Re: Wire worries......do I need HV wire, or will 600V hardware store wire do?

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

Original poster: BunnyKiller <bunikllr-at-bellsouth-dot-net> 

Hi Jack...

the insulation rating is for direct contact of an insulated wire to a 
grounded object. Sooo...   if a wire( actually the insulation)  is rated 
for 600V , the insulation should hold up to 600V near or in contact to a 
grounded object.   Yes at 15KV it will punch thru the insulation within 
contact and up to 3/4 of an inch from a grounded object.    Keep in mind 
when wiring the Hi Volt side of things, keep a good 1 - 2 " distance from 
objects that will be seen as a ground by the hi volt side ( basically 
everything).  Also....   when using "low" voltage insulation ( e.g. 
600V)  ratings with "hi voltage" systems( e.g. 5KV+), the insulation will 
not protect you from a shock.  You can still get nailed when handling or 
getting within3/4 -  1/2" of insulated wire when your system is 
energized.  And for those of us with the hi volt wire, yes we like to show 
off our good fortune in finding such wonderful stuff...


Scot D



Tesla list wrote:

>Original poster: Phlunktfysics101-at-aol-dot-com
>Hello all!
>
>I'm a new coiler, and I'm at the point where I have just about everything 
>here to assemble my coil, except perhaps suitable wire.  I bought some 8 
>AWG copper multistranded wire from the hardware store.
>It is thick, and seems heavy duty, but it is only rated at 600V.  Just 
>about all the wire at the hardware store is 600V max.  I would be using 
>this to make my connections from my 15,000V 30mA NST and 45kV Maxwell 
>Caps.  My question is will the insulation burn off or something?  Do I 
>need to shell out the big bucks for HV wire?  Or are most people using the 
>same low voltage wire?  I looked on all the popular sites, but wire 
>voltage rating is rarely mentioned.  And when it is, it's always HV wire 
>like 30kV or something and I cant tell if it's just for bragging purposes.
>
>Also, I built a "vacuum sucker gap" modeled after the one on Gary Lau's 
>website.  It seemed to be a good easy to make alternative until I can rig 
>up an RSG.  Has anyone else used one of these, and do they work well?
>
>I appreciate any advice.
>Jack
>
>