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Re: Rotary Gap Electrodes - A first-hand experience
Tesla List wrote:
>
> >From bturner-at-apc-dot-netWed Oct 23 21:20:39 1996
> Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1996 01:27:25 -0700
> From: open_minded <bturner-at-apc-dot-net>
> To: tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Rotary Gap Electrodes - A first-hand experience
>
> Hi all...
>
> Well, I had a very successful, and eye-opening experience tonight. >Lit up my larger coil system with the new, 3600 RPM sync. motor. The >coil sure came to life...I had frantic, white, energetic discharges >waving into the air. Physically measured strikes came out to 67" to a >metal ladder near the coil. (Hey, whatever works.) Not shabby for a >secondary with only 22" worth of windings.
>
> One interesting thing though - I sure vaporized the tips off the
> stationary electrodes in my rotary gap! Whoooeeeee. I had 1/8" >tungsten rods fixed into brass holders. At full poop, the stationary >rods achieved a nice, brilliant yellow after about 20-30 seconds. The >rotating electrodes (same stuff) stayed nice and cool.
>
SNIP
>
> - Brent
Brent:
You may have saved me some wasted effort. My present rotary has brass
stationary electrodes that I was about to add 1/8" diameter tungsten
tips to. The brass currently is 1" diameter with about a .38" diameter
tip that tapers back to the full 1" diameter stock. It works, but I
thought the tungsten would be better for quenching time.
My question is: What approximate power do you think you were running
when this occured? Does anyone have any thoughts on whether it is of
any advantage to go to the tungsten, if the brass that I am using shows
little erosion even at about 5500 watts? A guess a slight improvement
in quench time would be realized--anything else?? My rotary uses the
Carter motor run at 2500 RPM or so, 12 moving electrodes made of
stainless 3/8" acorn nuts which have discolored, but are still in very
good shape, mounted on a 14" diameter chunk of G-10 glass epoxy. Total
run time on it is about 35 minutes at high power.
Chuck