~In reply to Jimlux - Grounding question

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

Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <dbanse-at-comcast-dot-net>

In reply to:
Me: I want to test my NST with just the spark gap, and the capacitor.
You: "This is hard on the NST... Why not just run the NST with the gap
alone..."



Well, I wanted to test the Geek Bucket cap that I am making, and....

Won't the NST just cause a constant arc from one side of the static gap to
the other??...without a cap that is.

...and are you saying I would be able to run this setup...(NST, Cap, Gap)
with this wiring....

Lamp cord to the two 'mains' IN......and the ground on the other side
connected to a water pipe....or some type of ground???

I guess my question is.....is the ground on the opposite side of the
transformer the same ground that would be connected to the green wire on a
lamp cord?? (or whatever)

If this is the case, why would they place it on the opposite side of the
transformer from the 'mains' IN??

Hope I didn't confuse you much,
Thanks,
Jaime


----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2002 7:06 PM
Subject: Re: *****Grounding question


> Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>
>
>
>
> Tesla list wrote:
> >
> > Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
> <dbanse-at-comcast-dot-net>
> >
> > I have a 15kV60mA NST....
> >
> > I have an older house where none of the sockets are grounded....(they
> were all
> > 2 prongers....I just 'put in' three prong outlets....(but no wire to
ground
> > with)
> >
> > I want to test my NST with just the spark gap, and the capacitor.
>
> This is hard on the NST... Why not just run the NST with the gap alone...
>
> >
> > What will happen if I just plug it in with no variac or anything else?
> > Will I get the shit shocked out of me?
>
> Well.. probably not that bad, but it very well might hurt a lot, and you
> might start a fire inside the wall..
>
> The risk is that one of the HV terminals will short to the case or to the
> low voltage primary (the short might be a spark breakdown inside the
> transformer, and be invisible, and not present when transformer's not on).
> Then you've got several bad scenarios:
>
> 1) Case at HV
> 2)  case at HV shorted to power line, putting HV back into the line, where
> it will hopefully be shorted to ground by something along the way (loose
> screw, corona discharge, the power companies transformer).  Depending on
> all the impedances along the way, the voltage might be fairly high
(several
> hundred volts).. enough to breakdown the feeble insulation designed for
> 300V (when it was newly installed).  If your house is wired with "knob and
> tube"... words fail me...
>
>
>
> >
> > My NST has two output terminals....which are obviously the 'OUTS'
> >
> > It also has a 'GRD' terminal on the other side...which I am pretty sure
means
> > 'Ground'...........do I use this for anything, and if so, what do I
> connect it
> > to? ...a water pipe or something?
> The third prong on the plug, which should THEN be connected to a water
pipe
> or something.
>
> Seriously, if you're going to be fooling with HV, you do need to pay
> attention to safety grounds.  When you start making RF High Voltage the
> problem gets worse.
> >
>
> For what it's worth, putting 3 prong outlets in without grounding the
third
> prong is an egregious safety hazard (and probably illegal as all get out,
> but that is really beside the point.. we've all done things that are
> illegal but safe).  At least with the two prong outlet, you know it's
> unsafe, but some unsuspecting person might think that the grounded outlet
> really is grounded.  There is a big difference in design between "double
> insulated" appliances (designed for two prong ungrounded outlets) and
> appliances designed for a third wire safety ground.
>
> In something designed for ungrounded operation, a single failure typically
> cannot result in line voltage being applied to the surface or operating
> controls.  In things designed for a safety ground, a short of line to case
> will result in fault current through the safety ground, hopefully blowing
> the fuse or circuit breaker, and in any event, the case won't be at 120V
> relative to ground.
>
> This is particularly important if you are, for instance, standing in bare
> feet on the concrete/tile floor.
>
> Bear in mind also that ground fault interrupters (like the ones on
> hairdryers, etc.) won't work with ungrounded outlets (at least in the
> preventing shocks sense...).  You don't want to return to the days of 16
> people a year dying from using a hairdryer in the shower, do you.
>
> > Thanks,
> > Newbie coiler,
> > HyFlyOne
>
>
>