RE: [TCML] danger

["Kennedy, Tim" <Tim.Kennedy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Is there a primer on generally accepted TC safety that someone could send out (or a link to it)?

I am new to coiling, and have not built a coil, but simply bought a finished solid state one ("Screamer"), and figured I'd learn by doing. I muck around with it quite a bit but do not really know specifically what to be careful of, what can safely be done with them, what to avoid doing, etc.

Thanks,
TimK




-----Original Message-----
From: tesla-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tesla-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bob Svangren
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2012 5:42 PM
To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [TCML] danger


I am so very surprised at the amount of coilers who are attempting the great adventure of building a Tesla coil and other contrivances without much knowledge of the dangers involved.
  There is a great danger in charging even a small capacitor to a high potential and getting a hand across the terminals. It only takes one tenth of an amp across the human heart to kill. Other dangers are the high speed rotary switching systems which if not in perfect balance, can explode.
  The high voltages of most Tesla coils are not as much of a concern as the extremely high peak amps of the primary and you will not get a second chance at life.  There is a danger with the Ozone gas from long runs of Tesla coils . Keeping fresh air in the lab is very important. The fellow that is working with X-rays should do a lot of reading on the subject in order to have any chance of good health after testing these devices.  Even the coatings applied to secondary coils can be of great danger. Testing a fresh coil can cause the gasses inside the tube to explode.
  One coiler wrote of using soft black plastic to build a rotary switching system. I can't
 stress enough the dangers of using soft plastics to build the rotary disc. At one time, Lexan, poly carbonate was thought to be bullet proof and thus was used by many coilers for the rotary disk.
  I have done extensive research in this and found that Lexan or any other poly carbonate is the
absolute wrong thing to use. It is not bullet proof and will also get soft and distort with heat.
  I did the bullet test and all it did was dent where the bullet hit but the shock wave shattered the lexan like window glass. This was after I had a beautiful Lexan rotary gap explode in my lab and I came very close to being killed. Read a lot, get informed, use a lot of caution. Good luck.
                                                                    NORTHWEST TESLA COIL BUILDERS
                                                                                         Bob                                      _______________________________________________
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