Re: HV Wire on eBay

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>

Folks.. before paying $1/ft for HV wire of unknown heritage on ebay, you
should check out metallic (i.e. solid) core sparkplug wire at the local
speed shop.  I confess I haven't bought any in the last year, but as of a
year ago, it was $0.89/ft over the counter.  Nice flexible silicone jacket,
probably good to 50 kV, etc.

Good HV wire (as from Talley, Rowe, Belden, Alpha, Caton, etc.) rated for
>25 kV should have a silicone jacket, and most likely, a semiconductive
plastic (carbon loaded silicone) sheath around the inner conductor and then
silver or tin plated copper wire in the middle. (The silver/tin makes it
easier to solder)  The semiconductive sheath reduces the corona stress on
the insulation by making the "effective conductor radius" larger.
microscopic holes in the outer jacket from corona is the main failure mode
for HV wire.

GTO15 (neon sign wire) is typically polyethylene insulation with a tougher
black outer jacket for abrasion and UV resistance. It's rated to 15 kV
(hence the number).  it is a LOT stiffer than the silicone jacketed stuff.

you can also get Teflon jacketed HV wire, but it's REAL stiff, a royal pain
to work with (hard to strip, etc.)

Check the retail catalogs before you buy!  Brand new, 40 kV wire from
Newark Electronics, runs around $2-$3/ft for a 100 foot spool, and much
cheaper as the quantity goes up.

C&H sales in Pasadena CA has small quantities of HV wire from Rowe/Talley
and Markell for reasonable prices, as well. 18 ga, 25 kV, silicone, silver
plated is $20/20ft ($1/ft) and $70/100 ft.  18ga, 20kV, tin plated, $10/20
ft, $30/100 ft.  This stuff is new, off the spool, albeit surplus.  Other
surplus places have similar deals.  At least you know the mfr part number,
so you can go look up the characteristics in the mfr catalog.

No disrespect for anyone selling stuff on Ebay intended, but....At these
prices, there is no need to buy at $1/ft from Ebay... (unless you are
buying 1 or 2 feet...)

The other thing to think about is whether you need HV wire at all....  For
a typical NST powered coil, you've got all sorts of bare wires (like the
primary) at HV all over, so why use insulated wire at all, except perhaps
from the NST terminals to the next component.  You're not going to be
touching the wires (insulated or not) with the power on.  Your wiring
(insulated or not) should be supported on standoffs (or by its own
stiffness) anyway.


The big exception I can see is pig powered coils, where the physical size
is such that you'd need to make significant wiring runs.  But, hey, if
you've spent a few hundred dollars on pigs, spark gaps, etc., then spending
a few tens of dollars on GOOD, KNOWN QUALITY HV wire shouldn't be a big deal.  


For those interested in labor intensive HV wire... RG-213 family Coaxial
cable works well.





Tesla list wrote:
> 
> Original poster: "Bill Vanyo by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<vanyo-at-echoes-dot-net>
> 
> I recently bought the same wire (30kv) from the same seller on eBay at
> $10 for 35 feet (the "buy it now" price).  A dollar a foot is a big
> sudden jump in price.  Also, I found the wire itself (insulation
> removed) to be somewhat brittle - don't know why, but it breaks easily
> at the connections, as compared to other high voltage wire I bought on
> eBay (seller teslacity), which had a lower voltage rating (15kv), but
> works fine for my NST to main circuit connection.  Also, I'm not sure
> what kind of insulation this stuff (the 30kv stuff) has.  It's pink and
> has a rough texture, unlike the smooth white ethylene propylene (under
> black PVC jacket) sold by teslacity.
> 
>         - Bill V.
> 
> Tesla list wrote:
> >
> > Original poster: "Kevin Ottalini by way of Terry Fritz
> <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <ottalini-at-mindspring-dot-com>
> >
> > Jonathon:
> >         The current price for that EBAY item is $5.00 for 5 feet!
> >
> > That is $1.00 PER FOOT for wire that costs between $0.15 and $0.30 PER FOOT
> > NEW.
> >
> > EBAY can be very expensive.
> >
> > ko
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> > To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> > Sent: Monday, June 18, 2001 7:31 PM
> > Subject: HV Wire on eBay
> >
> > > Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
> > <Kidd6488-at-aol-dot-com>
> > >
> > > Hi all,
> > > Just another item on eBay i found. Dutch Auction, quantity, 56!
> > >
> > >
> > > HV Wire 30KV high voltage 35' Tesla
> > >
> > > http://cgi.ebay-dot-com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1608096751
> > >
> > > Jonathon
> > >
> > >