RE: microwave capacitors

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

Original poster: "Lau, Gary by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <Gary.Lau-at-compaq-dot-com>

I have not tried using microwave oven caps.  But, bear in mind that they
were designed for 60 Hertz operation, as a filtering component, not as a
pulse discharge component, so their construction probably will not support
the 100's of Amps that a TC cap must put up with.  Building a cap for
pulse-discharge operation is far more costly than building one for filtering.

With regard to your .05uF/10kV pulse caps, the ratings sound useful for TC
use, but what REALLY matters is what they're made of.  Who said they are
"pulse caps"?  They sound suspiciously like Glassmike caps, which have
lossy Mylar dielectrics.  They have been reported to explode in TC use.
IMO, it would be irresponsible to advertise their being suitable for TC
use.  I've never seen a coiler operate in low-duty-cycle mode.  We tend to
just crank it and (sometimes wrongly) assume it won't blow up in our face.

Gary Lau
MA, USA
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Original poster: "Sean Taylor by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<taylorss-at-rose-hulman.edu>

So does anyone know the suitability for use of polypropylene/foil microwave
oven capacitors for use in a TC tank circuit? I would think that they would
work fine, but it seems like more people would use them, cause they tend to be
fairly cheap . . . This is the same question I had in a previous post, but I
didn't get replies regarding their use in the tank circuit . . .
 
Same question about the 10kv 0.05 uF pulse caps - are they any good for TC tank
use?  even for low duty cycle to avoid heating?