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Adjusting safety gaps

At 09:33 AM 01/02/2000 -0800, you wrote:
>
>oops! forgot to tell you: I do have a safety gap.  How far apart should it 
>be set?
>-Nathan

Hi Nathan,

A very important question that gets asked all the time...

You want the safety gaps to fire if your neon's voltage increase past it's
designed rating.  So if you have a 15000 volt (RMS) neon, you want the
safety gaps to fire at say 16000 to 18000 volts (RMS).  This will protect
your neon and caps from being damaged by resonant rise and usually from
secondary strikes back to the primary.  Safety gaps are VERY important to
have.  Almost always when someone blows a neon or cap, the first question
we ask is "were there properly set safety gaps" and the answer is almost
always no...

To set the gaps:

Be very carful not to shock yourself during all this!

1.	Disconnect everything from the neons output (caps, primary, main gap,
etc).  

2.	Connect only the safety gap to the neon's output.  

3.	Turn the neon's voltage up slowly until it reaches the rated voltage input.

4.	If the gaps do not fire, turn off ALL the power and adjust them in a
little until the point is found were they do fire.  

5.	Let them arc for a few seconds to blow off dust and break them in so
they fire at a stable voltage level.

6.	Adjust the safety gaps a little further apart until they just will not
fire with the neon at full rated voltage.

Be very carful not to shock yourself during all this!

There is no "standard or right" setting.  Depending an the shape of the
electrodes and the air pressure, the exact distance can vary considerably.
So you just have to set each one to what it happens to need with the above
method.  You do not have to be super precise and if they tend to fire will
running your coil, you can add a tiny bit to the distance.  If they get
worn over time, you should recheck them.

Cheers,

	Terry