Hi Phillip,Good question. The suction hole will undoubtedly have the sharpest radius of curvature if I understand the gap correctly, so breakdown will likely occur around the hole edge and not at the radius of the electrode itself. So yes, the gap distance given will not work. Even with a normal type pipe gap or sphere gap, it's only a ballpark guide.
It is important and always best to set the gap distance to the transformer (with only the transformer connected across the gap [without the primary or cap]). This is the correct method to set the gap distance and works for all gap styles and ensures the gap will breakdown at the correct voltage for the transformer.
In many cases, the program output will be ok because the electrodes and surface do not vary far from the expected inputs. However, when it comes to transformer health, never fully rely on a program output as the final word. Programs are like stars to guide a ship through the night. It's not the ship in the water and it doesn't have to face the storms encountered. Verification is always a good idea, and with a spark gap especially, measurement is important for transformer health (thus the gap and tranny adjustment by themselves, always).
Take care, Bart Phil Tuck wrote:
In the "static gap design" section of JavaTc I have been entering my gap as having two electrodes 0.75 inch diameter, and with a 0.178 inch spark gap. The program then tells me that my voltage will be 14,102v when it fires (correct figure to aim for with a 10k RMS NST). However mine is a sucker gap and in the centre of each of my 0.75 inch electrode is a 0.354 inch central hole (for the suction).How is this going to affect the gaps firing voltage? Do I need to ignore the JavaTc figure and go slightly larger or smaller? (I also have a Terry and safety gap protection for the NST) Regards Philip _______________________________________________ Tesla mailing list Tesla@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.pupman.com/mailman/listinfo/tesla
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