Re: can you use spark plug wires??

To: tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: can you use spark plug wires??
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
Date: Sat, 03 May 1997 09:04:43 -0500
Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net
Subject:  Re: can you use spark plug wires??
  Date:   Fri, 2 May 1997 21:56:08 +0500
  From:   "Alfred A. Skrocki" <alfred.skrocki-at-cybernetworking-dot-com>
    To:   Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>


On Thu, 24 Apr 97 06:12:28 UT William Noble
<William_B_Noble-at-msn-dot-com> wrote;

> while reading about kick back killing neons, it dawned on me that
> typical automotive spark plug wire is a carbon core with 30KV insulation
> around it. It is designed to suppress all sorts of stuff yet pass a decent
> current.  It seems to me that the neon to capacitor connections could be
> made with this wire, with the following benefits:

The biggest drawback of using spark plug wire is the resistive losses
They are made of carbon to increase their resistance, in a Tesla Coil 
this will only increase your losses.
 
> 1. protection of the neon(s)

No protection what so ever, it wold be like expecting a several 100K 
resistor to protect the neon transformer - it wont.

> 2. RF suppression for 60HZ line

To the best of my knowledge spark plug wire has no inherent 
suppresion of R.F. it is the ignition coil circuitry that 
incorperates R.F. suppresion.

> 3. protection of the user due to good HV insulation

Better insulation than say house wire or other wire designed for low 
voltage. Try neon sign wire it's insulated to at least 50KV and has 
much better conductivity. You could also consider test probe wire 
it's usually good to at least 35KV. I will assume you are considering 
usage for small Tesla Coils like say under 1 Killowatt because over 1 
killowatt spark plug wire, neon sign wire, and test probe wire has 
too small a cross sectional area for 1 killowatt you should be using 
something like #10 gauge stranded (for flexability) and over a 
killowatt the required thickness goes up!

> 4. cheap

Last time I checked bothe test probe wire and neon sign wire were 
much cheaper than spark plug wire.

> 5. no inductors to build

Not true since the spark plug wire is nothing more than a long 
resistor you will still have to add chokes and capacitors to supress
the R.F. .

                               Sincerely

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                           Alfred A. Skrocki
                   alfred.skrocki-at-cybernetworking-dot-com
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