New coil woes

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: JBarrett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Hello again,

I was attempting to fire up my new 4" coil with a 12,000 volt 30 ma nst. 
The spark gaps started firing hard and fast with just an occasional spark 
at the safety gap. Flourescent bulb blinking in my hand and then poof!. The 
gaps slowed way down and no more safety gap action.

One dead nst. So I go to my backup nst. 12,000 volts 60 ma. Same exact result.
Same side too!

What am I doing wrong here? very discouraged! The safety gap is two pieces 
of brass stock with a piece of copper pipe between them that is grounded. I 
can slide the brass in and out toward the pipe for adjustment.
Coil specs
Specs:
21" of 22 guage wire on a 4" PVC pipe
12,000 volt 30 ma Neon Sign Transformer
9 pieces of 1" thick wall copper pipes 6" long for spark gap
small fan to cool gap 9 pipes 8 gaps spaced very close but not touching
Small Aluminum Toroid probably 8" across and 3 to 4 inches minor diameter
Safety gap
I tried two separate caps 1 is a Universal Voltronics 28 kvdc 0.01 uf oil 
filled
the other is a GE 0.01 25 kvdc 700 disch/sec
I'm also using a variac to control the Neon Sign Transformer
Two 8 foot ground rods
Primary Flat confiquration 1/4" copper tubing at 1/4 to 3/8" spacing
Thanks
Jim