Apartment coilers beware!

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Rick" <ollopa-at-jps-dot-net> 

I thought I'd share this entertaining experience with you guys...

I've got a nice medium-size coil at home, in my town house / apartment.
I've run it many times in the living room without too many problems.
Sometimes I have to go around the house and toggle the power on my answering
machine, computer, and stereo to get them to work again after a good run.
That's a pretty good indication that I'm running out of room for an inside
coil, but hey--I don't have a yard.  What's a guy to do?

So, one day someone broke my coil by trying to lift the secondary while it was
attached to its heavy plywood base.  I had just fixed it a couple weeks ago 
when my friends came to visit who've never seen a well built coil before. 
They'd seen maybe 12" discharges, but I was getting at least 36".  I was
getting two streamers, so I decided to put all the topload I could find on it
and retune.  I tapped about three more turns out--the most I've ever done
before.  Unfortunately, the thick streamer coming off the top toroid ran out of
room!  It decided that it was just close enough to the ceiling to go up,
instead of coming out horizontally.  It must have been putting out a lot of
energy because someone who was upstairs informed me that it lit up florescent
tube propped against my bed and that a nearby metal can was giving off sparks.

Well wouldn't you know it, the coil springs in my mattress must have been
arcing too, because my bed caught fire--big time.  No direct hits, it was 100%
induction that started the fire.  I noticed also that a couple devices around
the house were permanently dead, so I decided that my apartment coiling days
are over =(  I've got to find a new place to run my coil...

My fire extinguisher took care of the flames and my friends helped me drag the
queen size mattress down the stairs and onto the sidewalk while we searched for
one terrified pet.  Someone drove by and decided to call the fire
department--Doh!  Just as we're pouring a little water on the smoldering
mattress, we hear some sirens in the background, followed by the arrival of the
police and a huge fire truck.  The firemen jumped out with pitchfork-like
things
and wend to town on my mattress, then hosed it off...  Took a look around the
house, laughed, took some pictures, laughed, called their friends to come over
and laugh at me, then told me to have a nice day and left.  

I kept wondering how things would be different if the fire had started inside
the walls...  Just beware of the forces of induction, I guess.  Put
chicken-wire on the walls of your living room, or something =)