How to Make Flat Capacitors for Tesla Coil (Small SGTC)

[@USWaterRockets]

Nice video. I was hoping you would do this one because the flat caps are so much more space efficient for this. You can get "free" transparencies by cutting the sides from the soda bottles and flattening them out. Different plastics will give different capacitance values depending on their thicknesses and composition. You could try other things like paper and cardboard as well.

[@RimstarOrg]

USWaterRockets I actually did think of going with soda bottle plastic at one point, but I wanted to use a different material this time. I hadn't thought of +Massimo C 's ideas of using soda can metal though. I bet a whole KZbin channel could be devoted to doing things with soda bottles and soda cans!

[@allanegleston13]

thanks for sharing this . i have seen all manner of how to build caps in this way, from using copper and aluminum foil and glass plates to this . your procedure is elegant and simple . 1000 points for thee. i may just go out and get the items mentioned to build one myself . :)

[@USWaterRockets]

For your next video, please show us how to make a Flux Capacitor.

[@RimstarOrg]

USWaterRockets I'd love to! But sadly that still falls in the realm of a prop making channel. :(

[@Slider2732]

Enjoyed that...you have a knack of making me look around for the parts straight after watching the video :) This could be good for tuning to a defined station on a self made radio...the exact pF or nF for energy harvesting of the radio waves.

[@RimstarOrg]

slider2732 And the nice thing is you can make it the base of the project - no one will know it's a capacitor :). The heads of the nylon bolts even act as feet. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MongrelShark]

slider2732 You can roll them up too. Which can increase farads a fair bit, as well as providing a way to fine tune. I have a hard time popping these, even on a TEA laser. Thats really saying something... I can pop caps dammit. Why wont this pop? They also have really low induction/impedance. 10kv full discharge in under 2ns low induction. so great for anything that needs rapid response.

[@MongrelShark]

I have tested those transparency’s for capacitors a lot. I have trouble popping them! I can pop pretty much every commercial HV cap on the market... Plus they are super low induction (due to being only 100 microns thick) so much faster than anything you can buy rated for more than 5kv. About the only time I have popped a transparency was on the TEA laser, running above full power for 20 min. You probably wont find a better Tesla coil cap (Tell me if you do!!) I think they are better than Bought ones. The only issue I get is a little bit of leakage. Can oil bath if that's a problem I have tried pretty much every plastic sheet available at the local shopping centre and hardware. Nothing goes close to the HV rating for the thickness and heat tolerance. I've even had corona on the plastic and it didn't melt right away. You can roll them up into a tube too. Farads go up quite a lot if you roll tight. 2nf can turn into 7-8nf.

[@Terrywoodrat]

I am guessing 100nf would still cost $100 but it might be worth it if it don't fail so easily.

[@MongrelShark]

I think well under $50. Probably need about 30 transparency’s at approx $1ea Cheaper in bulk. I have also tested laminator pockets a lot. they are nearly ass good. Better dielectric strength if you use both layers (60 microns each 120 microns total) and don't laminate. Slightly higher induction though, so barely works with TEA laser. Laminating foil gets you about 10-15 kv breakdown. Also lowers the working temp of the laminating plastic. Some long boring videos of some of the tests I have done on my channel. You might find the CUP CAP videos interesting too.

[@Terrywoodrat]

Mongrel Shark sweet. Thanks again.

[@RimstarOrg]

Mongrel Shark Same here. Polyethylene sheets didn't last long with my TEA laser but these transparencies never broke down. Though I didn't run it for 20 minutes - much too loud for around here.

[@MongrelShark]

After about 15 min at 20ish kv I got a pinhole in one. Was probably running at 70-80 hertz. Plastic had already done a lot at that point. It took some punishment before it popped.

[@GenericGerman]

Still love this channel! You deserve more attention! Talk to Destin from Smartereveryday maybe?

[@brocifer5264]

Good instructions but here a tip : try making a spark gap inside a cork, its way quieter

[@RimstarOrg]

Do you mean to surround it with cork board to muffle the sound? That sounds doable. I'd think you'd need at least make sure there's ventilation so that you can have fresh unionized air. I'd also think you would want the enclosure big enough so that the air wouldn't heat up too much.

[@mandydoncansil9606]

I have stupid idea can I use the inside of the electrolitic capacitor to get the seperator

[@dandruff7807]

Can mica be used instead of the transparency film?

[@RimstarOrg]

Yes. You'd have to try with different numbers of layers and measure the capacitance to find out how many sheets you'd need. It's different for each material.

[@twodogsandapup5995]

Nicely done 👏🏽

[@Wolf-yp2qk]

Is there anything else I could use for the dielectric? I don't think I have any transparency sheets lying around, could I use plastic wrap or something of that sort?

[@RimstarOrg]

Scotlahn Mccallister You can use plastic from a big soda bottle. Just cut it into rectangle and flatten it between the pieces of wood. For plastic wrap you might need multiple layers but you've have to find out how many by experimentation. With too few layers the plastic wrap will break down i.e. a hole will appear in it and you'd have to try again with more layers of new plastic wrap.

[@leefromhalfwittedprojects7190]

Nice and simple

[@k-techcreativeideas698]

You are great maker

[@Pentooxide.]

can you use any type of insulator while making this ?

[@RimstarOrg]

Not necessarily. Since we're dealing with high voltage, you have to have an insulator that won't break down easily. A high voltage can break down an insulator and start conducting through it. See my video about making high voltage capacitors for more about that kzbin.info/www/bejne/fafIemydja6mftk . The dimensions of the insulator play a part in something else called the capacitance. For that, see my other video here kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGXZo2SXepWtsNk

[@vivdlyvague6627]

I would like to see if robert murray smith's graphene ink would do in conjuction with the aluminum

[@flamedrag18]

what would happen if you used the 9nf capacitor with your coil? would it burn out?

