Re: OIL DIELECTRIC CAPACITORS

["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>

As it happens, lots of capacitors still use oil as the dielectric.  Granted,
there is also paper between the plates, but that's there as a spacer to hold
the oil. For instance, Maxwell high energy pulse caps use castor oil as the
dielectric. I'll bet a goodly number of the motor run caps are also oil
dielectric.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Sunday, May 05, 2002 10:42 AM
Subject: OIL DIELECTRIC CAPACITORS


> Original poster: "Ed Phillips by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<evp-at-pacbell-dot-net>
>
> It is indeed possible to build HV capacitors using oil as a dielectric,
> and they were certainly used by hams in spark days, and I suspect there
> were commercial installations as well.  Takes a lot of large,
> carefully-mounted plates with good low-inductance connections, but can
> sure be done and has the advantage that if there is breakdown for some
> reason all that is needed to restore the capacitor is to clean the
> plates and renew (perhaps just filter) the oil.  I have an article in a
> very early 20's QST which describes just such a capacitor, 0.01 ufd at
> 25 kV, as I recall.  If anyone is really, really interested I could dig
> it out and mail it to him.
>
> Ed
>
>
>