What does a microwave transformer do?

The high voltage transformer is essentially employed into home appliances such as a microwave oven which generates microwave to cook the foods, or the like, in order to supply the high voltage thereto. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional high voltage transformer.

The voltage of a microwave oven transformer & the voltage across the capacitor is about 2.1KV The voltage rating should be printed on the capacitor. But like the other guys said: Don’t use it for a Tesla Coil. The voltage is too low & the current too high, and it is too dangerous. Use a neon sign transformer.

Why does microwave oven transformer draw 20 amps (230V Mains) when secondary is short circuited , but it draws only 4 amps when I change the secondary into high current/low voltage secondary (2 turns of wire) and short circuited it again? So a microwave transformer is mostly a step-up transformer.

It can be seen that the microwave oven transformer mainly maintains the working current of the magnetron by the leakage magnetic flux , so it is also called the magnetic leakage transformer.