[Amps] What to do about 'Neutral' in HB amp?

[Steve Bookout]

Hello all,

I'm building a HB amp for 10 meters and am looking for the best solution 
to a problem I've wondered about for DECADES.

Other than using a 4 conductor plug/outlet (2-120 volt, one neutral and 
one ground) how should a person deal with the 120 volt neutral?

This would be a concern for the blower, small 12 volt DC power supply 
and filament transformer, and maybe something else I'm overlooking as I 
write this.

I know I am guilty of just taking the neutral side of a 120 volt 
component to ground, but as I understand it, the ground is never 
supposed to carry current, with the neutral carrying the current from 
the 120 volt stuff.  The ground and the neutral are connected together 
at the breaker box, but are treated as different lines in the 
equipment.  Back in the day, I suppose taking neutral to ground was 
done, as several times I've been slightly shocked by an old boat anchor 
with leaky caps.   Also, GFI circuits would always trip, as they should, 
when that piece of equipment was turned on.

These are things I've thought of, in no particular order.

Using a 240 > 120 step down transformer and run the 120 volt things off 
of that.

Neutral to chassis ground and ground, ground, ground everything 
together, and to the 240 ground coming into the power supply.

Use the common connection point between two 120 volt windings, wired in 
series, on the input of the HV transformer for 240 use.

Looked at a bunch of schematics and some are kinda lacking in detail.  
Most either use dedicated 120 volt winding off of the secondary of 
transformer, or a separate 240 volt input transformer,   I'm sure the 
ones lacking in detail are not doing for nefarious reasons but to keep 
from cluttering up a schematic. It's combining block diagrams with 
detailed schematics.  I'm sure they're doing it right, otherwise, would 
not get UL approval.

I seem to remember from decades ago, seeing where someone had two 
resistors between the two input lines of a 240 volt input transformer 
and was using that point as neutral.  Would love to know  how that 
worked out.  Short the 240 input with two resistors in series and use 
the point between the two resistors as 'neutral'.

The transformer I have, and will use, is a Peter Dahl, with no 120 volt 
winding, only terminals marked '0', '240', '230' and '240'.   Secondary 
is NOT center-tapped, so will be using a FW bridge.  No joy there.

I guess I'm leaning toward a 240/120 step down transformer.

It would be much more straightforward if I was building with all new 
parts from scratch.  Actually, as I think of it, my DC power supply will 
take either AC voltage inputs, and automatically deal with it.

Love to hear what everyone thinks, and to hear if you've ever done 
anything just a wee bit 'shady', when dealing with this issue.

73 de Steve, NR4M