Re: Wood

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: Wood
From: "D.C. Cox" <DR.RESONANCE-at-next-wave-dot-net> (by way of Terry Fritz <terryf-at-verinet-dot-com>)
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1998 14:18:30 -0700
Approved: terryf-at-verinet-dot-com
to: Bart

Mount your electrodes on some delrin rod stock so they are elevated 3-4
inches above the wood.  Most all wood contains 3% moisture and will not
withstand HV creepage effects.  Worse yet, they slowly drain away your
performance sometimes without you being aware of the problem until it
starts smoking.

DR.RESONANCE-at-next-wave-dot-net


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> From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Wood
> Date: Saturday, November 21, 1998 9:40 PM
> 
> Original Poster: "Barton B. Anderson" <mopar-at-uswest-dot-net> 
> 
> I just wanted to note a problem I had with my spinning
> pipe rsg. It is built in a thick wooden box. I had also
> attached the fixed electrodes to the side of the box.
> Well, a couple nights ago while tuning, the sparks ended
> and the spark gap was arcing at one of the fixed
> electrodes. It was a continuous buzzing sound arc. I
> inspected and found the voltage was finding it's way
> through the wood from fixed electrode to electrode even
> though they are 3.5 inches apart. Tonight I insulated
> the electrodes from the wood and everything is fine
> again. I've used wood before and never had a problem
> until now. So to all who may be using wood in a similar
> way, BEWARE.
> 
> Mounting primarys on wooden forms may also run the same
> risk and could be a cause of very poor performing coils.
> I used wooden runners on my primary, however, the
> primary was well coated with polyurethane and the actual
> winding does not sit in direct contact with the runners.
> This was done via ty-wraps which fasten the primary
> coil. Ty-wraps are inserted into holes in runners from
> the bottom, then up and around the primary winding and
> back down through the same hole. This keeps the primary
> off the wooden runners by a little more than the width
> of the ty-wrap width (the runner through holes cannot be
> too big or the primary winding will come in contact with
> the runner when tightened). I don't' think my primary
> has arced through my runners, but after this episode
> with the rsg, I think I'll do a detailed inspection.
> 
> Just wanted to share the incident,
> Bart
>