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Re: Very high current ?
Tesla List wrote:
>
> Original Poster: "Paul Marshall" <klugmann-at-hotmail-dot-com>
>
> Hi every one,
> I seem to be having some really heavy currents in my tank circuit.
> I'm running a 6" coil in my basement at close to 6 Kw. I power the coil
> using a 14.4 Kv pole pig. My tank circuit capacitance is .026 Uf. The
> gap is linear air cooled (9 gaps). The coil seems to be preforming
> fairly well. The farthest object in the basement is 81" away. I get hits
> to it and everything else in the basement. Metal screens which are
> grounded protect all of vitals. Several weeks ago my RF choke melted. It
> was wound with 18 AWG. The PVC core even melted. Keep in mind the run
> times have all been less than 15 sec. Last night I examined my tank
> circuit caps. The connections to the terminals are wired with 10 AWG.
> The insulation had melted off of the wires ! What is happening here ?
> Has anyone else experienced this ? Can I put an Amp meter on the HV side
> and check the current ? Its a clip on type and I could mount it with the
> meter facing me.
>
> Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated
>
> paul m.
>
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Paul,
What did your protection circuit look like? Are you using any damping
resistors in series with the chokes? Putting a clip on ammeter around
the high voltage circuit will not allow you to measure the RF currents
which are burning up your choke, and could damage your ammeter. Also,
#10 AWG is too light for running at 6KW in your primary circuit. The RF
current peaks in your primary circuit when your gap fires are probably
several hundred amps - you need to beef up this wiring substantially.
-- Bert --