Re: [TCML] Strike rings - to use or not to use; was: Newbie Grounding Question

["Jeff W. Parisse" <workshop@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A strike ring is just an invitation for the arcs to travel downward. A 
properly designed Tesla coil, geometrically speaking, will not hit its own 
primary or secondary coils. Sometimes, all that is needed is a larger 
toroid. I switched from a 48" to a 59" toroid (5.5" more overhang) on my 
20kVA coil and solved all coil strikes.

The tried and true method for protecting old equipment (i.e. Tesla coils) 
from overvoltage is to employ ball gaps set to fire just above the circuit's 
operating voltage. I use 1" brass balls (McMaster-Carr or others) because 
the old ball gap charts that are used to determine gap spacing usually use a 
common ball diameter such as one inch. I place the gap between ground and 
the circuit section I'm trying to protect.

Jeff

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