formula Power (dissipated in the resistor) = […]

September 8th, 2014|Applications, Power Resistor, Resistor Applications, Wire Wound Resistors|