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Registered Member #3926
Joined: Fri Jun 03 2011, 08:32PM
Location: UK.
Posts: 525
I'm trying to make a working SGTC, but I use 4 2l bottle caps, and a ZVS flyback input of about 13~KV (65w in), The output of the coil is 2-3 KV, why is it so fail, is it the capacitors?
Primary is 10t of mains cable, and 2'ndary is I can't remember how many turns but alot (from CRT deflection coil), plus this Tesla coil is pretty fail the way I made it.
Also the spark gap just turns into a stream of plasma, even when quenched.
Registered Member #3926
Joined: Fri Jun 03 2011, 08:32PM
Location: UK.
Posts: 525
What do you mean, it is ZVS on 65w (19v 3.24A voltm says 24v lol) into 4 2l leyden caps, and some crappy tesla coil I made from a CRT deflection coil. The spark gap turns into a steam of plasma, so I think the main hinderence is the capacitors.
Registered Member #89
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 02:40PM
Location: Zadar, Croatia
Posts: 3145
Yep, a schemo would be useful, as well as some pictures of your setup or even a video of the "fail operation".
Otherwise we can hardly guess what's wrong, can we? :P
What kind of a spark gap are you using? A simple multi-gap can be made of small pieces of copper pipe (copper interconnections which you can buy at a hardware store) or large brass nuts. Then just have a muffin fan blow over this.
You'll need to do at least some ballpark calculations with some tesla design software to get the approximate number of turns and capacitance you'd need to use.
If you use mains cable for the primary, you'll need to make a lot of taps in order to be able to tune the coil.
Regarding your spark gap, how wide did you set it? Something doesn't add up to me, by rough guessimation with only 65W in you'd get only a few bangs a second if it's set for 10kv+, with your capacitor size of 4nf+. Not a "stream of plasma" as you say :P
Registered Member #3926
Joined: Fri Jun 03 2011, 08:32PM
Location: UK.
Posts: 525
Well I'm using a spark gap it is flimsy just made from a plastic with two bolts. measuring cup with a fan blowing in there, sometimes it isn't a stream of plasma and sometimes it operates normal. The coil is very badly made, I didn't have the money to even buy real PVC pipe or anything, it is CRT wire wrapped around a 2" diameter turkey foil tube.
Does yours have a SSG? What's the specs of the coil? Elaborate.
I named my own coil Failcoil. I won't change the name afterwards because secondary still horrible.
My problem, other than poorly wound secondary, was a non quenched spark gap, poorly wound primary, and wrong caps. I also am using 4 leyden jars but I am getting some new ones from Kizmo soon. So rewind primary and try to get a NST.
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Why is my Tesla coil so fail?
