RE: FW: Oil leak at pig Horn cable clamp, thanks David for theknow to do it rigth

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "marc" <xp88@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Hi,

I am about 90% complete building Dan's DRSSTC II
DRSSTC II : "A Modern Day Solid State Tesla Coil Experiment" Book

I'm at the stage of final wiring.

All the mechanical stuff is done.. The coil, primary, strike rail, toroid,
PC boards, etc came out great. Inductances are within 5% of the book! The
gate driver puts out pulses. Except for making the base round instead of
square, I followed the book  pretty closely.

I WAS HOPING SOMEONE COULD GIVE ME SOME LAST MINUTE TIPS ON HOW TO DO THE
1ST POWER UP SO I DON'T KILL ANY OF THE FOLLOWING!

(1) - Myself
(2) - My expensive H-bridge IGBT's
(3) - My computer, TV set.. etc

thanks. Marc





> [Original Message]
> From: Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 7/2/2005 2:43:53 AM
> Subject: FW: Oil leak at pig Horn cable clamp, thanks David for theknow
to do it rigth
>
> Original poster: "Jim Mora" <jmora@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> David, I am one of those people that unless I have some extra time. I will
> find a temp solution. Reason forthcoming. I cleaned the top of the horn
and
> the brass flange of the upper clamp thoroughly with lacquer thinner and
> applied a liberal bead of silicone clear around it and let it set over
> night. It looks fairly clean and even with angular abuse it doesn't leak a
> drop. Just in time for the fourth!
>
> I will examine the top removal and learn a thing or two as time permits.
>
> Ever fix a small pipe leak as a honey do and end up breaking the pipe in
the
> wall? :-{
> Thanks for the know how to fix this properly.
> Jim Mora
> Ojai, Ca	
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tesla list [mailto:tesla@xxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Friday, July 01, 2005 8:08 PM
> To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: Oil leak at pig Horn cable clamp
>
> Original poster: "David Rieben" <drieben@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
>
> Jim,
>
> I assume that you're referring to one of the high voltage input
> ceramic bushings that protrude from the top cover of the the
> transformer tank? The top tank cover can be easily removed
> by loosening the "barrel clamp" ring around the top of the tank
> and lid junction. There will be some clamping hardware on the
> underside of the tank lid and the HV bushing(s) feedthrough
> hole that secures the bushing to the underside of the tank lid.
> You will, of course, have to remove the lid to gain access to
> the bushing clamping hardware underneath. There are several
> different types of clamping mechanisms that are used in pole
> pigs for this purpose. It's kind of hard to explain the clamping
> mechanisms in writing, but once you take off the lid and see
> it for yourself, torque adjustment is pretty self explanatory.
>
> I have heard others speak of a "wicking" action that can
> cause leaks around the bushing, but I have personally ne-
> ver witnessed this myself. That's certainly not to say that
> it dosen't happen, just that "I" never have experienced it.
> There is a cloth-like insulation material that's wrapped around
> the inner conductor inside the porcelain barrel tube that
> could act as a wick, I suppose. Someone else will have to
> share their experience on this issue.
>
> As mentioned above, I would take off the lid and try to
> tighten the "bushing-to-lid" clamping hardware first and see
> it this fixes the problem. If that dosen't do the trick, you may
> need to replace the gasket material. BTW, is the leak at the
> bushing/tank lid junction or is it around the HV bronze hook
> up clamp at the top of the bushing? If it's the latter, then there
> may very well be some wicking action going on here. As a
> side note, I have experienced leaking around the low voltage
> input bushing insulators on the side of the tank before. I ended
> up taking off the tank lid and draining down the oil low enough
> to take out the LV bushings without the oil running out of the blank
> LV bushing holes in the side of the tank. I simply reseated and
> retightened them, refilled with the removed oil, put the tank back
> together and the leak was fixed :^)
>
> If all else fails, you may have to go to a transformer rebuilder
> or manufacturer and see if you can purchase another HV bushing.
> You will probably have to bring the tank lid with you to make
> sure that you get the right type of bushing, as there are numerous
> different types and manufacturers of these bushings. This should be
> a last resort though as these ceramic bushings are rather pricey.
> (I paid $41 a piece for 14.4 kV HV bushings for my 10 kVA pig).
>
> Hope this helped you out.
>
> David Rieben
>
> PS: Be careful when removing the top lid of the tank as there usually
> isn't much slack in the HV leads from the underside "barrels"
> of the bushings to the internal transformer. If you yank it up
> with any force, you may break the insulator saddle of the internal
> transformer. Ask me how I know this ;^)
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Friday, July 01, 2005 12:18 AM
> Subject: Oil leak at pig Horn cable clamp
>
>
>  >Original poster: "Jim Mora" <jmora@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>  >
>  >Hello,
>  >
>  >I have had a leak problem on one of my pole pig cable clamp gaskets. It
>  >really squirts if I apply any angular force on it. In this case I have a
>  >couple of rods attached to do power control testing with a Jacobs
Ladder.
>  >It appears slightly off center. Maybe it took a hit in transport.
>  >
>  >    * How does one tighten these without busting the horn or inner
>  > connections?
>  >    * What dynamics bring the transformer oil into the horns? Is there a
>  > wick or is it simply a reservoir?
>  >
>  >It came from T&R a couple years ago on a pallet.
>  >
>  >Thanks,
>  >Jim Mora
>  >Ojai, Ca.
>  >
>  >
>  >
>