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Lamp Oil
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From: Jim Lux [SMTP:jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net]
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 1998 10:49 AM
To: Tesla List
Subject: Re: Lamp Oil
> I got the lamp oil at Wal Mart in a quart plastic bottle. It is the
> uncented oil. Has anyone tried lamp oil in caps before? It seems to be
> doing fine in this little mickey mouse experement I did.
>
Lamp oil is another name for kerosine. It will be similar to transformer
oil in that they are both basically oil, just with different chain lengths.
I suspect that the transformer oil would be a bit higher boiling point,
much higher flash point (you don't want it to burn) and is more highly
refined. The refining aspect is important because it is the impurities in
the oil (notably water) that reduce its breakdown voltage. I find that the
smell of Diala AX is reminiscent of Vaseline, another long chain
hydrocarbon.
I might note that gasoline (real gas, not the unleaded stuff full of
additives and aromatics that you put in your car) would also work as a
dielectric. Try Coleman fuel. The real problem, as you can imagine is the
safety hazard. Essentially you want to use the highest boiling, least
flammable substance that you can still pour.
The flammability issue is why PCB's (aka Askarels) were so popular:
dielectric constant of 5-6, non flammable, good resistance to contaminants:
what more could you ask...