Tank Capacitor: |
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 |
 |
MMC |
Poly-Plate |
The capacitor in the tank circuit has a very hard life indeed! Not only does it have to withstand high voltages (more than double the supply voltage!) but it has to cope with extremely high currents at high frequency (approx 50kHz to 300kHz).
Commercially available capacitors, capable of surviving Tesla coil use, are not off-the-shelf items. A common approach to aquiring a suitable capacitor is to build it yourself! This can work out a lot cheaper than buying a new one but can involve embarking on a whole new project of its own!
For your very first coil, you could make one of the cheapest high voltage capacitors available - a saltwater cap. All you need are some empty glass bottles (beer bottles are a favorite choice!), salt, water, some buckets and some wire! The performance is not great but they're certainly cheap to make, and easy.
Initially, I planned to make a poly plate cap but half way through construction I changed my mind and built an MMC instead (Multi Mini Cap). It was quicker and easier to build but I hope to finish the poly plate cap some time in the future.
Commercially available capacitors, capable of surviving Tesla coil use, are not off-the-shelf items. A common approach to aquiring a suitable capacitor is to build it yourself! This can work out a lot cheaper than buying a new one but can involve embarking on a whole new project of its own!
For your very first coil, you could make one of the cheapest high voltage capacitors available - a saltwater cap. All you need are some empty glass bottles (beer bottles are a favorite choice!), salt, water, some buckets and some wire! The performance is not great but they're certainly cheap to make, and easy.
Initially, I planned to make a poly plate cap but half way through construction I changed my mind and built an MMC instead (Multi Mini Cap). It was quicker and easier to build but I hope to finish the poly plate cap some time in the future.