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Registered Member #3327
Joined: Sun Oct 17 2010, 11:48PM
Location:
Posts: 4
Hi all, new here, and recently got my first coil up and running with about 4 inch streamers. I'm not using a toroid though, cause I'm only using a couple salt water capacitors and I'm tapped out on the primary. If I add a toroid it doesn't break out at all. I was going to just make some more salt water caps, but then I found a box of ceramic tiles in my basement and am wondering if it would be worthwhile to build a stacked cap out of these. They are 15 x 15cm and about 5mm thick, but I've got 45 of them! Seems like they would be much less lossy than the salt water caps, and it would be a fairly quick and easy build. But I remember reading somewhere that ceramic caps aren't recommended for tesla coils but not sure why. What do you guys think? Would this be a waste of time or should I give it a try?
Registered Member #3026
Joined: Fri Jul 23 2010, 02:46PM
Location: Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Posts: 54
Hi Dan,
I am also new to this hobby, having started my first coil this last July. Don’t waste your time trying to make ceramic tile caps! You would have to immerse the whole thing in mineral oil and still you will have a lot of leakage -- and connecting alternate layers of aluminum foil is a mess! My first coil used 16 beer bottles in a rubbermaid tub of salt water. This worked great! Six inch sparks. I never broke a bottle. Then I graduated to the famous Cornell Dublier caps available from Eastern Voltage Research -- one of this site’s moderators. I have a very good running coil. This stuff is sure fun! Good luck!
Registered Member #15
Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 01:11PM
Location:
Posts: 3068
I would use what is called MMC capacitors. These are low-cost polypropylene capacitors that are series / paralleled in strings to get the necessary capacitance you need.
A quick search on MMC capacitor on the 4hv forum or GOOGLE should give you additional information.
Registered Member #2261
Joined: Mon Aug 03 2009, 01:19AM
Location: London, UK
Posts: 581
'Ceramic' covers a wide range of varying materials. 'Ceramic Capacitors' use special types of ceramic suited to the job in terms of insulation properties and dielectric constant. Tiles are optimised for other properties!
What does MMC stand for, assuming it's an acronym?
Registered Member #15
Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 01:11PM
Location:
Posts: 3068
Mads Barnkob wrote ...
You will honestly never regret spending money on a good MMC :)
I agree. Getting a Tesla coil tuned and to work properly can be aggravating in itself, let alone having to worry about a homemade capacitor. I've seen many, many individuals start on the homemade capacitor route, only to end up frustrated and ultimately go the MMC route.
Save yourself the time and aggravation and go MMC from the get-go.
Registered Member #1403
Joined: Tue Mar 18 2008, 06:05PM
Location: Denmark, Odense C
Posts: 1968
EastVoltResearch wrote ...
Mads Barnkob wrote ...
You will honestly never regret spending money on a good MMC :)
I agree. Getting a Tesla coil tuned and to work properly can be aggravating in itself, let alone having to worry about a homemade capacitor. I've seen many, many individuals start on the homemade capacitor route, only to end up frustrated and ultimately go the MMC route.
Save yourself the time and aggravation and go MMC from the get-go.
I started out with salt water capacitors too, its a good learning path to make and destroy your own cheap and inefficient capacitor, because then you will really appreciate the difference it makes when you make a good MMC :)
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Ceramic tile capacitor?
