Oh boy, I get to do 50 pound 5 gallon bucket caps

["Garry Freemyer" <Garry-at-NDFC-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

The last thing I wanted to do was to have to put caps in huge buckets and
connect them to my coil but it appears that after weeks and weeks of failing
caps, I have no choice but to go to bottle caps in huge 5 gallon buckets if
that's what it takes. I cannot afford the ones on EBAY, I try to bid on
tesla stuff there and I get outbid by a particular person there that seems
to be rolling in the dough.
 
I am going to use beer bottle caps in huge buckets, I hate it but I have no
choice but does anyone know what the approximate capacitance of a beer
bottle cap??
 
I did manage to get two 20kv 500 mmfd transmitting doorknob caps but I was
pretty dissapointed in the output and they got hot very fast. It was a test
run anyway. I figured I needed about 6 more to make a decent safe string so
maybe I will save them for a tubed coil.
 
At least there is some good news. I managed to ressurrect my 9/30 NST by
unpotting it. Instructions said to soak it for 3 days, well since I was
trying to desolve the block and save the case (I was successful), I soaked
it for a month!!
 
One big wad of tar was stuck to the bottom and when I pulled it out it
streached and exposed about 20 hair thin wires on one of the secondary
windings and exposed and streached about 4 wires on the other. I figured it
was hosed but miracle of miracles, NO WIRES WERE BROKEN!!
 
So, I slipped a piece of 12mm poly under the streached windings and
slathered it all with silicone seal and let it cure for three days.
 
Then lastnight I connected some #29 wire to the thin wire and tested for
continuity and slathered more globs of silicone seal to hold it and did a
test run this morning It's A.L.I.V.E!!! I can't believe it!!
 
What a nightmare unpotting is!!

Hmm, after reading again about the party caps, I think I might try those.
Any suggestions?