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Iron toroid? [It works]

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LAN_403

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Mon Aug 06 2007, 03:48PM

Registered Member #514 Joined: Sun Feb 11 2007, 12:27AM
Location: Somewhere in Pirkanmaa, Finland
Posts: 295

I'd like to hear what you people think about using an iron toroid on a TC. Is there anything I should worry about, other than the coil turning into an induction heater?

I've found a cheap(-ish) source of these 90Â° round iron pipe corners, and I think that by welding these together I could make a good looking and economical toroid (sure, the usual styrofoam-thingy-covered-in-aluminium-foil-toroid works, but it doesn't look that good, now does it.)

So, could someone with more experience shed some light on the subject?

...

Mon Aug 06 2007, 04:36PM

Registered Member #56 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445

Aside from the prctical problems associated with having this heavy block of Fe with a few hundred thousand volts on it ballanced on top of a long pole, it should work fine...

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Fri Aug 10 2007, 04:33PM

Registered Member #514 Joined: Sun Feb 11 2007, 12:27AM
Location: Somewhere in Pirkanmaa, Finland
Posts: 295

So I went and bought four of these pipe corners and silver soldered them together.

The result: Quite possibly the most beautiful home-made toroid I've ever seen! The finished product is 16x16x4cm in size and weights 1kg. Its not as pretty as a real spun toroid and is a lot hevier too, but you can't argue with the price. The pipes cost about 2.5â‚¬ a pop and the solder 8â‚¬/stick.

Threw it atop my "big" SSTC and gave it a run, works just as well as the squished-up-alumium-foil-thingy I used before and looks way better. Obviously you can't make a really big toroid out of these, because of the weight issue, but it's great for small to medium toroids.

Unfortunately I don't have access to a camera at the moment, but when I get some pics I'll post them right away!

edit: Well ok, I "took a picture" of it with my scanner. Should give you a good idea about what I'm talking about.

1186764209 514 FT1630 Tor2

Experimentonomen

Fri Aug 10 2007, 05:14PM

Registered Member #941 Joined: Sun Aug 05 2007, 10:09AM
Location: in a swedish junk pile
Posts: 497

Seem like a cute lil toroid :)

Terry Fritz

Sun Aug 12 2007, 05:24AM

Registered Member #393 Joined: Tue Apr 18 2006, 12:30AM
Location:
Posts: 297

Weight is a concern, but 1kg is pretty easy

Induction to the toroid is a don't care, the fields just don't reach that far.

You might be careful of rust. All that ozone... You could probably grind it off

) But maybe a light coating of oil or silicone oil will help keep it shinny... Maybe just car wax...

Cheers,

Terry

sparky

Sun Aug 12 2007, 05:50AM

Registered Member #530 Joined: Sat Feb 17 2007, 07:56AM
Location: Victoria BC, Canada
Posts: 178

Wow, that looks beautiful... nice work! Thanks for sharing! I'd love to see that powered up on video!

I'm always looking for new innovative ways for making toploads, and as for that ozone concern...yeah I'd coat the toroid in a clear coat acrylic spray to prevent oxidation.

ragnar

Sun Aug 12 2007, 08:25AM

Registered Member #63 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:18AM
Location:
Posts: 1425

That silver-soldering is certainly nicely done... I presume the pipes don't mate, they're a matching fit on all sides?

Shaun

Wed Aug 15 2007, 10:11PM

Registered Member #690 Joined: Tue May 08 2007, 03:47AM
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 616

Wait, wouldn't a spray or coating cause problems? Wouldn't it try to insulate the toroid but fail miserably and burn up? Even if you avoided all this, why would it not degrade streamer performance?

Hazmatt_(The Underdog)

Wed Aug 15 2007, 11:29PM

Registered Member #135 Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735

What kind of source are you getting the elbows from?

I like places I can walk in and buy things from, but if I have to mail order I can look into that too.

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Thu Aug 16 2007, 11:27AM

Registered Member #514 Joined: Sun Feb 11 2007, 12:27AM
Location: Somewhere in Pirkanmaa, Finland
Posts: 295

Shaun wrote ...

Wait, wouldn't a spray or coating cause problems? Wouldn't it try to insulate the toroid but fail miserably and burn up? Even if you avoided all this, why would it not degrade streamer performance?

Well, for a SSTC it will have to use a seaparate breakout point anyway, so I doubt a thin coating on the toroid will matter. Also, you can get a stainless steel version of these, but they cost about 10 times more (making them so expensive that a real toroid will be a smarter choice).

I don't have any coating on mine, so we'll see if it starts to rust. But I doubt it will be that bad.

Hazmatt_(The Underdog) wrote ...

What kind of source are you getting the elbows from?

I like places I can walk in and buy things from, but if I have to mail order I can look into that too.

I found these at a big hardware store that mainly focuses on the professional and industrial market. But I'm sure that if you ask you can find these at almost any hardware store, atleast by ordering.

I'll try to make a slightly bigger one next week and also get some better pics. Stay tuned...

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