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Re: Coil for rent?



Tesla List wrote:
> 
> Original Poster: Doug Brunner <dabrunner-at-earthlink-dot-net>
> 
> Problem with this country (and a lot of others) is that almost nobody
> understands creative engineering. It might not be all the way at 7 feet, but
> based on my research, my design will be in that ballpark. You're talking
about
> stacked or rolled caps-my system is salt water based, with a LOT of bottles.
> (I went out day before yesterday and got about forty beer bottles.) I
realize
> the Q will be low, but I've got many kVA going in (like 6), thanks to a
> 240V/30A circuit, so...
> 
> Tesla List wrote:
> 
> > Original Poster: "Robert W. Stephens" <rwstephens-at-headwaters-dot-com>
> >
> > Tesla List wrote:
> > >
> > > Original Poster: Doug Brunner <dabrunner-at-earthlink-dot-net>
> > >
> > > A good coil, built from scratch, would be about $200. I estimate about
> > 7-foot
> > > streamers, but the construction process is fairly involved (you would
> > have to
> > > wind a power transformer). You might be able to put a small one together
> > > with a
> > > used NST for around $100, with sparks around 2 feet.
> >
> > <Huge snip>
> >
> > Whoa Doug,
> >
> > Time for a reality check. Ya' been out shopping in the past 15 years?  A
> > commercially built capacitor for a TC that can make 7 foot streamers
> > alone is going to run you _at least_ $300+ US dollars if you get it
> > directly from the factory!  If you make it yourself the materials alone
> > will cost you what you just budgeted ($200), for the entire coil system!
> >
> > On the other hand, I agree with you however that the NST powered coil
> > you mentioned could be built for the budget stated ($100), if you got
> > the NST the proper way (don't buy it new from a distributor) and
> > employed salt water or otherwise cheap home-made capacitors, and made no
> > charges on your R&D, parts procurement (running around burning
> > gasoline), and construction labor.
> >
> > There's an enormous(!) expenditure distance involving materials cost and
> > acceptable design parameters in Tesla coiling between achieving two foot
> > streamers and seven footers.
> >
> > Robert W. Stephens
> > Lindsay Scientific Co.
> > Commercial Tesla coil supplier
> > Phone and autoFax 1-519-925-1771
> 
> --
>            --Doug Brunner
>                 <dabrunner-at-earthlink-dot-net>

Doug,

I've been known to go and get 24 beer bottles, empty them and at about
#12 get into some serious dreaming/designing.  BTW _I_ think it was me
that invented 'creative engineering'.

At 6 kVA, 40 beer bottles (now filled with salt water) probably won't
run a Tesla coil but should make for interesting fireworks.  I'd suggest
larger jars (just like Tesla himself), and many in series parallel if
this is your ambition and you have a large lab space.  Without crunching
any numbers at all, just pulling a figure out of the sky, I think you'd
be looking at at least 100 beer bottles in 3 groups of 33-1/3 in series
for any work with a pole pig.  With all these containment tubs at
intermediate voltages you will have a safety issue 'par excellence' to
deal with. The first accident is going to drive the cost of your coil
_WAY_ above your $200 budget!

I used to pride myself in building, from scratch, darned near everything
I needed, furniture, color TV, stereo system back when I was in my late
teens and into my early 20's.  I finally recognized that it was cheaper
and better from a practicality standpoint to go and buy what you needed
from big companies that made these things priced to the tremendous
economy of large scale manufacturing. That Volkswagen bus sized salt
water capacitor can be had that will be supported in the palm of your
hand.

Robert W. Stephens