Re: Converting to "Pig Power"

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

Original poster: "J. B. Weazle McCreath" <weazle-at-hurontel.on.ca> 


At 12:47 PM 09/03/04 -0700, you wrote:

 >Original poster: "Randy & Lori" <rburney6-at-comcast-dot-net>
 >
 >The pig is due in this week(14.4 10 KVA), and being as intelligent
 >as I am, I thought I would run my setup past the list.
 >
<SNIP>
 >
 >My concerns:
 >
 >1) If the 500' roll is to hold me to about 30 Amps, is the line
 >   filter too small?
 >
 >2) Will the sucker gap give any kind of acceptable performance or
 >   will it just "Power Arc"?
 >
 >3) Do I need more capacitors (to spread the wealth)?
 >
 >4) I read (one place only) that a pig doesn't need any PFC???
 >
 >Randy
 >

Hello Randy, Coilers,

I switched to "pig power" myself, about 18 months ago, and run a
similar sized pig.  From my own experience, here's my answers to
your questions:

1) I would get a filter big enought to handle the pig at its full
    rating, as you WILL increase power eventually.  I've got two
    larger coils under construction myself.

2) Provided that you can move enough air through it, I expect that
    it would handle pig power OK.  My hyperbaric gap is standing up
    to the demands fine, but I'm limiting power to about 3 KVA, as
    I've only got a 4 inch secondary on my active TC.

3) I run six strings of 16 caps each in my MMC.  When I read about
    others getting by with just one or two, I tend to cringe a bit.
    Then again, I'm not so willing to risk blowing up the single
    most expensive part of my TC.

4) PFC caps are cheap.  Whether or not you really need them, is a
    topic I'm no expert on, but I use them in my setup.  It can't
    do any harm to have them.

73, Weazle, VE3EAR/VE3WZL

Details of my "Hyperbaric Gap" and Tesla coil are at:
http://www.hurontel.on.ca/~weazle