[TCML] primary tubing

[David Rieben]

Hi Adam,

I guess my house isn't in the "almost all" catergory then, as I just got 
through
double checking mine and verifying that both of my breaker panel boxes are
tied to the meter base (which happens to be on the opposite side of the wall
from the breaker panels - so a very short run) via 1-0 or 2-0 COPPER cable.
I couldn't locate any identifying print on the short visible stretch of the 
insulation
sleaves, so I am having to guestimate the wire guage size. Certainly big 
stuff,
though, as just the cable (w/out the insulation) was probably the same 
diameter
as an average adult man's pinky to ring finger range and each individual 
strand
looked to be about #12 AWG ;^/

The main breaker panel is a 200 amp rated one and the additional panel,
which was added when I finished the upstairs expandable, is a 125 amp
rated panel. The 125 amp rated panel only has one bedroom and one bath-
room on it from upstairs and the rest of its overrated ampacity is pretty 
much
for my "toys" in the garage. ;^) BTW, while I had the panel covers off to
check for copper vs. aluminum, I went ahead and retightened the lugs that
hold down the mains cables coming from the meter base - kinda killed two
birds with one stone. ;^|

David Rieben


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Yurtle Turtle" <yurtle_t at yahoo.com>
To: "Tesla Coil Mailing List" <tesla at pupman.com>
Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 5:09 AM
Subject: Re: [TCML] primary tubing


Almost all residential houses use aluminum wire to run from the meter base 
to the breaker panel. That's a 200 amp circuit with nothing more than a 
mechanical connection and an anti oxidant grease.

Adam

--- On Sun, 11/8/09, G Hunter <dogbrain_39560 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: G Hunter <dogbrain_39560 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [TCML] primary tubing
> To: "Tesla Coil Mailing List" <tesla at pupman.com>
> Date: Sunday, November 8, 2009, 4:06 PM
> > The only discrepancy I have is
> that I thought Al simply
> > oxidized in air, maybe you could also call it
> anodization
> > but I thought that was adding pigment to the outside
> oxide
> > layer.
> >
> > Drake
> >
>
> That's what I keep coming back to. What about the
> Aluminum Oxide layer? Aluminum Oxide is an electrical
> insulator, and it is so hard it is used as an abrasive for
> sandpaper and the like. A rock-hard layer of
> insulation would seem to make good electrical contact
> problematic. Shining the Al with steel wool won't
> help, as the oxide layer instantly forms again. Also,
> the usual hardware store-grade primary terminations and taps
> (alligator clips, fuse clips, ground lugs, etc.) are
> typically made of copper, brass, or copper-plated
> steel. Not only are they too soft to cut the oxide
> layer, but contact between dissimilar metals only aggravates
> the formation of a high resistance connection.
>
> Seriously though, I wonder how much these theoretical
> concerns really affect actual coil performance. I've
> used solid aluminum wire as the primary for a very small
> coil, and it worked fine. I suspect Al is probably OK
> for the small stuff, but becomes a bigger issue as the coil
> gets bigger and the kva goes up.
>
> As far as the compactness issue of fat Al tube -vs- skinny
> Cu tube, that could sidestepped by using flat aluminum
> strap.
>
> Greg
>
>
>
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>



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