Re: newbie question - spark gap and toroid

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

Original poster: "ho \[shu\] huang" <shuhuang-at-singnet-dot-com.sg> 

At 05:31 AM 11/1/2004 -0700, you wrote:

>Original poster: "Bunny Killer" <bunikllr-at-bellsouth-dot-net>
>Hey Shu..
>
>I was looking at your spark gap and was wondering if you have any problems 
>with the hi voltage jumping to the fan frame since it in such close 
>proximity to the gap rail...

Hi Scot,

several ppl have pointed out that PC fans are not a good idea. Some ppl 
have had fans blown because of "surface tracking arcs"...whatever those 
are...most ppl complain of EMI interference. So far so good tho. No arcing 
to the fans, and the fans haven't stopped working yet.

>the spark gap looks well built and nicely done....   since it is aluminum 
>it should stay relativitly cool compared to copper pipes..  I would expect 
>pitting and scorching after sometime since aluminumm has a lower melting 
>point that copper or brass  ( even copper pits and scorches in due 
>time)   since aluminum has a tendency to build up a coating of aluminum 
>oxide on the surface ( which is somewhat an insulator ) you will probably 
>see sparks being made at set points in the gap structure which will 
>probably accelerate wear at those points....

Yeah this is probably true. I had to trim a bit of rail off with a jig saw 
to make the sides flush, and this naturally resulted in nicks/scratches 
along the sides of each rail. The rail's mostly matt but with shiny metal 
exposed. I'm guessing the shiny bits will go first. But as of now, the 
rails spark only at the ends, so if it "eats" inwards, that won't 
necessarily be bad. I'll have to observe the pattern of wear and make the 
necessary adjustments.

Shu

>just some thoughts..
>
>Scot D
>
>
>
>Tesla list wrote:
>
>>Original poster: "ho \[shu\] huang" <shuhuang-at-singnet-dot-com.sg>
>>Hey!
>>
>>I've got my tesla coil to work but I've got a couple of quick questions 
>>for you pros out there: -
>>
>>1. My SG spark gap's made from aluminium curtain rail, not copper pipe. 
>>The rail is flat, so it's easier to mount. Does it matter? My coil works, 
>>but I'm not sure if aluminium hinders performance in any way.
>>
>>2. Does it matter that air isn't blown directly at the sparks? Do the 
>>sparks require a lot of air to be "quenched", or will a bit of moving air 
>>be enough? In other words, is more wind better?
>>
>>My spark gap (pic here: 
>>http://web.singnet-dot-com.sg/~shuhuang/spark_gap3.jpg ) sparks at the ends 
>>of the rails, which is sort of shielded by the 10mm thick plastic 
>>support. I can easily reconfigure it so that the sparks get most of the 
>>breeze from the fan, but I'm wondering if it's worth the effort. The fans 
>>blow, rather than suck, BTW.
>
>SNIPPERZZ>>