Hi kubeek,
I suggested that method in post #5 but no one commented on the idea.

Les.

 

Hi Les, i knew someone mentioned it before but didnt check to give you the attribution, just thought it might be a good idea to repeat the option know.

 

It might prompt someone comment on the idea this time.

Les.

 

One way I used to ignite a mercury lamp was to wire the LV (actually ~150V) PSU in series with a bifilar wound coil, single layer, approx 30mm dia, 40mm long, maybe 20 turns,spaced slightly (for better insulation between turns). One coil is in series with the PSU ( in your case 320V caps) the other is wired between ground and a 20kV spark discharge from a car ignition coil driven from an electronic ignition circuit. This transfers the EHT spark to whatever is in the primary. Only snag I can see with this is that the inductance may slow your discharge down - so you need to check what max. inductance you can tolerate. If any.

 

Even with a plasma trigger, how much of a spark gap will 320V actually jump?

 

Even with a plasma trigger, how much of a spark gap will 320V actually jump?

With pre-ionized air at standard pressure i guess it can be a lot more than without ionization, and with lower pressure the distance gets even longer, see Paschen's law.