[rescue] liebert challenger rescue...

[Skeezics Boondoggle]

oh, the pain!

i had an offer fall in my lap for a liebert challenger 3000 w/humidifier
across town for... i shouldn't say... okay, it rhymes with "$500".

just one small problem: it's configured for 480vac input.  conundrum:  
cheaper to pay the $3-5K as quoted by our local rep to swap out all the
guts necessary for 208-volt operation (to match our existing panel), or
find a buck&boost xfmr to step up to the proper voltage?

i should add a few of bill's amazon wish list items to my own - now that 
i'm rescuing a/c systems i need to learn more about 'em! :-)

this could be such a win-win-win... my server room gets a slightly-used
liebert plumbed into the building's telco loop (it pays to live in a
"carrier hotel" :-), my company pays a fraction of the cost for the
upgrade we'd originally planned, and i get to drag home the old carrier
split system to cool the cray/suns, whence they arrive.

so, any experience/leads/warnings/anecdotes about using step up
transformers in a production environment? [1] all input greatly
appreciated... replies to me and i'll gladly summarize, or to the list if
there's interest?

-- skeez

[1] i used to work in a high-voltage testing lab where we ran a home-built
rubber glove tester that drew up to 40KV off a pole transformer.  
basically it was a big tank of water sitting on insulators, and a platform
above it for mounting the gloves.  you'd hang up six pairs, fill them with
water to about 1.5" below the cuff, then drop a ground probe.  set the
controls, hit the start switch, and a plexiglass shield would come up
while the gloves were lowered into the water.  a motorized variac would
ramp the voltage up and hold it at the preset level for the duration of
the test, then drop it back down.  very slick operation.

of course, we devised a method to interview new lab techs that saved a lot
of time:  we'd walk them through the lab and stop at the tester (which was
quite impressively large) and dim the lights.  we'd put an old glove rated
for 10kv on the test head but set the machine for 30-35kv, then hit start
and casually lean up against the control panel, as the interviewee would
watch, wide-eyed... around 15kv the water would be shimmering and the
sizzling sound clearly audible over the fans and other activity in the
room.  then around 18-23kv the glove would burn through, there'd be a loud
SNAP and a flash from the arc, the alert siren would sound and red failure
lights would flash - and the person who didn't visibly jump out of their
shoes was the one we'd hire. :-)

ooh, i guess that makes me the "BTLOFH" (bastard test lab operator from
hell? :-)