RE: *****Grounding question

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

Original poster: "Chris by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <chris-at-atomic-pc-dot-com>

Hi,

Some OBITs (maybe certain NST's too??) don't have a third prong on their 
plug!  And I'm not talking about a homemade, stripped-Romex "suicide cord" 
that some list members may or may not have, uh... seen someone else using)

That third ground wire on the plug provides a return path for the 120/240V 
AC should there be a break in the "neutral" wire anywhere between you and 
the power station (hmm... or if there be a HV kickback into the primary), 
but... that dedicated ground rod / pipe is a must... go to Home Depot or 
something, they have them for about 8-10 dollars, nice tall zinc rods with 
a thick copper cladding... and I'd also recommend doing your coiling on an 
elevated wooden floor or platform to add some resistance to the circuit 
your body would otherwise form w/ ground- you could make a wood floor (no 
nails!) supported by kiln-dried wooden 6x6's for example.
- even though you could still get a !-at-#$ of a shock, it "probably" won't 
kill you, not as easily as it would if you were standing on solid earth.

It's a curious thing to watch a TC send arcs into iron nails in the 
workbench, even when these nails aren't connected to anything but lots and 
lots of bare wood that's elevated quite a bit above the floor...

Chris


At 07:53 PM 2/15/02 -0700, you wrote:
>Original poster: "David Thomson by way of Terry Fritz 
><twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <dave-at-volantis-dot-org>
>
>If you have the money to buy life insurance and play with Tesla coils, you
>have the money to go out and buy an 8 foot copper plated grounding rod.
>Sink it into the ground in a wet spot, and run a #6 copper wire or larger to
>your work area.  If you don't, that mean little metal box will use you for a
>ground rod instead.  And then YOU will be in the damp earth.  DON'T PLUG
>YOUR TRANSFORMER IN TO A TWO WIRE OUTLET WITHOUT A GROUND.  In fact, because
>you asked that question, that means you need to study more about coil safety
>before you do anything else.  Even with a grounded transformer you can get
>the sh*t knocked out of you.
>
>Dave