I ran with 1 gallon cider jugs. 3000PF each with salt water fill. I found
that spraying the foil with 3M 77 and applying and burnishing to remove as
much air as possible gave a marked improvement in corona reduction and spark
length.(jugs went from glowing purple to just a ring around the top) Have
as much contact area as possible between the foil and conductor, as I have
seen the foil get hot enough to burn away and blow through the glass.
Setting the jugs on copper sheet worked well.
But going to a real pulse cap really makes a difference!
David Weiss
In (through) the dielectric…. I literally blew a hole in a mason style
jar with the caps at approx 70 deg F.
In a pathetic attempt to get the most “storage” out of each cap I only
had a 2” space between the top of the jar and the foil, which caused
flash over.
I then went to a “peanut butter” style jar with plastic lids and all
thread.
But every jar had a corona around the top of the foil, pretty pinkish
purple, but still wouldn’t kick as anticipated.