Tom's Tesla Coil

This page is for documenting my Tesla Coil project

• Click here to see design parameters obtained from the TeslaMap application
• Click here to see the schematic for this Tesla Coil
  
• Click here to contact me or provide feedback on this page
• Click on any of the images below to enlarge (then use your browser back button to return to this page)

Following is a list of the parts

• 12,000 volt, 30 ma neon sign transformer (NST)
• 4 ft power cord
• 9 ft power cord with metal junction box
• single phase AC power line Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) filter
• SPST power switch and plastic junction box
• dual 3 prong outlet and metal junction box
• 60 uf, 370 volt AC Power Factor Correction (PFC) capacitor
• 50 ft of 1/4" copper tubing
• primary and ground rail clamps
• alligator clip
• 8 of 7 x 4 x 1/5 inch phenolic sheets
• nylon bolts, washers and nuts
• 30 x plastic braces (4 hole right angle)
• 15 x 0.15 uf, 2000 volt capacitors (Cornell Dubilier 942C20P15K)
• 15 x 1 megohm, 1/2 watt resistors
• 5 x 50 ohm, 3 watt resistors
• 2 x 4 inch PVC coupler
• stainless bolts, washers and nuts
• box of multiple size copper lugs
• 4 inch by 24 inch PVC
• 4 inch PVC cap
• 4 inch PVC base
• 50 meters, 10 mm of double sided adhesive tap
• Rustoleum clear enamel
• Rustoleum paint+primer flat black
• 1250 ft of 22 AWG enamel copper wire
• green and red banana jacks and plugs
• ground rod and clamp
• insulated AWG 10 stranded ground wire
• 2 x 8 inch pie pans
• 5 ft of 4 inch foil dryer hose
• roll of aluminum tape
• 10 ft of 20 kv wire
• 2 x 17.75 inch by 1 inch square pieces of wood for upper and lower levels
• 4 x 1 ft long 2x2 inch wood for vertical supports
• 6 by 10 one inch board for power control base
• 4 x caster wheels
• countersunk screws, bolts and other mounting hardware
• nylon toilet bolts and nuts

Components to build

• Main power control
  • fasten junction boxes and EMI filter to small board
  • wire 4 ft power cord to switch and connect other components
    
• Multi-Mini-Capacitor (MMC) array
  • drill holes in phenolic board
  • mount 15 x 0.15 uf, 2000 volt capacitors in series on board (10 nf 30,000 v)
  • solder 15 x 1 megohm resistors wired with one on each capacitor on the other side of the board
  • attach angle brackets for mounting the board
  • wire MMC ends to nut and bolt terminals on angle brackets
    
• Spark Gaps
  • main gap: 4 inch PVC coupler drilled in the sides with 5/16 stainless hardware
  • attach 2 nylon angle brackets with nylon hardware
    
  • MMC safety gap: 4 inch PVC coupler drilled in the sides with 1/4 stainless hardware
  • attach 2 nylon angle brackets with nylon hardware
    
  • make 10 ohm, 15 watt array for safety gap current limit using 5 x 50 ohm, 3 watt resistors in parallel
    
• Primary coil
  • drill 4 phenolic boards with holes for the primary and the ground rail
    
  • phenolic boards mounted to base with plastic braces and nylon hardware
  • 9 turns of copper tubing with 6 inch center hole and spaced 1/4 inch
  • 1 turn of copper tubing for ground rail
  • see upper level construction below for pictures of these steps
• Secondary coil
  • place PVC tube with cap and base on winding jig
    
  • coat with clear enamel
  • wind 2 sided tape in loose spiral for length of tube
  • wind 710 turns (20 inches) of 22 AWG copper wire on tube
  • seal with clear enamel
  • connect and secure green banana plug to bottom and red banana plug to top
• Top Load
  • bolt 2 pie pans back to back with nylon toilet bolt/nut
  • wrap aluminum dryer hose aroung edges of pie pans to form toroid shape
  • secure with aluminum tape all the way around
    
  • add red banana jack and connect with wire
    
• Power Factor Correction (PFC) Capacitor
  • zip tie PFC capacitor to 2 nylon angle brackets
    

Construction

• build rough version of frame with caster wheels
  
  • mount caster wheels on underside of one board
  • screw vertical supports to corners of lower level
  • mount second board on vertical supports fastened to corners of lower level
  
• remove top and wheels and drill holes in bottom level for screws for all components
• prepare surfaces and paint 2 boards and 4 vertical supports with flat black paint
• mount caster wheels on underside of bottom board
  
• lower level
  • mount neon sign transformer on board
  • mount MMC on board with angle brackets
  • mount spark gaps on board with angle brackets
  • mount PFC capacitor with angle brackets
  • mount 9 ft cord with metal junction box on board
  • connect 10 ohm resistor array between one side of the Main Gap and one side of Safety Gap
    
  • connect a plug from metal junction box to PFC and neon sign transformer primary
  • wire high voltage components with 20 kv wire
    
    
  • add ground terminal bolt
    
• upper level
  • drill holes in top board for bolts and screws for all compnnents
  • drill holes in top for primary high voltage wires, ground rail wire and ground banana jack
  • mount 4 inch PVC stand in the middle using nylon toilet seat bolts
  • mount green banana jack through stand and hole in board
  • connect ground wire to banana jack and fasten to bottom of board
  • mount top board on vertical supports fastened to corners of lower level
    
  • mount the 4 phenolic boards to the top board with angle brackets
    
  • wind the primary coil (copper tubing) and ground rail through the holes in the phenolic boards
    
  • wire upper level components
    
  • mount the secondary coil on the center stand
  • insert the green secondary banana plug in the green ground jack
  • mount the top load on the 4 inch PVC cap with nylon hardware and place on top of secondary
  • insert the red secondary banana plug in the red top load jack.