Suggestions for CW HV feed-through

MRMILSTAR, Thu Nov 28 2019, 05:07PM

My next project is going to be a large (300 - 400 KV) Cockroft-Walton generator. I want to house it in a 24" x 4" PVC tube. The CW generator will be operated vertically. The entire unit will be immersed in oil. My conundrum is serviceability. I am not going to assume that I will never need to repair this, therefore I will need to be able to remove the electronics from the 4" tube. I am envisioning all of the components mounted on a plastic strip or smaller PVC tube that fits inside the 4" main tube. That would enable me to withdraw the entire assembly from the 4" tube for repair if needed.

My biggest unknown right now is how to get the two HV power input leads through the bottom of the tube without leaking oil and to be able to remove the electronics assembly. I obviously won't be able to reach down into the bottom of the tube to disconnect the two HV power input leads. The best idea that I have come up with is to be able to slide the outer 4" tube off of the base. The base would probably be some kind of PVC end-cap. To make that joint oil-tight I thought about machining a groove into the 4" tube so that an O-ring could be installed between the tube and the end-cap.

Any ideas?