Hi Conor,That tells the tale. The value is off by a factor of 10 and the power rating is wrong. 1/4W resistors will jump across the resistor body. You should have used 10M and 1/2W resistors preferably with a high voltage rating. Standard carbon resistors can be used "if" you have several MMC's per string where the voltage across each MMC is under 300V. When you mentioned a noticeable loss, I suspected the value was low which is why I asked for the value.
As far as their intention, they are there to bleed down individual cap charge. They do not balance voltage. They do not waste power. They are not to be trusted as a safety discharge scheme. You should always check MMC charge (like you would any other cap) before messing with the coil. Some systems have retained a charge. The transformer should bleed down the MMC overall charge, but the bleeders help with individual cap bleed down.
That's all they do and it's a good idea to install them for that reason stated. I've never had an issue with my bleeders. But again, when the TCML postings state it is "cheap safety". this can be misinterpreted. Bleeders should never be assumed to bleed down the voltage making a coil safe. Bleeders can open and leave a lethal charge, so we should always check the gap for charege before handling as standard practice.
Regards, Bart CONOR WHYTE wrote:
well, if I recall correctly they were supposed to be 1/4W at 1Mohm. these were crap as I said.without the resistors I got 84-86", with the resistors the gap actually sputtered more (static air gap) and I lost ~5-6" maybe... I could see the resistors sparkling a little. I think the material was garbage use to make them. So anyways.. not going to use them again.. period. I don't see if your tank MMC is constructed properly why you'd need them in the first place.----- Original Message ----- From: bartb <bartb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 10:28 am Subject: Re: [TCML] mmc cap protection by spark-gaps-any ideas? To: Tesla Coil Mailing List <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>Hi Conor, What type of spark length "losses" did you see using the resistors? What value resistors did you use? Regards, Bart
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