Re: cap specifications

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: cap specifications
From: Esondrmn-at-aol-dot-com
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 12:23:10 -0400

In a message dated 96-06-20 00:37:09 EDT, you write:

>> 
>> I am curious about the capacitor specifications that people are using
>> for resonating Tesla coil primaries.  I have seen several posts where
>> it appears that a cap working voltage equal to the transformer
>> secondary voltage is used.  Normally, caps (except those to be used
>> across the AC mains, i.e. UL and VDE listed) are rated for max DC
>> voltage. Thus if you had a 15kvac transformer- the equivalent DC rated
>> cap would be 14kvac x 2 x 1.414 volts peak-to-peak.
>> <Large Snip>
>
>You are entirely correct in you analysis, but many of the list users are
>using specially manufactured capacitors designed specifically for Tesla
>Coil work. These capacitors are rated for VRMS, not VDC. Still, as Ed
>Sonderman's recent experience pointed out, the caps should still probably
>be somewhat overrat

Even after the recent C.P. cap failure, the company insists that the cap
should not have failed at 14,400 volts at 500 ma.  (But it certainly did
explode.)

Ed Sonderman