Hi David, Scott,
` I fully agree that anyone building a TC is taking certain risks
and coilers should consider this when engaging in the hobby. There
are many intrinsic risks that are carefully pointed out in the
safety pages on many of the members web sites and in the archives.
Just as in extreme sports, to raise an alarm that it is in general,
not safe is a disservice.
However, when a piece of equipment or a technique is published
worldwide to beginners as well as experienced participants as a
recommended technique or device, then pointing out any possible
structural/mechanical shortcomings is not only permissible, it's
laudatory. The problem is not in " a power transmission engineer's
point of view" , it's the mechanical engineers who are groaning
over this one. No one is saying you shouldn't use it or that it's
not working for you, but any idea that is "broadcast" should be
subjected to closer scrutiny. So, IMHO, "Thanks to you both!"
Matt D.
In a message dated 5/14/06 7:35:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
tesla@xxxxxxxxxx writes:
Original poster: "David Rieben" <drieben@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Hi Scott,
I wouldn't even try to argue with you about whether or not
my setup is "conventional" or "risky" from a power transmission
engineer's point of view. You're probably absolutely correct!
I'm also sure it wouldn't pass OSHA's standards, either! ;^0
As far as that goes, I'm sure most electrical power engineers
(except for maybe the ones on this list) :^)) would tell most, if not all,
of us coilers that from a safety standpoint, our beloved Tesla coils are
"extremely risky and unconvetntional", too, even with all of the
proper dedicated RF grounding, line filtering, ect. I'm sure an OSHA rep
would have "heart failure" if he were to look at the setup of most of our
coils and would never allow for such an extremely hazardous contraption
to be placed in a public display or an industrial occupational setting! Why do
you think that "Tesla coil" insurance is so exhorbitantly expensive,
even for the "real"
Tesla coil "pros" like Jeff Parrise, Bill Wysock, or Greg Leyh when
they are the ones
who "really" know what they're doing? The way I see it, I'm
not running my RSG 24/7
for weeks or months at a time, so I think in my situation, my split
taper bushing
being used "outside the box" of its intended use will serve my
purposes just fine ;^)
I WAS safe enough to built my RSG "inside of a Lexan box", though, to protect
myself not only from a hub possibly flying loose, but also from
possible flying shards
of tungsten, in case it were to fail in that particular manner.
I think it all comes down to risk management. By the very fact that
you build a
Tesla coil, you are taking on some risk, both mechanical and
electrical, and probably
other risks as well. There's just no way around that! If one cannot
deal with this fact,
then they just don't need to build a coil at all. End of story! For
those of us who
are willing to accept the risks involved with this hobby, what we try
to do is to
minimize the risk to acceptable levels. By building a Lexan box shield around
my RSG, I'm reducing the risk of possible injury due to possible mechanical
failure of the RSG components to very acceptable levels. I am NOT eliminating
the risk, but I AM greatly reducing it. The same goes for using
proper line filtering,
dedicated RF grounds, panel metering, ect. Some of us obviously go
further to reduce
the risks than others but obviously, we all practice a least some
level of risk reduction
since there seems to be remarkably few reported mishaps (at least
mishaps that people
are willing to admit to) ;^) Let's try to keep it that way ;^))
David Rieben