Safety Gaps

• To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
• Subject: Safety Gaps
• From: "Vivian Watts" <V.C.Watts-at-btinternet-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)
• Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 18:34:39 -0600
• Approved: twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net
• Delivered-To: fixup-tesla-at-pupman-dot-com-at-fixme

Hi All,
    I know this has been asked many times as I've read previous posts but
I'm having difficulty setting my safety gap with my rotary.  You may recall
I blew my Neon a while ago while running my new Sync rotary so I don't want
to do the same again.  I tried setting the S-gaps so they just don't fire
with no primary circuit connected.  However connecting the primary circuit
causes the S-Gaps to fire at about 50% input voltage and no main gap
running.  So I assume I'm getting resonant rise and the S-gaps then fire.
However when running the rotary the S gaps still fire at 50% input.  I tuned
the Rotary phase with about 5% input voltage to the primary and rotate the
rotary phase to the centre of max arcing range.  This seems to correspond
with the electrodes lining up with the white part of a strobe disc I had
attached.

My safety gap is standard, with a separate gap from each HV terminal to
ground.  Also a separate gap across the rotary.  All are 1/4" brass round
nose shape.

I originally set the S-gaps to 1/4" with the rotary S-gap at 1/2".  With no
main gap the safeties did not fire so being worried about over-volting I've
closed the gaps down  as described above.

I'm now running two 5KV 120ma Neon's in anti-phase with centre ground.

regards

Viv Watts UK.

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