Re: Brass Ball static spark gap not doing so well

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

Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>

The other problem with spheres as opposed to cylinders is that the spark is
going to tend to always come from the same place on the electrode, heating
it up and increasing the chance that the next spark will start at the same
spot (Vacuum tube cathodes are heated for a reason).  With cylinders, the
sparks tend to distribute over the length of the cylinder, reducing the spot
heating.


> Original poster: "S.Gaeta by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<sgtporky-at-prodigy-dot-net>
>
> > Original poster: "Pete Komen by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
> <pkomen-at-zianet-dot-com>
> > I have a new spark gap made of 15 - 1 1/8" brass balls spaced 0.022"
> apart.
> > Air is blown around them but not specifically at the gaps.  Things
started
> > out OK, but the arcs kept getting shorted over a period of 10-15
minutes.
> Hi Pete,
> I had the same exact problem with my medium coil when I was using a brass
> ball gap (seven balls). I was using a 5" muffin fan which wasn't enough. I
> would run the coil for a while, then the output would  suddenly drop. Then
I
> would clean it with sandpaper (after unplugging the coil!) and the
streamers
> would be their original length again. I solved this problem by going with
a
> Cu pipe gap.
>
> I don't know if brass works well in a rotary. I hope it does because I
made
> mine with brass bolts. I am going to find out as soon as I get up enough
> nerve to actually hook it up to a coil!