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Registered Member #2553
Joined: Fri Dec 18 2009, 01:36PM
Location: St Cloud Minnesota
Posts: 97
ive heard from a couple of my viewers that i should not use steel as a conductor on my tesla coil, that i should use copper or brass instead. i would like some input on this from more experienced people. please elaborate! i am using steel strapping for my cap bank as well as steel 'L' brackets and screws in my spark gap. im also using steel screws in my richard quick spark gap. any input is welcome!!
Registered Member #5436
Joined: Sun Jun 24 2012, 01:44AM
Location:
Posts: 39
Hello,
Steel is a very poor conductor at the high frequencies Tesla Coils operate at. I would personally use copper verses brass because of its lower cost for the wiring, but brass does look more impressive. However, tungsten would be the best for a simple spark gap because of its high resistance against melting and oxidization.
Registered Member #30
Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706
Non-magnetic stainless steel is a much better conductor at high frequencies than ordinary steel. It's used for radio antenna whips on vehicles where strength is needed.
However, it's also used to make high power resistors because it is still a much poorer conductor (about 5-10x worse) than copper or brass. It also tends to be a pain to drill and cut.
I once made a spark gap out of steel bolts. It seemed to work fine, but the ends of the bolts eroded away quickly. Steel conducts heat worse than copper, brass or tungsten.
Registered Member #3806
Joined: Sat Apr 02 2011, 09:20PM
Location: France
Posts: 259
Agreed with others about steel.
Something else: by looking at your video, it seems both ends of your tank capacitor are screwed directly onto your wooden base.
If it's the case, you might want to fix that by insulating your tank capacitor with a proper insulating material like plastic or ceramic.
Due to surface tracking and possible wood moisture, wood cannot be considered as an insulator for a Tesla Coils. None of your wirings should be in contact with your wooden case.
Registered Member #4052
Joined: Thu Aug 11 2011, 04:43AM
Location: IN ,USA
Posts: 69
I use steel bolts in the connection to NST as I think this is an extremely easy/cheap way to protect it from transients. However, this is based off of the fact that it is a terrible conductor in the MHz range that my coil runs at.
So it probably should not be used on the caps, the spark gap, the primary, or the secondary.
However, I have to disagree about wood I use it all the time and I have had nearby connectors arc to each other through the air without the wood failing. Unless it is wet it is unlikely to be a problem.
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steel vs copper or brass in tesla coil
