Re: The dowel of death - SAFETY

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

Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <Pyrotrons-at-aol-dot-com>

Hi guys. Thought I'd mention a few things.

Today, I went out and bought a 10 foot length of CPVC pipe, 3/4" outside 
diameter or so. I cut this in half for a 5 foot section. I then shot about 4" 
of silicon up inside one end, and it's drying right now.

When it is dry I will fill the whole thing with high-voltage oil, put a giant 
bolt in the other end, and then seal it with more silicone. Never will I use 
a dowel rod to pull arcs. 

I would rate this thing VERY conservatively at 80 or 100kVDC with the END 
SOLIDLY GROUNDED. With the end NOT grounded, I would rate it at 30kVDC max.

This is a major safety concern.........make for dang sure that the ground 
wire doesn't come of the end if you're dealing with very high voltages or 
short arc rods! 

<<<<You won't last long if your clip corded ground wire unclips.>>>>>

Anyhow, after this sucker is done I'll never have to worry about a "arc rod" 
or "jesus stick" again, given that I clean it once in a while.

BTW, Pulling arcs off a tesla coil with an arc rod can be decieving. The arcs 
might flicker around to the left and right............then you get closer to 
make it arc.........then the arc bypasses the grounded end of the rod (which 
they do ALL the time) and then you're toast. In other words, keep your arc 
rods 30 feet long or more ; ),,,,,,,,,,you get the point.

Justin Hays
KC5PNP
G-3 #1150
Email: pyrotrons-at-aol-dot-com
Website: www.hvguy-dot-com