Original poster: "Gerry Reynolds" <gerryreynolds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Hi Matt,I just wanted to mention that a safety gap directly across the tank cap is a good way to destroy the cap cause there is nothing to limit the current if that safety gap were to fire. When the main gap or normally placed safety gap fires, the TC primary inductance will help determine the max current from the tank cap (Imax = Vmax/sqrt (Lp/Cp)). The normally placed safety gap (in parallel with the main gap lets say) will also protect the tank cap from resonant rise. Short of a secondary arc to the MMC, the voltage across the tank cap can never get larger than the voltage across the normally placed safety gap.
Gerry R.
Original poster: Mddeming@xxxxxxx A few folks also put a safety gap across the tank cap for the same reason.