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The infamous (and odoriferous?) Fair Radio cap



Hi, 
I've been reading the list for a while, and thanks to some assistance from the
distinguished fellow list member Mr.. Cressler;;;;;, I'm at the point having
what I need to assemble a TC or two. 
I received the ever popular Fair Radio 100kV dc capacitor in the mail today
(they got some more in), and... as my son and I were going through the box, we
noticed an odd smell that resembled some kind of mix of mint, and oregano.    
After whiffing our way through the box, thinking it was the ink on the
newspaper used to cushion, .. it turned out to be the cap.  It has a strong
odor.  
I was wondering if anyone else has noticed this, and/or would care to take a
stab at what it might be from... (the thing has a waxy feel to it in a chalky
kind of way (?)).
(given the amount we inhaled during the odor identification phase, I hope no
one responds with "oh, that sounds like the classic smell of PCBs").
 
On a different note, 
A quick (and probably dumb) question:
I've read a lot about making sure there is a good dedicated RF ground, and to
make sure that the "house" ground is not involved (which makes pretty good
sense to me).
And that the center tap/case of a neon (or bank of neons) should be grounded to
the RF ground.
My question is: where should the house ground stop.  I'm assuming I will run it
through and ground the case of the variac with the house ground,.... and then,
should it be connected to the case/C.T. of the neon too?
 
Any responses would be greatly appreciated.
 
Ed.