Re: Tesla Coil Firehazards (Exploding paint cans) (fwd)

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 08:45:43 -0700
From: huil888 <huil888@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Tesla Coil Firehazards (Exploding paint cans) (fwd)


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, August 13, 2007 6:46 AM
Subject: Re: Tesla Coil Firehazards (Exploding paint cans) (fwd)

Nathan -

A number of list members are trying to get a better understanding of your 
claims as to the accidents you and your friend have experienced with your 
Tesla coils. Well documented "accident reports" always provide useful 
information for helping other experimenters avoid injury or property damage.
.
When someone asked for photos of you coil, you stated that you "no longer 
have it" (Aug 11). In your most recent post (Aug 12) you imply that you are 
still running "experiments" with it. Please clarify, do you actually have a 
Tesla coil, and if so could you provide some photos of  the overall coil and 
the major parts so we could better understand how your coil is built, and 
what components you have used? If you don't have access to a digital camera, 
I can send you a disposable film camera and you can mail it back to me after 
you've taken the photos (I'll cover return postage costs and film 
development costs).

You stated that your 125VA power supply is a 15KV, 5ma (???) unit from 
Information Unlimited (Aug 11). Is this a misprint? Information Unlimited 
does not offer a power supply with these ratings. Was this a conventional 
ferromagnetic transformer (NST, etc), a commercial electronic gaseous tube 
power supply (high frequency AC), a flyback-transformer based supply, or ?? 
Please supply specific details.

Also, you state that your coil, when operating, is "exceedingly loud", so 
loud as to cause a disruption in your neighborhood if run outdoors. 
Something does not add up because a 125VA coil would be absolutely miniscule 
as far as Tesla coil power levels go, a tiny desktop unit. What was the 
source of the noise?

So, to help us better understand the phenomena your coil produces, can you 
provide a detailed, concise description of your coil's construction and 
component specifications? Primary and secondary dimensions, wire gage used, 
turns count, and primary tap point would be helpful. Also, the dielectric 
type and capacitance value of your tank capacitor, the dimensions and 
physical shape of your topload, and the type of spark gap (including total 
gap width) would be very useful in evaluating your coil's operating 
characteristics. The resonant frequency of the system would also be of 
interest.

You have stated that the primary, secondary, and topload are located 
"several feet" from the rest of the coil components (can you specify exactly 
how far this was?). This means that the tank capacitor and spark gap were 
located remotely from the primary. How did you deal with the inductance of 
this interconnecting wiring, which must have been as large as or greater 
than the inductance of the primary coil itself?

Finally, we're still confused by the input power level (125AV) vs the 
claimed output performance (26 inch arcs). Is there a typographic error with 
either of these values?  Did your coil incorporate any special design 
features that allowed it to obtain such spectacular performance from such a 
tiny input power?

Regards,
Scott Hanson







> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:04:28 -0700
> From: Nathan Stokely <50kva.54uf.750a@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: Tesla Coil Firehazards (Exploding paint cans) (fwd)
>
> To answer your question, I run my coil for long periods of time in the
> garage to test the effects of the various fields it generates on 
> electronic
> devices (cell phones, palm pilots) I cannot operate it outside because it 
> is
> exceedingly loud and my neighbourhood has a policy against very loud 
> noises.
>
 (snip)