RE: Why need bleeder resistors?

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

Original poster: "Lau, Gary" <gary.lau-at-hp-dot-com> 

Bleeder resistors do nothing with regard to filtering spikes.  They are 
used to keep asymmetrical DC charges from developing on individual caps, 
and to prevent people from getting zapped by these charges.  The NST 
windings are unaffected.

Gary Lau
MA, USA


Original poster: "Virtualgod" <mike.marcum-at-zoomtown-dot-com>

You wouldn't, but without some sort of filtering it looks like some major
voltage spikes would get back into the windings and fry them.


  > Original poster: "Jim Mitchell" <electrontube-at-sbcglobal-dot-net>
  >
  > In a classic tesla coil circuit, the NST is in series with capacitor and
  > primary, with the spark gap across the rails of the NST.  Now this means
  > that when power is off, the capacitors would be shorted out by the
  > secondary of the NST and it would discharge the capacitor right?  Why
would
  > you need bleeder resistors then?
  >
  > Regards - Jim Mitchell