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Re: Ground Fault Interupters and RFI filters
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 21:46:23 -0500
From: Gary Johnson <gjohnson-at-kansas-dot-net>
To: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Subject: Re: Ground Fault Interupters and RFI filters
At 11:11 PM 9/28/97 -0600, you wrote:
>
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 22:10:34 -0500 (CDT)
>From: Richard Wayne Wall <rwall-at-ix-dot-netcom-dot-com>
>To: tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com
>Subject: Ground Fault Interupters and RFI filters
>
>9/29/97
>
>I recently added a 30 A circuit breaker/GFI to my power cabinet. It's
>placed before the main contactor and variac. Following the variac
>there is a 100 A RFI filter. Without the main power transformer
>connected, the GFI trips when power is applied. It still trips when
>either the neutral or hot is disconnected and the other remains
>connected. Removing the RFI filter stops the GFI tripping. I replaced
>the RFI filter with two 200 A EMI filters on both the neutral and hot
>line. Same thing happens as with the RFI filter.
>
>Has anyone had this experience with GFIs and RFI filters? Anyone know
>what the mechanism is?
>
>RWW
>
>Sounds like you are getting some current flow from hot to ground (as
opposed to hot to neutral) in the filters. It only takes a few mA to trip a
GFI, such that current flow in the filter capacitors could do the job. I
suspect that actually operating your coil will also trip the GFI. Have you
used a GFI for Tesla coil operation before? Seems unusual.
Gary Johnson