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Variacs, HV Jell, and LTRS Caps



Hi All,

	I am building a new control box and I was going to get another variac.
Superior Electric and Staco come to mind and I was just wondering if one is
better than the other in any way?  Staco is a bit more expensive but if
they are somehow better it would be worth the few extra dollars.

	Also, I am working on a new MMC cap design that will require that they be
submersed in oil.  I am running them above their ratings (in the "enhanced"
mode :-)) taking advantage of the fact that "I know things" :-))  Since oil
is such a mess, I was wondering if mixing mineral oil and say paraffin
would produce a jell that could be heated to flow but would solidify like
grease when cooler?  The jell would not be a dielectric but more of an
insulator and mounting medium to put the caps in nice PVC cases.  The
advantage would be it would not run, spill, leak, etc.  If this works, I
can make a 5.6nF cap for about $25!!  If it doesn't, I don't want to have
to clean up a bunch of oil :-))  This will test if the manufactures ratings
really do mean anything in Tesla coil applications.  I am running just over
the edge in voltage and current but theoretically they should hold up very
well.  My present MMC runs soooooo cool I think it may be a waste of money
to over design these things too much.  More exploration of their limits is
called for.  Since I have all my stuff modeled, I can predict RMS currents
and voltages very well so as to push the rating of the parts "gently"...

	I have been running a small coil off a 27nF (larger-than-resonant-sized
(LTRS)) cap with a 15kV/60mA transformer the last few days.  All seems to
be working as expected and the output seems much better than my old 17nF
configuration.  Much more to learn about this.  I think this is a very
promising area despite the theoretical complexities.  Much more to come
about this... 

Any thoughts are welcome...

	Terry