I have build a Cobrapin homebrew pinball machine. For my General Illumination I needed a transformer that could provide me the 8VAC to power my lamps.

I found a doorbell transformer that appear to provide the voltage that I need (it actually give me the option of 8 VAC, 16 VAC and 24 VAC.)
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/heathzenith-wired-door-chime-transformer-0528693p.html

I wired up the transformer and it work fine.

After a few mins of being on I noticed the transformer was very warm.

I'm 100% certain the wiring is correct but the heat of the transform concerns me.

Is this something I should be concerned about or is there a better alternative transformer available that will provide me the 8VAC that I need.

Thanks for all the replys. Any suggestions of step down transformer better suited for the job ?

MrBally: The playfield table of a William Phoenix GI lamps will be illuminated and 2 lamps for the coin door. A separate power supply for the DC controlled lamps is already working fine. The backglass is empty except for a tv screen.
To be honest I'm not exactly sure of what that number is but a ball park guess is 20 lamps need to be driven by the transformer.

There is nothing forcing me to stay with a AC driven General Ilumination solution with my 44 GE bulbs.

This is a homebrew machine so I can switch gears and move to a DC driven General Illumination and switch from bayonet bulbs to DC bayonet LED bulbs.

Since I might be a bit lazy, I was trying to find the path of least effort (in this case using a Doorbell chime transformer) to power my GI.

So if there is a good fit for a properly sized AC stepdown transformer that's not going to fail/burn down the house then I'd like to try it alternatively I can switch to a 5vdc solution.

I checked the original specs for the Williams Phoenix transformer. It used 6.3VAC for the GI circuit (not 8VAC). Opps.

I must admit this thread has been educational and improved my understanding of General Illumination needs of a pinball machine.
Certainly glad I consulted with the forum and abandoned the idea of using a doorbell transformer for my GI solution.
Now have a better grasp on why it wasn't a good idea.

My home brew machine will be getting a 6.3vac transformer (10 or 20 amp) that's capable of pushing 30 bulbs and I'm going to splurge on purchasing some comet bulbs too.

Thank you all for talking the time for answering my questions

Got my transformer today ((F-22A). Two black wires on one side and 3 Green wires on the other.

No directions per say. I am assuming the 2 black wires are the secondary side and the three thicker green wires are the primary (Hot, neutral, ground).

One of the three green wires has a yellow stripe.

I am accustomed to having a white wire, black wire, green wire on the primary side to tell me which wire is hot, neutral, and ground.

Am I correct in assuming the green wire with the yellow stripe is ground and the other two green wires are hot and neutral ?

Feel kinda stupid for asking such a simple question.

Closing this thread by saying "Don't use a doorbell transformer to power your General Illumination". Yes it will give you the 6.3 VAC but it will run very hot and potentially cause you issues down the road.

When I hooked up the F-22A unit (presently powering my 23 playfield comet lamps) it ran cool to the touch even after a couple of mins running, where as when I had the doorbell transformer is grew very hot.

The hookup of this unit is 2 black wires are the input side (110 ac) and the 3 green wires are your output. The green and yellow is the center tap. Using the two solid green wires I connected one wire to my fuse block and both feed my GI lamps.

This unit (F-22A) will fit my needs in my homebrew pinball machine.

Its been three months since I installed the F-22A transformer and comet led lamps. The pinball machine is used daily for the past 3 months with no issues. The transformer is cool to the touch. This setup has been working flawlessly with out heat build up and Comet GI lamps bright.