Chris,When you draw an arc direct from the MWO transformer there is no current limiting to attenuate the spark, and you will draw current limited only by the impedance of the transformer windings and core, which is, by design, not very much.
When you draw current from the doubler, the current is limited by the AC reactance of the capacitor, which will pass a whole lot less current than the transformer can provide.
At 60 Hz, a 1 uF MWO capacitor has a capacitive reactance of 2650 ohms. That's going to limit your current significantly.
Dave On 7/3/2013 12:49 PM, Reverend Fuzzy wrote:
I've got a small high voltage power supply project, which if I can get it working right, I will use to power a Tesla Coil, someday. Thing is, when I attempt to draw an arc from the voltage doubler, it's a little weak as opposed to drawing an arc right from the transformer. Image: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201747419434246&l=224a9e1a9e I suspect that the capacitor (internal diode and bleeder) may be going bad. Going by the "drawn arc" symptoms, does anyone else suspect the same thing? --- Reverend Christopher "Fuzzy" Mayeux
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