Extreme High Voltage: TK4 MOT-DC Tesla Coil Component Overview
PLEASE DON’T ATTEMPT THIS PROJECT unless you understand HIGH VOLTAGE SAFETY. The voltages developed are LETHAL and can remain stored in the cap bank even when the equipment is not energized.
An overview of the components and assembly of TK4 MOT – DC Tesla Coil.
(Example operation videos are linked at the bottom of this description.)
Most of this stuff is from the junkbox; I’ve had it kicking around for years. The High Voltage parts like the diodes, capacitors and standoffs, the phenolic rods and tubes, the Variac, and etc. came from the famous Mike Quinn’s Surplus in the San Francisco East Bay area… which indicates how long ago I bought it.
I literally only spent about 10 dollars of “new money” building this coil, for the two cans of Krylon and some 1/4-28 hardware. Everything else is either old stuff that’s been waiting for me to assemble it, or scraps from the cut-off bins. And of course the classic GenRad Variac from my collection of vintage kit. The MOT was given to me a few days ago. And I borrowed the ten bucks !!
DESIGN NOTE: It’s probably a good idea to put some current-limiting feature in the circuit, like a heavy choke in the AC supply line to the MOT. If I had another MOT, I’d put its primary in series with the AC supply and short out its secondary. This would work as a heavy choke to limit current throughput to the main big MOT. It would probably help the spark quenching, hence raising the secondary’s output voltage, and it would definitely help electrode erosion problems, at some cost in current output.
PLEASE DON’T ATTEMPT THIS PROJECT unless you understand HIGH VOLTAGE SAFETY. The voltages developed are LETHAL and can remain stored in the cap bank even when the equipment is not energized.
I will not be responsible for your twitching and smoking corpse, should you grab onto the wrong things at the wrong time.
ETA: The videos showing the coil operating are
and
Please watch them in HD !
Thanks–
–TK