High Voltage Diode Questions (fwd)

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Original poster: Tesla List Moderator <mod1-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 17:25:39 -0500
From: David Rieben <drieben-at-midsouth.rr-dot-com>
To: Tesla list <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Cc: drieben-at-midsouth.rr-dot-com
Subject: High Voltage Diode Questions

Hi all,

I just received some high voltage diodes that I won off of ebay today. They can be seen at: http://cgi.ebay-dot-com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3825303927&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT
First of all, I believe that they come out of an x-ray power supply. Notice that they are of the heavy duty stackable "hockey puck" style instead of the little seriesed diodes 
"sticks". I went ahead and asked him if he would sell me 3 of his other diodes like this for making a full-wave bridge rectifier capable of 150 kV at 1.5 amps for the same price each as the first one. He agreed so I now have 4 of these 150 kV diode stacks for a little over $100, including shipping ;^) Not too bad..  

Anyway, I'm assuming that there'd be no problem to use them as a rectifier for a large DC powered coil system as the primary circuit voltage would be <25 kV with a 14.4 kV pig as the HV transformer. I realize that I'd have to have large filtering caps and inductive chokes with them, but I'm thinking that these would work great in this type of setup.

I'm also assuming that they must be operated under oil to operate at anything near their voltage rating since 150 kV would easily "creep" around the surface of these units in open air? I'm sure they were submerged inside of the x-ray tranny tank under the oil.

Thanks,
David Rieben