[@RimstarOrg]

***** No, it just wouldn't reach as high a voltage. For it to do so the primary circuit's (capacitor and spiral coil) resonant frequency must be the same as the secondary circuit's (taller coil and ball on top) resonant frequency. At 4nF, the two circuits have around the same frequency so it works optimally. See my first video about this Tesla coil for a little more about that kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJbQd2qmZciVfrc.

[@draftartmart8069]

Couldn't find transperancies anywhere how will paper do I think it has a fairly good dielectric strength

[@RimstarOrg]

You can try paper but it often has conductive properties. I would suggest looking for something else. If you're going to bolt it all firmly together like I did then how about cutting the flat sides of plastic soda bottles (if you can find some with flat sides)? Also, a few layers of waxed paper used in the kitchen should work but make sure there are no scratches or creases. Since they're different materials than what I'm using and may have different dimensions, I can't say how many layers to use to get the needed capacitance though. You may have to measure the capacitance and do trial and error like I did in the video.

[@lect0n7]

Yeah, hi, I'm an electrical engineering student & I'm a 2nd generation electrical engineer... My dad invented & developed the first Carbon Monoxide Detector at Kidde Fenwal in 1983... I just wanted to point out... My Fluke multimeter like the one in this video was like $600...cuz my dad wouldn't let me use any of his meters after I messed one of his meters up leaving it outside once and we happened to have a 3 day long ice storm roll in on us... STUPID NEW ENGLAND WEATHER!!! I swear, it was like 70-Degrees and sunny on Tuesday & Wednesday-Friday ICE STORM!!! (LMAO)

[@joshuastabs]

Another great video. Could you do one on how to use an electric meter? I found one and I can barely use it

[@RimstarOrg]

joshuastabs Thanks. I think I'll leave a meter video alone. There are already so many excellent ones out there. kzbin.info has a lot of them.

[@Wolf-yp2qk]

Where would I buy transparency sheets at? I can't seem to find any that are low cost online, would local stores sell them?

[@RimstarOrg]

I buy them locally at stores that do photocopying (The UPS Store). But try art stores as well. Stores that sell school supplies may have binders with transparent covers so students to put projects in.

[@KyleMakeStuff]

sweet!

[@user-nb4dy5pv8k]

hi i wanted to ask you something not related about to this project . its about how mush 1 sparker from a lighter creates voltage

[@RimstarOrg]

+Youssef Aloud It would depend on how hard its hit and how high a voltage it's allowed to get to based on any spark gap. In my video where I take one apart, I hit the piezo crystal on a table and measure 320 volts but I'm sure it can get higher than that by hitting it harder (see 5 minutes and 50 seconds into kzbin.info/www/bejne/enLcfmt_mtlkhZo).

[@SMITHII_]

The way you have that connected is a bit strange. . I have had excellent success by having the negative of the cap go to the outermost wire on the primary, the inner one going to the negative of the powersupply and spark gap, and the positive of both the powersupply and cap going to the other side of spark gap. Unless Im just seeing what you have done wrong..

[@RimstarOrg]

A quick search on google for images for "tesla coil circuit" shows circuits done the way you describe and the way I did it. They seem to be equivalent but maybe there's some subtle difference.

[@dikaprasetya464]

Which stores more power? This design or roll design?

[@RimstarOrg]

Dika Prasetya Both designs can be made to store the same amount of power and to have the same maximum breakdown voltage. I find flat ones easier to make than rolled ones, simply because it's tricky to roll them without the various layers slipping too much, resulting in unevenness in the layers. But if you have long strips of material then it's probably faster to roll one than to cut it up into many rectangles and stack them. There's also the consideration of how you connect to them. With a rolled one you may have only two connections to make, whereas with a flat one you'd have many connections to make.

[@dikaprasetya464]

RimstarOrg all right thanks for your response

[@mandydoncansil9606]

Can I use any plastic

[@RimstarOrg]

I don't know which plastics are better. But most plastics would work I think. The thickness does make a difference in terms of the capacitance you'll get so you will have to test with different numbers of layers to get the capacitance you want.

[@neon-pl3du]

what is the maximum voltage of this capacitor ?

[@RimstarOrg]

I didn't measure it, sorry.

[@batbawls]

Interesting that very small ferrets are units of measurement. I'm going to start measuring macro objects in standard ferrets. _Nose to tail, Sally's boat measures sixteen standard ferrets_.

[@RimstarOrg]

John Smith FYI In case you ever want to look it up, it's "farads". Sixteen farads is a lot. If you really did that then that's interesting. I wonder what the breakdown voltage of Sally's boat is, the maximum voltage it can handle before it starts to conduct.

[@jonnupe1645]

Commenting for KZbin algorithm

[@draftartmart8069]

can we use cellophane sheets

[@RimstarOrg]

I tried that once and the resulting capacitor was leaky, it couldn't hold a charge. Maybe it was the particular brand I was using, but I'm guessing my cellophane has something conductive in it -- not a good insulator.

[@Nik-by5mi]

@rimstarorg Random question for you. Since you are the only science teacher i trust! All these videos of Tesla and Free Energy... Is Over Unity or free Magnet energy real or fake?

[@Coyote0874]

I thought you were Mr Chris Notap lol

[@sonicboom2535]

These capacitor don't have polarity

[@RimstarOrg]

That's right, they don't. Were you expecting them to?

[@sonicboom2535]

No

[@BRbBAl]

How to Make Flat Capacitors for Tesla Coil (Small CTSG87 )

[@exploreeverything6881]

I miss whole numbers