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Safety gap - setting



Original poster: otmaskin5@xxxxxxx I just finished rebuilding & resetting my safety gap, but I'm not sure I got it right. Basically I set the gap so it just barely wouldn't fire at full 130v variac setting. I tested the setting by dialing the variac from 0v to 130v pretty much the way I would do it if I were actually starting up the tesla coil.

My question is this. When I already had the variac set at 130v & then hit the "on" switch, the safety gap would fire. This abrupt powering up would fire the gap at settings that would not fire when I gradually dialed up the voltage to max. To get the gap so it wouldn't fire when I powered it up abruptly, it required a much wider setting.

Which of the 2 methods to test gap setting is correct - abrupt full power or gradual dial up? Thx for any suggestions. Dennis Hopkinton MA