Hey guys, new to the forum. This is actually a couple questions in one. I recently built a full-wave cockcroft walton generator, and it has really dreadful performance. I understand the circuit is bad for much more than a novelty (when greater than a handful of stages) to begin with, but it seems quite terrible.
I'm using 305v 0.1uF suppression film caps - 48 to be exact - 16 stages. The diodes are standard 1N4007. It's powered with 120V mains power right now. I was using 24V to test it before.
When I plug it in, I have to wait more than 20 seconds to be able to make an arc about 4mm (with no limiting resistor). If I clamp my voltmeter to the first stage, I can see it rides around 260 volts, which is sort of close. Any stage after that is very near to this. I'm guessing it's not putting out enough current for my DMM to establish a reading. However from what I read, two or three stages is used in practical application all the time. I cannot smell a single bit of ozone, nor see any corona activity even if I bring the ground pole close to the output.
My questions:
I understand if a diode fails, the circuit simply wont work. However, what is the result of a capacitor failing or degrading?
Is this a reasonable result from these components?
I'm using 305v 0.1uF suppression film caps - 48 to be exact - 16 stages. The diodes are standard 1N4007. It's powered with 120V mains power right now. I was using 24V to test it before.
When I plug it in, I have to wait more than 20 seconds to be able to make an arc about 4mm (with no limiting resistor). If I clamp my voltmeter to the first stage, I can see it rides around 260 volts, which is sort of close. Any stage after that is very near to this. I'm guessing it's not putting out enough current for my DMM to establish a reading. However from what I read, two or three stages is used in practical application all the time. I cannot smell a single bit of ozone, nor see any corona activity even if I bring the ground pole close to the output.
My questions:
I understand if a diode fails, the circuit simply wont work. However, what is the result of a capacitor failing or degrading?
Is this a reasonable result from these components?