Mysteries to a newcomer

To: tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com
Subject: Mysteries to a newcomer
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 1997 18:53:02 -0500
Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net

Subject: 
        Mysteries to a newcomer
  Date: 
        Mon, 7 Apr 97 16:28:17 EDT
  From: 
        Gary Lau 07-Apr-1997 1627 <lau-at-hdecad.ENET.dec-dot-com>
    To: 
        tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
    CC: 
        lau-at-hdecad.ENET.dec-dot-com

Greetings, 

I've been monitoring this list traffic for about 2 months and am nearly
ready
to act upon building my first coil.  I suppose there will always be
some, but
there are a few mysteries I'd like to understand before I begin:

What are oil burner ignition transformers rated?  (I've already got some
and I'm
not looking to set records, 12"-18" sparks would be great.)  Would 2 in
parallel
be better than one?  Are neon transformers significantly preferable?

If one starts with a acquiring a HV xfmr, it would seem that the rest of
the
system parameters should be derived starting with this.  How does one
map HV
xfmr parameters into tank/primary and secondary parameters?  I
understand the
required relationships between pri & sec parameters and resonant
frequencies,
but I'm unclear on what the sequence of parameter selection is:
HV xfmr -> Cap value -> ??? -> ???

I've heard vague advice on this list relating xfmr size to cap uF
value.  What
is this relationship?

Is a variac necessary?  Why?  If it's just to break in a new oil cap,
why not
just close the spark gap?

How vital is a dedicated earth ground, as opposed to using the cold
water pipe
leaving my basement?

Thanks and regards, Gary
Waltham, MA