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Registered Member #158
Joined: Sun Feb 12 2006, 09:53PM
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 282
A long time ago I utilized my big transformer (the only time so far) for a big Jacob's Ladder. I just threw it together quick, with two 4' long 1" diamter copper pipes. I never got any pictures. I hope to setup the project again and I was wondering if the diameter of the pipe really has much effect on how far the thing will arc or not. it needs to be large enough to atleast dissapate the heat without melting so the commonly available small brass rods are probably out of the question. But would 1/2" or 3/4" make any difference? I got prety awsome results before but it didnt span quite as wide a gap as I thought it might.I dont plan on running it much, maybe like 20-30 seconds at a time. Max power will probably be around 10-20kW depending on how much I want to push it.
Registered Member #158
Joined: Sun Feb 12 2006, 09:53PM
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 282
So then, there shouldnt really be any problem using 1/2", 3/4", or 1" copper pipe on a large scale jacob's ladder? Its easy to get in 4' lengths and cheap.
Registered Member #229
Joined: Tue Feb 21 2006, 07:33PM
Location: Romania
Posts: 506
If you use too small diameter electrodes, it is possible that they heat and deformate (outwards often), so it is possible that the JL not be able to arc, or the arc will not climb to the top. The electrodes diameter has to be adapted to the currents you are using (larger is even better)
Registered Member #229
Joined: Tue Feb 21 2006, 07:33PM
Location: Romania
Posts: 506
If you use too small diameter electrodes, it is possible that they heat and deformate (outwards often), so it is possible that the JL not be able to arc, or the arc will not climb to the top. The electrodes diameter has to be adapted to the currents you are using (larger is even better)
Registered Member #158
Joined: Sun Feb 12 2006, 09:53PM
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 282
Ahh, I C. How big of difference does the shape make on its efficiency? I orignaly had them in just a V (straight pieces) and didnt have any problems. It spanned somewheres around a little less than a foot across at the top but the actual arc lenght was much longer - probably around 2 or 2.5 feet. I was planning on just keeping them straight for simplicity.
Registered Member #162
Joined: Mon Feb 13 2006, 10:25AM
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 3141
Generally speaking, the top of a JL needs to fan out at the top to help extinguish the arc and allow another to start at the bottom. The arc colour will be affected by the matal used.
Registered Member #316
Joined: Mon Mar 13 2006, 01:30PM
Location: Marietta, GA
Posts: 212
Maybe you could use 1/2" soft copper refridgeration tubing and form it into the shape you want. Then after you have the bends in place you could flatten the tube a bit with a hammer to make it more rigid.
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Jacob's Ladder: Does electrode diameter make any difference?
