RE: Homemade Caps are a Health Risk?

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Dave Halliday" <dh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Cost of oil?
Cost of electrode?
Cost of reliability?

Back when I was last into coiling (1994), I corresponded quite a bit with
Richard Quick and built several rolled HDPE caps. A failure with these is
pretty much catastrophic -- a speck of dirt or a small bubble will kill it
fairly rapidly at operating powers. I had access to a vacuum pump at that
time and tried pumping down the rebuilt cap (also very messy) and still it
failed after about 20 hours.

These caps cost about $80 each to build and I needed two of them for the
coil.  And that was $160 back in 1994 dollars.

I have not had First Light yet with my present project (starting and running
five different business "in my retirement") but I am planning to finish it
this summer.  I got a bunch of MMC caps from Dr. Resonance for a bit over a
hundred bucks (and I ordered more than I needed for the design so I would
have a resource to play with).

As for the oil -- you do not want to recycle old motor oil; full of little
bits of metal and other junk
Electrode -- you need something that is very smooth and will not trap
bubbles in an oil-filled cap.
Reliability -- what is your time worth?  Will you spend 20 hours dinking
around to save $60 bucks and then wind up having to rebuild the thing over
and over and over again.

This has morphed into a rant <grin> but I see people who say that they
cannot afford something but when in reality, they could mow lawns, wash
cars, do anything and within a few weeks have the extra cash to get what
they need -- spending the same time they would be spending piddling away
their efforts trying to cobble together something that will be a guaranteed
boat anchor.

Take care!
Dave

-----Original Message-----
From: Tesla list [mailto:tesla@xxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, April 02, 2007 10:00 PM
To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Homemade Caps are a Health Risk?

Original poster: "M G" <gt4awd@xxxxxxxxx>


I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but the home-made
glass/HDPE (I would use HDPE) capacitors could just be placed in some
type of oil to prevent the formation of corona, in the process
preventing any toxic gases such as ozone. So, about how much would it
cost for a good MMC setup using home-made capacitors immersed in oil?

Medium container: $2-4 ($4)

12" x 6" x 6"



Small containers: $.50-1 ($8 for eight of them)

2.5" x 2.5" x 5"



Copper wire: $.20-.40

$4 for ten feet



Electrical tape: $1-2



Epoxy: $1-3



Candle wax: $5-10





Highest total: $31.00



I have not made a MMC using the above method, and lack the math
equations/knowledge to calculate the capacitance to be expected from
a setup like this. If someone could calculate the capacitance (show
the equations used so I can learn please) using the above dimensions
Length x Width X Depth so we can compare the price of this setup to
an expensive C.D. 2kv .15mfd MMC, that would be great. What would be
the best insulation oil to use at the cheapest price, and best at
highest price? Would it be better to use metal shavings, say shreaded
up aluminum foil, highly concentrated salt water, or maybe a mixture
of both for the inside cap "plate"? What would be the best method to
prevent any oil leakage?

Thanks,

Matt G.
---------[ Received Mail Content ]----------
Subject : Re: Homemade Caps are a Health Risk?
Date : Sun, 01 Apr 2007 22:30:19 -0600
 From : "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To : tesla@xxxxxxxxxx

Original poster: "resonance"


I think the larger issue here is the confinement factor. If one has
the coil in a garage and can open a large door in the evening, it
should not present a problem. In a confined basement, such as I was
involved in during my younger days, I limited my run times to 30 sec
or less and opened windows, used fans, etc. I would use great
caution in a closed apartment, room, or basement. I recall it
sometimes made so physically sick with nausea in my basement.

If a respiratory problem does ensue, and becomes permanent, then you
basically become the human guinea pig. Not a good idea.
The cheap price of a glass jar cap is a terrible risk as compared to
a standard MMC cap which is not really all that expensive. I compare
taking this risk akin to driving without a seatbelt. You may get
away with it for a long time, and then, bang!

One could do a scientific study with placebos, etc. but the people
affected in a negative way may have future problems. There is really
no may to "guesstimate" the potential of the problem but my point is,
why even take the risk to begin with? I remember it made my
physically sick so my warning was to new coilers in an attempt to
make them aware of potential problems. One should not have to
experience a problem --- using the noodle to prevent any such issue
is the central point of my original post.

Yes, I think alum. foil home-made caps could present a future health
risk. Proceed at your own risk!

Dr. Resonance


 >We never truly answered the question that was going around for a
 >while 2 weeks ago or so. Do home made caps represent a health
 >risk? What ARE the risks involved with O3 (ozone)? And, how great
 >are they in affecting someone? Because, some people are not able to
 >spend upwards of usually $100 for a good MMC bank, the bottle caps
 >or whatever seem to be the best option for many economically.
 >
 >Quote:
 >"The ozone production of this type of capacitor is terrible and
 >could present a serious health hazard."
 >
 >-Dr. Resonance
 >
 >
 >
 >I mean, how terrible is this health risk and what is the large
 >health hazard? I mean, ozone is no different than living in a place
 >such as Mexico City or Los Angeles where the smog gets so bad that
 >people have to go to the hospital because of respritory issues
 >caused by the environment.
 >
 >
 >
 >-Shelton






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