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BLACK electricians tape for secondary coil coating

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raff

Sun Feb 07 2010, 01:03AM

Registered Member #2315 Joined: Tue Aug 25 2009, 02:35AM
Location: Leyte, PH
Posts: 161

guys,

Can I use it to "wrap" the secondary coil? for obvious reasons: protecting the secondary for racing sparks...

dmg

Sun Feb 07 2010, 01:08AM

Registered Member #2628 Joined: Fri Jan 15 2010, 12:23AM
Location:
Posts: 627

I wouldn't recomend it, I ruined a TC secondary with black tape, not only did It form some carbonized tracks, It also left black muck on the wire itself (after I removed it).

I think its best to use either polyurathane, epoxy or spray enamel for insulation, if you don't want those,
you can always use clear tape (packaging tape).
personally I use either epoxy or enamel, its sticky, messy and pricy, but will pay for itself then having to spend money for a new secondary, and if done right, usually has a beutifull shine on the secondary.

doctor electrons

Sun Feb 07 2010, 03:19AM

Registered Member #2390 Joined: Sat Sept 26 2009, 02:04PM
Location: Milwaukee Wisconsin
Posts: 381

One reason that it isnt the greatest thing to do is the rating of the tape (voltage).
Two complete wraps of good tape is considered to bring the conductor rating up to 600v. Thats depending on the wire rating. 600v
is achieved for low voltage, like cat 5 or belden 8770 or 8760. The voltages you would be trying to withstand would be much greater
than the tape is designed to insulate against. Your coil would look like a semi-gloss mummy if you put enough wraps on it! I dont know
what the insulation rating of poly is but i would have to guess and say its probably higher than the tape. Hope this is useful!

HV Enthusiast

Sun Feb 07 2010, 03:50AM

Registered Member #15 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 01:11PM
Location:
Posts: 3068

raff wrote ...

guys,

Can I use it to "wrap" the secondary coil? for obvious reasons: protecting the secondary for racing sparks...

If you have racing sparks, you need to correct them, not bandage them.
Try lowering your coupling by raising your secondary.

Plus, electric tape isn't going to do squat for arcing issues. Arcs will go through tape, plastic, and just about everything else you can throw at it.

I once had primary-to-secondary arcing on a small DRSSTC i made, and i attempted to shield it using (3) 1/8" thick layers of polyethylene rolled around the secondary. The arcing went right through all three layers.

HV will find a way.

dmg

Sun Feb 07 2010, 04:27AM

Registered Member #2628 Joined: Fri Jan 15 2010, 12:23AM
Location:
Posts: 627

EastVoltResearch wrote ...

I once had primary-to-secondary arcing on a small DRSSTC i made, and i attempted to shield it using (3) 1/8" thick layers of polyethylene rolled around the secondary. The arcing went right through all three layers.

HV will find a way.

not if you use a 1 inch thick porcelain hollow standoff filled with epoxy around the secondary! :)

but I agree with east, the best way to deal with racing arcs is to not have them in the first place.

radiotech

Sun Feb 07 2010, 05:46AM

Registered Member #2463 Joined: Wed Nov 11 2009, 03:49AM
Location:
Posts: 1546

Might not apply, but I've insulated with Corona Dope in TV's and in substation gear, with irrethene , (non sticky) held in place by Scotch 88. The irrethane, (and somtimes cambric) was applied to build a gradual (stress cone) transition from smooth and sharp metal to the tapered ends of cables. Mostly done in bus bar repair and connecting high voltage motors.

The motor shop had a cute little thing they called a tesla coil to gently probe motor windings for tracking paths.

hvguy

Sun Feb 07 2010, 07:20AM

Registered Member #289 Joined: Mon Mar 06 2006, 10:45AM
Location: Conroe, TX
Posts: 154

I have never tried electrical tape for the whole coil, though I have used it at the top and bottom. I have, however, had excellent results insulating coils with kapton tape. As everyone else has said though, fix the racing arc issue first, it has nothing to do with insulation and everything to do with your setup/tuning.

Steve Conner

Sun Feb 07 2010, 10:35AM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

Can you spot the black electrical tape?

It won't cure racing sparks, though. I did it to make the secondary look better, because it was somewhat of a burnt mess.

dmg

Sun Feb 07 2010, 03:47PM

Registered Member #2628 Joined: Fri Jan 15 2010, 12:23AM
Location:
Posts: 627

steve, what brand of electrical tape you use?
and is it PVC or something else?

raff

Mon Feb 08 2010, 12:37AM

Registered Member #2315 Joined: Tue Aug 25 2009, 02:35AM
Location: Leyte, PH
Posts: 161

thanks for the great replies!

point taken..

btw, my new "smaller coil" secondary has 3.2" OD, primary is 4.2" OD.. its OK with 100VAC input but I get racing sparks at 220VAC input @ maybe!? 50uS ON time and above...

w/c do you think would be better of the two, just "upper" the secondary coil -OR- make the primary coil bigger in diameter? say 4.9" OD ??

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