Re: [TCML] Caps

[Christian Hill <monolegal@xxxxxxxxx>]

I am building a 4.5" (4" inner diameter schedule 40 pvc coil form) by 22.5"
static spark gap tesla coil. I have 50' of .25"
copper refrigeration tubing wound into 13.5 turns spaced .25" apart for my
primary coil. The topload is a 4" ring 16" total diameter toroid. I have
not decided on the NST yet. I am thinking 12kv 60ma would be sufficient,
but with a LTR of 21.5nF that's 28 caps I would have to buy. If I buy a
15kv 30ma NST that's only 8.6nF of capacitance and about 17 caps I would
have to buy. I also read in a few of the replies that I can use 1.5x
LTR capacitance. Meaning I can use 12.9nF (about 11-12 caps) for a 15kv
30ma NST, correct?

Quick question: what is most important for arc length? Tesla map uses watts
to calculate approximate length at 100% efficiency, but in the real world
do volts or amps have more of an influence on arc length?

Calculations and headaches are not an issue. They were in the beginning,
when I was doing the math myself, but I have since purchased Tesla map. It
will just be a basic tesla coil plus a line filter, NST safety gap, and a
strike rail for now. I plan to do various upgrades such as changing to a
rotary gap or adding a terry filter in the near future. I am trying to be
as careful but cheap as possible when building this. I would hate for
something to blow up and cost me even more money.

As for my expertise, I'm only 17. I have a solid grasp on low voltage
electronics. While I am new to Tesla coils (and high voltage for that
matter) I have been doing lots of research and am neither ignorant nor
impatient. Please do not dumb things down for me, I am good at figuring
things out and have been just fine with the info given thus far.

Thank you very much for your replies.
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