Re: Twin coils on ebay

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Mike Novak by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <acmnovak-at-msn-dot-com>

How could a tesla coil possibly kill anyone???
My cap only stores 3.7 joules and it takes 16 joules to kill.
The only real dangerous part of my coils are the rotary spark gaps. They
spin electrodes at around 60 mph...
One could be seriously hurt by them, but It would take some effort to get
killed by them.

-Mike

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2001 9:57 PM
Subject: Re: Twin coils on ebay


> Original poster: "Terry Fritz" <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>
>
> Hi Michael,
>
> Tesla coil "liability" is always a "fun" subject :-))
>
> "I" just take the "stance" that people that go near Tesla coils are
> suicidal maniacs that "I" can't control :-))  We post all the
"disclaimers"
> at all out web sites saying that this is a really screwed up and wildly
> dangerous hobby, but still people jump into it like mad.  All we can do is
> try to explain and warn them about the "safety stuff" in hopes that they
> won't hurt themselves...
>
> Let's make one thing "perfectly clear".  Tesla coils deal with thousands
of
> amps and hundreds of thousands of volts.  They are extremely dangerous!
> Anyone who wants to play with such things does so solely at their own
> risk!!  If you blow yourself into oblivion, that is your choice.  You
could
> be working in the garden or watching TV right now...
>
> I could jump on a plane, patrol know sites of the "base jumpers", wrastle
> them to the ground, cuff them up, and haul them to the cops... and still
> get sued ;-))  Fact is, anyone can get "sued" at anytime for anything...
> All we can do, is do the "right thing".  What counts, is what "wins"...
>
> I don't know of any Tesla coil law suits...  Perhaps like Tesla coil
> deaths, we should watch them and study them to make our hobby as safe as
it
> can be from the legal side too.  While the "hypotheticals" are endless,
the
> real successful lawsuits are what really count.  I have heard of maybe
> someone getting hurt in Florida and going maybe to court, but no
results...
>  Anyone heard of any Tesla coil litigation going on???
>
> Cheers,
>
> Terry
>
>
> At 07:37 PM 7/15/2001 -0400, you wrote:
> >To Mike, and everyone selling or renting Tesla coils, parts or services:
> >
> >As a retired and inactive attorney I cannot give legal advice ;-)  But...
I
> >can tell you that I am concerned for those of you who fit this category.
> >Mike, I haven't seen the waiver you intend to present to the buyer of
your
> >beautiful twin coil -- but have you thought about the fact that you could
be
> >exposed to liability if someone Other Than the buyer is injured by this
coil,
> >regardless of what the buyer signs?  This is only one of many issues that
> >needs to be covered in a waiver/sales agreement that would protect you in
the
> >event something, sometime, goes tragically wrong.  Product liability laws
are
> >extremely broad and it would be nearly impossible to write a waiver that
> >protected the purveyor of HV components or services without a large
amount of
> >legal research -- or existing expertise in this field of law.  (I have no
> >expertise at all in this area and am not offering my services.)
> >
> >I am definitely not trying to be a wet blanket here, but I have grown
fond of
> >this List and its contributors and I would hate to see someone's life
screwed
> >up by a lawsuit that your homeowner's/renter's insurance Will Not Cover.
I
> >hope everyone in the category of purveyors will get good legal advice
before
> >wandering into the talons of a personal injury attorney.  The (very few)
> >professional coilers on this list know what I am talking about and do not
> >need my advice.  But I am concerned about the rest of you...
> >
> >Though I doubt any of you few professionals will respond, it would be a
real
> >service to members of this list if you have any helpful comments to offer
on
> >this subject.
> >
> >Regards,
> >
> >Michael Tandy
> >
> >
> >> Hello All,
> >>  I FINALLY got my Twin coil system up on ebay...
> >>  http://cgi.ebay-dot-com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1617224991
> >>  Check it out
> >>
> >>  -Mike Novak
> >>
> >
>
>
>